IN THE NEWS: MSDA to host 11th Annual 5K Reindeer Run on Saturday

CALDWELL – Mount St. Dominic Academy will host the 11th annual 5K Reindeer Run/Walk on Saturday, Dec. 4.

The event was held online last year because of the coronavirus pandemic and attracted more than 300 participants from coast to coast.

This year, it will be in person as well as online to allow participation by those who live outside Caldwell.

It begins on Hatfield Street west of intersection with Forest Avenue at 9:30 a.m. Saturday. The finish line is near Trinity Academy, 235 Bloomfield Ave.

Caldwell police said Forest will be closed from Bloomfield Avenue to the town line from 8:30 to 11 a.m. No vehicles will be permitted on Forest from any side streets during that time. Vehicles may travel both ways on Kirkwood Place

No parking will be permitted on parts of Hatfield, Smull Avenue and Personnette Street and on all of Forest and Kirkwood.

West Caldwell police warned drivers to expect delays and temporary road closures on Smull, Mountain and Forest avenues and surrounding streets between 8 and 11 a.m. Saturday. Police officers and citizen volunteers will be posted throughout the course to assist with traffic during the event.

Online registration for the in-person event, which starts at 9:30 a.m. Saturday, is open until Friday, Dec. 3. The fee is $35.

Registration for the virtual 5K will take place through Saturday, Dec. 11.

In addition to the run/walk, there will be visits with Santa, games, rides, refreshments and shopping at the Jingle Jam Holiday Market, which opens at 8:30 a.m. at St. Aloysius, 235 Bloomfield Ave.

The Reindeer Run was started by the Trinity Academy HSA in 2011. Trinity closed in 2020.

All proceeds will benefit the students of Mount, an independent Catholic prep school for girls.

The Reindeer Run’s premier sponsors are Schumacher Chevrolet Auto Group and Fleet Feet Montclair.

For information, go online to www.msdacademy.org/reindeerrun.