Photos by Rosalee Zammuto

By William Tauro

This past Sunday thousands of runners dressed and decorated in holiday outfits raced through the streets of Somerville all for a good cause. 

The Marathon Sports Somerville Jingle Bell Run 5k Road Race in Somerville, Massachusetts is a great holiday event. This race draws over 5,000 runners to Davis Square in Somerville to take part in a road race and great post race party. This 5k race featured a rolling course with just a couple of small hills.

The race started in Davis Square at 11am, the 5K run/walk winded through streets and squares of Somerville, ending back in Davis Square. The run was followed by a post-race party in 18 local bars, sponsored by Harpoon Brewery. 

This popular run has sold out well in advance for the last 8 years, so runners had to make sure that they registered early!

  
Marathon Sports “Somerville Jingle Bell Run” donated $8000.00,to the Somerville High School Track & Field Team and presented it at the Olde Magoun Saloon in Somerville. 

The 9th annual Marathon Sport’s “Somerville Jingle Bell Run” was a great way to end the year with family and friends.

The Post-Parties, sponsored by Harpoon Brewery, were held all over the city within several pubs.

WHERE IT ALL BEGAN

In 1974, the corner of Mass Ave and Shepard Street was an empty apartment just a brisk 10 minutes’ walk from Cambridge’s historic Harvard Square. By 1975, thanks to an American record (2:09:55 Boston Marathon) by local running legend Bill Rodgers, the address was at the epicenter of the 1970s Boston running boom when then owner Howard Sagrans first opened the doors of Marathon Sports in the converted residential space.
After a string of 4 Boston Marathon victories courtesy Rodgers, New England native Joan Benoit’s shock 1979 win (and subsequent LA Olympic marathon gold), and Alberto Salazar’s Wayland-based 1980s marathon dominance, the golden era of American running from the 1970s to 1990 had its heart in Boston, and Boston bought its shoes at Marathon Sports.