2014 jump starts with Fun Run and Polar Plunge

THOMPSON FALLS – The annual Fun Run and Polar Plunge took place Wednesday with 127 participants.

New Year’s Day was cloudy and gray. The sun just peeked through bringing some light. It was not as cold as previous days yet there was still a bite in the air. Most of the Clark Valley River had thawed but some ice persisted around the edges. The little ones tried chipping it with their shoes as they awaited their turn at the plunge.

This was the event’s 15th consecutive year according to organizer Sarah Naegeli.

“We started it when it was a new millennium just to have something new and different,” she said.

The event had one of the biggest turnouts they have had in many years. This year there were 127 participants compared to last year’s 90. According to Naegeli, the increased number of participants might have been due to the warmer weather.

“We have had some cold New Year’s in past years,” she said. “But this year was not bad at all.”

The race was also very successful this year because three of the local basketball teams decided to participate – both teams from Thompson Falls and one Noxon team.

The high attendance is great but, according to Naegeli, even in a small group it is nice to get everyone together.

That is what the events seem to do – they bring everyone together.

In the Fun Run people team up to tackle the distance, whether it is at a run or a walk, the 2K or the 5K. They are divided into age groups and this year there were two record-breakers.

Chadd Laws beat the previous record in the 2K 40-49 Mens group with a time of 9:37 and Kimberly Earhart broke the record for the 5K 12-15 Womens group with a time of 21:08.

Times and records aside, the runners had a good time.

In doing the Polar Plunge, participants bond with the shared dread of the freezing water, the adrenaline rush and the desperation for warmth.

When asked if she had ever done the legendary Polar Plunge, Naegeli laughed out loud. She said she had not but her kids have.

“My kids said that jumping in the water really isn’t so bad, it is when you get out that it hits you,” Naegeli said.

The shrieks of anticipation were prevalent as dozens of kids leapt through the air towards the icy water. These shrieks continued—if not increased—as they returned to shore with Jack Frost nipping at their skin.

The participants proceeded to turn reddish followed by a purple hue. The exclamations regarding the cold were almost always coupled with laughter as they huddled together for warmth, relieved they had triumphed.

One zealous individual named Denton Long even did the plunge twice, laughing in the face of bitter cold.

The shivering jumpers wrapped up in towels, rushed to their pre-heated vehicles, chattering and laughing as they went.

It is the hope that this display of Montana citizen fortitude continues on for many years to come.