Run For It

Sunday we were en route to Belchertown on some ongoing 'business' that's been taking up a lot of our attention lately (details on that hopefully to come...) But we had some extra time so we routed ourselves via Northampton, to get another look at their Hot Chocolate Run for Safe Passage going on that morning.

It's an annual 5k run/walk for charity, with proceeds going towards helping victims of domestic violence escape their predicaments. Our own first look at the event was back in 2008, with record numbers of participants that year. And this year...

...it looked to be as big if not bigger.

Like a good parade, these runs are always fun to watch and/or photograph. As much for the spectacle of so many as the spectacle of a few.

Some colorful standouts are always sprinkled in with the masses of charity-driven participants.

For the spectator, it's a good reason to get out on a cold, crisp December morning. Maybe listen to some drums.

For the participant, it's one of the healthier means of just getting out there and doing a good thing. Something satisfying for the heart and mind; especially on such a crisp December morning.

...a satisfaction by the way, not reserved for humans.

The run is as popular as ever and as I'm writing this, a tweet just came in over the wire: this year's event netted some $135,000 for Safe Passage.

That's a lot of folks helping a lot of folks, while helping themselves.

...pretty sure that's what they call a 'Win-Win'.

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