Dozens participate in Jingle Bell Run

Jack Frost nipped at participants' noses at Saturday's early morning Jingle Bell Run for Arthritis, but the 70 or so runners and walkers quickly warmed up as they moved around the Westfield Shoppingtown in Cape Girardeau, raising money for arthritis sufferers and study of the disease.

Marilyn Duncan, director of the local branch of the Arthritis Foundation, said she hoped to raise more than $4,000 from the event, although final totals were unavailable Saturday. The money will go for special exercise classes and equipment for those with arthritis, informational literature and arthritis research, she said.

Joyce Hunter, senior customer service and marketing director for the Westfield here and one in St. Louis, was among the runners. She returned Oct. 31 from Dublin, Ireland, where she competed in the Joints in Motion marathon for the Arthritis Foundation, raising money to fund her trip and for the foundation.

She finished the course in six hours, 11 minutes on Oct. 29. It was her first marathon.

"I was very fortunate not to have blisters or cramps," she said. "I love being fit. It is a great feeling."

The Surgical Striders, a team made up of three surgical nurses, a scrub technician, a fitness expert and two children, finished best overall of participating teams. Member Wanda Rasmuson, a nurse, said they participated because fitness is so important to the group. They learned about the run from a pamphlet.

"It is really a good cause," Rasmuson said. "It could happen to me."