The holidays are a time to celebrate family and friends — and for some Waterdown residents, that means getting out for a 16-kilometre run at 9a.m.
This morning's run was the third year the Waterdown Running group has met at the Royal Botanical Gardens in Burlington to hit the pavement.
Kirstin Lukasko created a Facebook group around 2018, in the hopes of getting some local Waterdown runners together. Now, the runners are a tight-knit group of friends with their own holiday tradition.
"It's a really informal group, moreso a group of friends that hang out and do stuff together," she said. "That's what the holidays are about. We get together because it's fun."
The running club is also a way to hit the pavement with friends for free, Lukasko said. Hamilton has its own official Boxing Day Run, which starts at noon on James Street North in the city's downtown.
But Waterdown's Jason Bainbridge, who organized this year's Boxing Day run, said, "This is a way for people that don't want to sign up and pay for the race to go out and have a run, and talk about Christmas."
He said its a chance for everyone to get over the holiday hump of family and feasting, and beats going to the mall.
"You can choose to get into the chaos in the madness of Boxing Day sales and running around like that, or you can keep it on pause, get out earlier in the morning, get some fresh air and be active," he said.
Bainbridge added that anyone is welcome to join the Waterdown Running group Facebook page and come out for a run. The group meets every Sunday morning at 8a.m. at the Waterdown Fortinos.
