To honor the season, participants tie jingle bells (provided with registration) to their shoelaces, don festive holiday costumes (not mandatory, but encouraged) and join friends and neighbors in support of the Arthritis Foundation’s mission to prevent, control and cure arthritis and related diseases.

With hundreds of thousands of jingling bells filling the air with sound for the 17th consecutive year, the day will start with a 1K Snowman Scramble Fun Run, starting at 8:30a.m., followed by a costume contest adults, kids and pets at 9:45a.m., and the signature 5K Run at 10:15a.m. The 5K Peds and Paws event welcomes runners and walkers with their dogs at 10:20a.m., with the 5K Walk ending the main events beginning at 10:25a.m. An Expo featuring food, entertainment and giveaways from event sponsors begins at 10:30, with the Awards Ceremony from 11:15-11:30a.m.

There are nearly 120 Jingle Bell Run/Walks for Arthritis nationwide, with more than 80,000 participants expected. In 2007 this massive event raised nearly $3.4 million for athritis research.

Registration costs $25 for ages 13-64; $20 per person for teams of five or more people; and $15 for kids 12 years and under, and seniors 65 and over. To register, visit www.jinglebellrundenver.kintera.org or call 303-756-8622.

For those of you who still have a calorie or two to shed on the last day of the year, Denver’s oldest New Year’s Eve running event – the 24th annual Resolution Run 5K – will be held Dec. 31, at 6 p.m., in Washington Park.

The race will once again be run in memory of longtime race organizer Bill Michaels, who died in July last year of lung cancer. A runner until his last days, Michaels had nearly two dozen marathons to his credit. He was also the founding organizer of Denver’s popular First Night New Year’s celebration.

Advance registration costs $18 for those 17 years and younger, and $25 for those 18 and older. Registration is $5 more on the day of the race. Register online at www.active.com; by mail to Resolution Run 5K c/o Event Marketing Group, 14128 Blue River Trail, Broomfield, CO 80023; or in person at local Runners Roost and Boulder Running Company stores.