Geneva's Snowflake Shuffle a festive jog, fundraiser
About 450 people enjoyed the Snowflake Shuffle run and walk Saturday morning near Geneva, even though there were no snowflakes through which to shuffle.
The sixth annual event raised money for TriCity Family Services, a nonprofit agency that provides mental health services, including counseling. All proceeds from entry fees and sales of T-shirts went to the Geneva-based organization.
The 5K course wound around the northern part of the Mill Creek subdivision.
Jitka Janovska of St. Charles and Debra Pendell of Aurora were two of the more festively dressed runners on the course. The two friends wore matching homemade tutus, red-and-white-striped kneesocks, Santa hats, and Christmas-craft jewelry that included light-bulb earrings that flashed on and off. Pendell and Janovska run with a club based out of the Dick Pond Athletics store in St. Charles, and Pendell said they ran the Snowflake Shuffle because they are good friends with the race's director.
If there had been an award for it, Drew Hawkins of Sycamore would have won Most Devoted/Sweetest Supporter of a Runner. He shivered at the finish line, clutching a bouquet of flowers, to cheer on his girlfriend, Natalie Tarter. Tarter is getting back to running after having a hip injury, he said. She was the 2008 Illinois Class 3A state champion in the 300-meter hurdles.
"She told me not to come," he said with a smile, because the drive from his home would not be worth it. "I drove 40 minutes for probably a 10-minute conversation."