VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. - You better watch out!
J&A Racing welcomed thousands of "Naughty" and "Nice" runners to the Virginia Beach Oceanfront Saturday for the 12th running of the BayPort Credit Union Surf-n-Santa 5 Miler presented by Bon Secours In Motion.
“It is so fun to see the streets flooded in red and green this time of year! With a pretty even split between Team Naughty and Team Nice, there is no doubt that our race participants had a great time at Surf-N-Santa,” said Amy Frostick, J&A Racing co-owner. “Getting to run through the BayPort Holiday Lights at the Beach on the Virginia Beach Boardwalkis a special treat! Runners look forward to this festive race as a way to celebrate the holiday season, and we are thrilled to be part of such a joyful event.”
Participants put themselves on Santa’s list by selecting Team Naughty or Team Nice during registration. On course, runners were treated to festive surprises including stops for locally made gingerbread cookies by The Neighborhood Harvest, a spirited gumdrop station, along with various cheer groups encouraging runners as they passed by.
Unique to this event, part the course took participants through the Holiday Lights on the Boardwalk. When making the final turn, runners were treated to a Winter Wonderland Finish.
After crossing the finish line, the celebrations continued at a post-race party at the Virginia Beach Convention Center with food and live music.
The race benefits the Begin Again Foundation, a local non-profit that focuses on sepsis awareness.
“We had the best time ever! We are so excited that J&A races are back and they really are the best in the industry,” Kim Moore of Virginia Beach told J&A Racing officials. “Everybody we talked to said the same thing - this was the perfect way to celebrate the holiday season, and to be back to running in-person events is a great way to close out the year!”
Chris Free of Virginia Beach won the Surf-n-Santa 5 Miler with a finish time of 27:33. The winner of the 5 Miler on the women’s side was Tiffany Sloan, also of Virginia Beach, who broke the tape in 32:48.
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