The Goose Chase’s fourth annual Jingle 5k took place in downtown Johnson City on Dec. 14, just in time to get into the holiday spirit with the grand finish through the Candyland Christmas tree exhibit. I’ve never participated in a formal 5K, but I do enjoy going on long runs on my own, so this was an interesting and fun experience. Although I knew that Northeast Tennessee hosts a number of 5K races annually, I never jumped at the chance to compete. Johnson City is home to one of the state’s largest Turkey Trots, but because my family likes to travel for Thanksgiving, I always miss it.
The Jingle 5K is a 3.1-mile jog through downtown Johnson City’s picturesque surroundings and jolly Christmas trees. Seeing all of the enthusiastic runners, who ranged in age from 10 to 75, was cool. I received my Jingle 5K shirt and my runner number at the registration area, and the volunteers were all very friendly and welcoming. 
The race felt like a movie in the beginning, starting off at the giant ‘JC’ landmark, and then just trekking off into the night through the streets and alleyways as “There’s No Easy Way Out” from the Rocky 4 Soundtrack blares in my ears to hype me up. Running in the dark with all these people while listening to music from Rocky and a convoy of cop cars leading the way felt very cinematic, to say the least.
I tried to get a jump on the competition and start off strong with an initial light sprint, which landed me near the front of the runners’ pack. This may have been my downfall, however, as I started to lose steam around the mile-and-a-half mark, allowing a lot of people to pass me in the process. As the saying goes, it’s not about how you start but how you finish, and how I started caused a negative impact. The course of the track was not familiar to me, so my plan was to follow everyone else in front of me. The anticipation of wanting to finish and not knowing exactly what the course was took a toll because at times I would begin to sprint thinking that we were near the end, but we actually had more than a mile to go, counteracting my efforts and making me lose more energy that I clearly needed to conserve. I was very tired, began to lose my breath and slow down, but the objective of not stopping until I reached the finish line was heavy on my mind.
As I rounded the corner to approach the finish line, “Sorry” by The Kid Laroi began to reverberate in my ear buds and immediately gave me a second wind. I saw a woman in front of me and tried to pass her to gain position, so I immediately started running as fast as I could. This did not go over well. I was running so fast that I almost tripped, fell over, and face planted. I corrected my balance and stood back up, but the woman’s speed was overwhelming, and I fell behind her as the crowd screamed to “finish strong” with praise and encouragement for a job well done. Even though I was disappointed I lost the sprint battle, my goal of finishing the race without stopping was complete, and that was all the satisfaction I needed. I expected to reach that goal under any circumstances.
Unfortunately, I did not pace myself correctly, and it got the best of me, but overall, I still feel like I did a great job, all things considered. I initially thought I finished with a time of around 30 minutes, but I saw the race results soon after, clocking in a time of 28:28 and 95th place out of 294 runners. Considering I hadn’t run a long distance in about two months, I thought that I would be rusty, but I ended up surprising myself with my results. This event was very fun, bright, and appropriately themed for a chilly December night in the heart of Appalachia. If you enjoy running, I would highly recommend the Jingle 5K.
Now that I’ve told you my story and experience, maybe this can be a segue for you to create your own memories at one of The Goose Chase’s nearly 15 events in 2024.
Written by Jaylon Fudge for Northeast Tennessee Tourism.
