The next running event in San Marcos is the Sights and Sounds Jingle Bell 5K on Dec. 13. With the Sights and Sounds in full swing again, this promises to have another great turnout. The race starts at 9 a.m. at the festival site, and then heads through the historical part of San Marcos.
The Sights and Sounds Celebration started in 1987 at the Courthouse Square. School choirs sang Christmas carols and Santa was there with many vendors set up. The 5K race started in 1988 when Darrell Rhodes was an active member of the San Marcos Runners Club and thought it would be a good addition to the celebration to have a 5Krace. He talked with his boss, John Navarrette, at the San Marcos Telephone Company, about being a sponsor for a 5K race at the Sights and Sounds Celebration. John gave Darrell his approval and the Jingle Bell 5K was born.
Darrell used the logo of Sights and Sounds on the race shirt, with a green Christmas tree near the bottom that had a 5K and 1K run advertised. As far as recollection goes Darrell thinks this 1K kid’s run was the first kid’s run in San Marcos. The race started on San Antonio Street on the Courthouse side and did a loop coming back on Belvin Street and Hutchison Street and finishing at the Courthouse. It was eventually certified when David Alexander and I rode the course for certification.
The starting line has changed several times and we re-certified it each time. The sponsorship has changed several times over the years. The telephone company was the first sponsor and the San Marcos Kiwanis Club was the sponsor during the mid 90s. The Central Texas Medical Center was a big sponsor also. Sights and Sounds has grown to its current size after it moved across the San Marcos River to City Park.
A committee was formed to organize the celebration and has since found many sponsors for the event and the race. It is the largest entry of runners in San Marcos, with between 800 – 1,000 runners expected, and one of the very few races that has the number of age group award categories. Starting at under 10 years old there’s a category every five years up to 85+ years. This is a race for all ages and even has a large turnout of walkers join in the race.
Over the years from 1988 until 2022, David Alexander, Darrell Rhodes, and I have been a part of the Jingle Bell 5K but age and new race coordinators have relegated us to a much more favorable role of walking in the race the last couple of years. I watched last year’s race from my street corner and cheered the runners and walkers on.
The Sights and Sounds Jingle Bell 5K is now the longest-running event in San Marcos. Starting in 1988 and continuing through to 2025 makes it 37 years running. There are only a few of the original races still around. Moe’s Better Half Marathon started in 1983 and ran for 33 years before it was retired. Linda Alexander filled me in on the history of the Bluebonnet Lions Thankful Turkey 5K, which has been around for 22 years. It started with FLOW (Friends Lend Others Wings) in 2003.When FLOW stopped the Bluebonnet Lions asked if they could take over the race and have done so since 2006.
The Thankful Turkey 5k had a very successful race last week with the turkey and ham awards. The Parks and Recreation Firecracker 5K has been around a long time and is still running. But all of the other races from the Cinco De Mayo (the first race in San Marcos in 1979) is gone along with Tangram 5K and 10K, Mardi Gras 5K, Mudbug 5K, Cemetery 5K, and Chilympiad 10K are all no longer around. There were numerous one-time only races over the years that found out how much effort it is to put on a race and decided on a different fund raiser to try. There is still time to register for the Jingle Bell 5K and be part of one big fun run.
