Santastic - Surf-N-Santa Five Miler
'Twas the week before Christmas and just for a treat,
runners dressed like Santa from head to their feet,
gathered to run a five miler at night
on the boardwalk to see this year’s Christmas lights.
It's the Surfin' Santa and run every year
Where 5000 Santas are running for beer.
Sam Adams Beer, it happened to be
And you get three beer tickets for the entrance fee.
My second year running, almost a tradition,
And it’s not a bad run, even in my condition.
Running is hard, for the shape I am in,
But a large Santa suit hides a great deal of sin.
This year, I heard, not so many runners
Signed up for the race but it couldn’t be funner.
The atmosphere was so casual and breezy,
Although, running 5 miles would never be easy.
The air, it was cool and the sun it was bright,
And starting a bit later seemed to brighten the lights.
This year, not set on my finishing time,
Allowed a more casual pace, which was fine.
The red sea of Santa’s flooded through the gate,
Men, women, and children, all looking great.
The suits that they had provided this year,
Were better than last’s, that much is clear.
Instead of black ribbon we had a real belt,
And the suit and the collar was of nicer felt.
The fit was so good I expressed my elation,
At having to do so few alterations.
The pants needed no pinning to stay on my waist,
And they slipped not an inch during the race.
I decided to do part of the race only skipping,
But skipping is hard and my sweat, it was dripping.
I stopped, not for water but a gingerbread treat,
And at a 12 minute mile it was easy to eat.
The final home stretch, I remembered this year
was far from the finish, not very near.
I stuck to a pace to conserve energy,
But it’s difficult when many runners pass me.
Slow and steady may not have won this one race,
But I maintained a nice and a comfortable pace
The after party just getting going
And Santas peeled of their wet suits and were glowing.
For even though it had been cool after dark,
Running in a red velvet suit takes some work.
After some stretching and Sam Adams beer,
It was time for some hot soup, an abundance served here.
The band was fantastic, though I never did know,
The name of the band before time to go.
It was all quite a sight, the runners were thrilled,
At having completed without being killed.
It wasn’t that tough, in fact rather pleasant,
And time with the Santas was a great Christmas present.
