The Original Bill Rodgers Jingle Bell Run This Sunday

The
Original Bill Rodgers Jingle Bell
Run

set
for Sunday, December 13.

 

Boston Athletic Association to sponsor
local running celebration which starts and finishes at Boston’s Faneuil Hall Marketplace.

 

Bob
Hodge to receive Jock Semple Award;

Barbara
Sicuso will be presented the Will Cloney Award.

 

BOSTON ‰ÛÓ Four-time Boston Marathon champion and
legendary runner Bill Rodgers has revived his celebration of the holiday season
and will lead local runners through a festive jog this Sunday, December 13,
starting and finishing at Faneuil Hall Marketplace in downtown Boston.

 

Sponsored by the Boston Athletic Association for the first
time, the Bill Rodgers Jingle Bell Run is a non-timed, non-competitive fun run
of 2.4 miles, which celebrates the season.  The run starts at 5:30 p.m.

 

After a leisurely tour around the decorated Boston Common
and financial district, a post-run party will follow at Ned Devine’s
Irish Pub, located within Quincy Market at Faneuil Hall Marketplace.  The
event is limited to 1,000 registrants, but space is still available. 
Those interested in participating may register in advance at www.brjinglebell.com.

 

At the post-run party, Bill Rodgers and members of the
B.A.A. will present two awards, as has been the tradition at the Jingle Bell
Run since brothers Bill and Charlie Rodgers founded the event in 1977.

 

The B.A.A.’s own Barbara Sicuso will receive the Will
Cloney Award for service within the running industry; and Bob Hodge will
receive the Jock Semple Award, presented to a local athlete who has made an
impact within running.

 

Sicuso has been the director of registration for the Boston
Marathon for more than 20 years.  She leads a team of dedicated personnel
who are responsible for verifying and processing the entries of more than
30,000 performances annually.  She and her staff are the point of interface
with the general public and runners from around the world.  For more than
three decades, Hodge has been an athlete, coach, advisor and mentor to many in New England.  This year marks the 30-year
anniversary of his impressive, third-place finish at the 1979 Boston Marathon
‰ÛÓ a race won by Rodgers (his third Boston
victory).

 

“Both Will Cloney and Jock Semple were affiliated with
the Boston Athletic Association, and played important roles in the oversight
and promotion of the B.A.A.’s events and programs, especially its Boston
Marathon, the B.A.A. Games, and the B.A.A.’s running club” said Guy
Morse, the B.A.A.’s executive director. “We are proud to join Bill and
Charlie Rodgers to host  this local holiday tradition and to present these
awards within Boston’s
running community.”

As is the custom at the Bill Rodgers Jingle Bell Run, holiday dress and
costumes are encouraged but not required.

 

A portion of all registration fees
will be donated to CASA
(Court Appointed Special Advocates for Boston) and Newington (Conn.) High School Cross
Country Boosters Scholarship (The Bill Rodgers
Foundation sponsors two $500 scholarship awards in honor of Coach Frank D. O’Rourke.
Rodgers, a member of the NHS Class of 1966 and perhaps the most famous distance
runner of all time, has established these awards to recognize two student
athletes who best exemplify the outstanding qualities of character and athletic
achievement encouraged and fostered by his mentor, Coach O’Rourke.)

 

In addition, the Bill Rodgers
Running Center,
located within Faneuil Hall Marketplace, will be collecting items for Toys for
Tots (formerly known as the Marine Toys for Tots Foundation). Participants are
encouraged to bring an unwrapped gift to the store, located in the North Market
Building.

 

For more information, including registration links and a
list of entrants, please visit:

www.brjinglebell.com.