The holiday season -- when houses and humans alike are adorned in all things twinkly and tacky -- is not exactly known for its subtle sartorial style.
Case in point: the ugly Christmas sweater.
Ugly Sweater Race
8 a.m. Sunday, Outlets of Little Rock, 11201 Bass Pro Parkway, Little Rock
Registration: $45, Elf Dash $25
Shopping centers' clothing aisles are decorated with an army of dancing Santas, flashy snowmen and sunglasses-wearing reindeer. But on Sunday, the gaudy sweaters at Outlets of Little Rock won't be only in the stores.
The Little Rock Marathon is combining the ubiquitous holiday garb with a healthy dose of physical fitness in their first ever Ugly Sweater Race.
"It's a fun, festive 5K where we encourage everybody to wear an ugly sweater," says Geneva Lamm, executive director of the Little Rock Marathon. "This started as a way to get more people locally engaged in running and walking and helping them get moving while having a little bit of fun for the holidays."
She and fellow executive director Gina Pharis hit on the ugly sweater idea because, she says, "We like to have fun ourselves. We look at things that make us laugh. An ugly sweater is funny. So that's what we decided to build a race around."
In many ways, it's a typical 5K run/walk. It will be timed, with prizes going to the first 15 finishers in the men's and women's categories.
Registration -- if there are spots left -- is 6:30-7:45 a.m. with the race itself at 8. At 9, there will be an Elf Dash race for children under 10.
Then things get ugly.
At 9:15, judges will choose winners for the costume categories: best ugly sweater, best ugly kids sweater, best homemade sweater, most original sweater, best team outfit and best family outfit.
Participants will receive a "really cool T-shirt" and a finishers get a medal. For the Elf Dash runners, Dave & Buster's is putting together stockings with gifts worth about $25.
Lamm says that, so far, the response has been "overwhelming. People are pretty excited about it. We were surprised at how well it's been received."
The whole point, she says, was to reach out to the community and get more people involved in the Little Rock Marathon events, and they hope the race feeds more participants into the marathon and the new Run Local race series.
They're hoping that the novelty of running around the Outlets in colorful, sparkly garments bedecked with trees, elves and ornaments will bring a little physical fitness and a lot of merriment.
Lamm says, "People can dress up and participate and celebrate and walk around all day in their ugly sweater -- if it's not all sweaty."
Weekend on 12/13/2018