An array of Wando students participated in the 33rd annual Charleston Reindeer Run/Walk. The event took place on December 14, and participants completed a 5-kilometer race down the streets of downtown Charleston.
As an event volunteer, junior Olivia Hauff helped to make the event a special day for the various individuals who participated.
“We helped hand out donuts and we also helped clean up afterwards,” Hauff said. “It was fun seeing all the families that were doing it together and just everyone having a good time talking with the other volunteers and talking with the racers. It was just a lot of positive energy [and] everything went very smoothly.”
Joining Hauff, junior Gibson King was one of just a few volunteers who got to make the event unfold.
“It’s in front of The Charleston Place Hotel near Market Street… [There] were about 15 [volunteers] and for total runners there were thousands,” King said.
With temperatures at the event being just 50 degrees Fahrenheit, both runners and walkers had to bundle up for the race. However, to some, the chilly weather was not a factor in expressing their holiday spirit.
“It was very varied. There was a costume contest so some people were dressed up like A Christmas Carol [and] some dressed up as a Grinch, but yeah, the most common costume was the reindeer,” Hauff said. “They give you little reindeer antlers when you sign up.”
In addition to the festive atmosphere brought by the runners and walkers themselves, many spread holiday cheer through their furry friends.
“A lot of people dressed up their dogs too,” King said. “It was very festive.”
