Just an hour before floats began rolling through The Village, 97 of Grosse Pointe’s most charitable athletes stormed 1.9 miles down Kercheval on Nov. 24 for the Lions’ Club 26th Annual Jingle Bell Walk/Run.
First to cross the finish line was Brownell Middle School cross country runner Andrew Bayster, who was inspired to enter the event by his father, the Lions club treasurer.
“I’m really competitive—I like to win,” Bayster said. “It just felt good to be first, but then I started to feel tired.”
Though only one runner can take first place, the race focuses primarily on giving back to charities, with all proceeds from ticket sales donated directly to nonprofits sponsored by the Grosse Pointe Lions chapter. Event coordinator Will Conway first began helping out with the run to fulfill his role as a Lion 20 years ago, but said he’s grown more invested after seeing its impacts in the community and soon took on the organizer role.
“(The run) is one of the things that the Lions do,” Conway said. “We all have to take on responsibility to get involved with the community and raise money.”
To further this goal, Conway said he encourages community members of all ages and activity levels to participate, noting that the event is family and pet friendly.
“(The run) gets people outside, involved in the community and active,” Conway said. “It’s a great kickoff to the holiday season before the parade.”
