Sole Sisters - Xmas Fun Run & Wi$h Li$t

Jamie Roberts
53 minutes ago
9 min read

The Reindeer Run Challenge

Kylie: You're listening to Soul Sisters, brought to you by Running Scared Media where every step has a story. My name is Kylie and I'm currently in my car hub on wheels, and I'm just sitting out here in a random neighborhood, not mine, because nobody in my neighborhood decorates for the holiday season. So the game we're going to play today is one you could play along with us if you would like, or in your own time, I suppose. But we are going to see who can find more reindeer within a one mile run in just random neighborhoods around us.

Justine: Okay, I'm gonna start. One, two. I'm actually gonna cross the street. So two, three, four, five. Five reindeer. Six, seven, eight. Oh my God, I got so lucky off the bat because one of them had two blow ups of three. Are you counting the dog from the Grinch? Fine. We'll take him out. I saw him.

Kylie: Okay, so then that's six, seven, eight reindeer. I see one right now. I'm following the scene in my car like a creep. Nine. He's not blown up, but that is Rudolph the deflated.

Justine: I mean, I guess this is the daytime. People don't typically have decorations going during the day.

Kylie: What will she choose to do? She's turning left, which is a smart move because straight ahead is where everyone's backyards are facing. So you can't really see any decorations because the fences are all up.

Justine: Oh my God, I didn't even think about that. I just didn't want to cross the street. Oh, okay.

Kylie: Well, just have a question while you're running. Now you have to physically pass the reindeer, or is it good enough to just see it if it's like down the street that you're not running?

Justine: Oh, I think it's good enough if you see it, but you have bad eyesight, so you're probably not gonna be taking advantage of that rule.

(The hosts briefly discuss Christmas decorating, the 'Runner Girl' virtual race, and the regret of picking reindeer to count).

Justine: I'm gonna give a recap because I see some reindeer to the right of me. Oh, why did I say that? I was gonna turn left. I didn't even see them. I thought you were gonna keep going straight. Oh, that's so funny. So, are you going straight? Wait, I turned. God damn. Okay, I need to do a really quick, people. There's also a car coming.

Kylie: The virtual race life of a runner girl. Honestly, Cora went all out. I was so impressed. See you. Okay. Turn left. Oh, wait. How many reindeers are you at now? I think ten.

Justine: With the professionality of it, it felt like an official race. There was a whole sign-in booth which I thought was clever. So if you're going to do this with a bunch of people, like try to do your own community thing, the sign in booth is smart because that way you make sure nobody is lost. Everyone writes their phone number. Eleven. Okay? When you come back from your race, you put a check mark showing that you came back. So if anyone doesn't come back, they can check on you and make sure that you're doing okay.

Kylie: We had three different distances. There was five k, ten k. Damn it. This is a dog with a reindeer antlers on. Get a regular reindeer, dammit.

Justine: Yeah, and then the last distance was ten miles. So Justine did the ten K, I did the five k. I also listened to the album while we were running. It was so good. Really fun. I did the thing actually, where I would walk the verses and run everything else.

Mid-Run Musings & Book Finds

Kylie: I think people are starting to boycott the early Christmas decorating, because I'm seeing a lot of like, pumpkins and Thanksgiving and autumnal stuff. You know, normally I'm the type of person who decorates really early. Like as soon as Halloween's up, I'm decorating. We didn't do that this year because we traveled right after Halloween. And then I guess having a baby also makes it quite difficult. So I finally just had the free time this past weekend.

Justine: So another little Free Library. Uh, let's check it out. Anything interesting? Oh, shit. She opened her book, fell out immediately. It looks like pretty good stuff. Eragon. James Patterson. Wait, I mean Aragorn. Okay, The Woman in the Window. Oh, Wicked is in here.

Kylie: I'll give you Eragon. I'm taking The Girl on the Train. Never read it.

Justine: All twelve. Oh, I see. It's one of those white reindeers. Like the like twelve, thirteen, fourteen. Actually, two of them toppled over, but I'm taking them. They're just sleeping. Majesty has such a sight for deflated inflatables. Who would have thought?

Kylie: My neighborhood goes all out. It's a new neighborhood, and I feel like that means a lot of young families are there, and they tend to go more out for the holidays than when you're older. My neighborhood's a bunch of old people.

(The hosts briefly discuss a strange antenna on a roof, then return to the challenge and holiday themes).

Kylie: When you decorate for Christmas, do you do a theme? Okay, actually, we started decorating for Christmas today, and we're taking everything out of the box. I did not realize how many gnome Christmas items we have. I guess that's our theme. Unexpected theme.

Justine: Let's do a Christmas This or That? Do you prefer colored lights or the yellow lights?

Kylie: Yellow. Me too. They're just so classic. Do you think, like the colorful ones are giving nineties?

Justine: It's like kiddish Christmas to me. The colored ones. Yeah. White. Yellow light is classy. Adult Christmas. Oh, no. I got a pile. No. Okay, so I'm in the hub now. I got fourteen reindeer in one mile.

Kylie: So we drove like across the street, a very busy street. So we're in like a new neighborhood zone now. So Kylie has a fresh neighborhood layout to explore. We found a house right off the bat that has reindeers, so we just pulled over here so she can at least start. I see five reindeer right off the bat.

(Kylie is now running and Justine is driving the "car hub".)

Justine: Let's continue our This or That game. I already know what your answer is gonna be, but I was gonna ask. Eggnog or hot chocolate?

Kylie: Hot chocolate?

Justine: Yeah. And you're gonna say that. I don't really see. I mean, there are inflatables down there. Oh, I see something actually. Turn this way. Come out here. My eyes can work for both of us. Oh, there's a car behind you. Oh, my God, I'm crashing out. I can't, Justine's been driving for one minute.

Kylie: Two more reindeer here. Good effort. So, seven. Wow. So she's just started and she's halfway to the number I'm at.

Justine: Okay. This or That, Santa or the nativity scene?

Kylie: Santa. Okay, we'll scrap that one. Santa or Hot Frosty?

Justine: Oh, Hot. You have to hook up with one. Hot Frosty. Dude, tell the viewers about Hot Frosty.

Kylie: Okay, actually, this is something else you can do after you finish your run, you go home with your friends and share your joint experience... Then you put on a Christmas movie. We recommend Hot Frosty. It's on Netflix. You put a Santa hat in the corner of your TV. Anytime you hear a character say "Christmas," you take a sip of your drink. The big ticket one is anytime somebody's head hits that Santa hat. When there's an extreme close up in the movie, you take a shot for every time.

Scary Runs & The Final Tally

Kylie: I don't see anything in this area. Wait, I'm gonna go left. What's your favorite Christmas song?

Justine: I want to guess. I feel like Ariana Grande's song is on there. Oh shit. I didn't think of that one, but that one is really good. That's on my top three.

Kylie: I'm not gonna lie. Wow, this is lame, I guess, but I'm just going based off of what I listened to the most. Okay. "All I Want for Christmas is You," Mariah Carey. Duh. "Last Christmas" by Wham! And "I'll Be Home for Christmas". Oh, that song you just sang. I see two on that lawn and one here. So you're at seven. You're at ten. Double digits.

Justine: Any holiday running scared stories, Justine?

Kylie: Oh my God. Actually, this was not during the holidays. This was spring of this year. One of my friends, Camille, she is an ultra runner. She wanted to do extra miles before running club. She's like, "Justine, come with me. We'll run up this really steep hill".

Justine: I was like, "That doesn't sound fun though". And she's like, "but here's the thing. When you get to the top, it looks like the surface of Mars, red dirt". And I was like, okay, fine, that would be really cool. For photos, there was two on one street on one house. Okay, two more plus a deflated reindeer. So I'm at fifteen. No, that's so sad.

Kylie: When we get there, it's just pouring on us. Lushy, snowy. But it's not sticking. Our shoes are soaked right off the bat. I did find one more right there. So I'm at sixteen and we got two left to go. When we get to the top of the hill, there is no Mars. There's just like a snowy wonderland. We literally burned our retinas. We had snow blindness.

Justine: That could have gone so wrong so fast. The snow blindness sounds scary.

(The run ends abruptly when a dog named Noki follows Kylie).

Justine: All right. Justine, how many reindeers did you see on your mile run?

Kylie: Fourteen. Respectable. How many did I see? Sixteen. Goddamn it, I saw more, but honestly, you did tell me when to make good turns.

Holiday Gift Guide for Runners

Kylie: We thought we would finish up this Christmas special of Soul Sisters with a Christmas gift guide for the runner in your life?

Justine: Yeah. Justine's a bigger runner than me, and she's been running longer than me. So you have received a lot of running gifts?

1. Running Apparel (Especially Costumes)

Winter Running Outfit: One of the best gifts Justine received was a running outfit for the winter, especially helpful when she was a new runner.
Holiday-Themed Gear: Get a spirited runner an outfit that correlates with each holiday, like a turkey hat for Thanksgiving or a Cupid outfit for a Valentine's run.

2. Big Ticket Items (If you know their size/preferences)

Running Shoes: Shoes are expensive ($150+). If you're close enough to the runner, you likely know their shoe size. The best tip is to listen to them for brands they mention, like On Cloud.
Runner's Watch/Smart Ring: A runner's watch is a game-changer. Smart rings, like the Oura, are available, though some require a subscription. If gifting a smart ring, consider paying for a six-month subscription.
Strava Subscription: A less expensive option than a watch or ring is paying for their Strava subscription.

3. Stocking Stuffers & Local Finds

Bib Belt: This is highly recommended for any runner, especially those new to racing, and costs around $20–$30.
Chafing Balm & Running Socks: Chafing balm and expensive running socks ($20/pair) make great stuffers.
Local Running Store Gifties: Visit a local running store for small items like goo, electrolyte flavors, or face glitter.
Beanie with a Light: A beanie with a headlamp built-in is ideal for winter running safety and warmth.
Kia Peak Visors: This Reno-based company sells gorgeous hats and visors, including Ugly Christmas Sweater visor editions.

4. Experiences & Time

Race Entry: Gifting a race entry is a great idea.
- Virtual Race: This is a safe option if you don't want to presume on their travel plans or preferred distance.
- Joint Entry: If a runner is trying to get you to run, sign both of you up for a local 5k (Justine recommends against signing up a friend for a half marathon without discussing it).
The Gift of Time: Gifting experiences over material items is becoming more popular. Give them a race entry and join them.

5. Safety & Recovery

Light-Up Gear: Safety vests, blinky lights, or anything that makes a runner visible in the wintertime is a hot gift.
Running Snacks: A variety pack of runner goo, fuels, recovery snacks, or powders from a company like The Feed.
Water Bottle/Mug: The Feed partners with Strava to sell water bottles with the runner's yearly statistics printed on them.
Medal Display: A nice display item for race medals is a thoughtful gift for a runner who has medals hidden in drawers.
Shock Wave Headphones: These are safer for runners as they sit outside the ear and allow the user to hear their surroundings.
Recovery Items: Think foam rollers, athletic tape, or tingly recovery creams/lotions.