Click here to view photos of the race.

Chicago resident Stan Siuta was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis three years ago. Fortunately, help was nearby--his wife, Maria Pandolfo, works for a company that makes arthritis drugs.

Stan, 47, started running five months ago. He and Maria ran the Jingle Bell 5K Run for Arthritis together on Dec. 3.

"I have pain every morning. I have pain every night," Stan says. "But once your body starts moving, everything loosens up a bit."

After a more than five-year hiatus, the Chicago edition of the Arthritis Foundation's Jingle Bell 5K returned to the city on the first Sunday in December.

Temperatures dipped to the teens as runners braved wind gusts and ice patches on the West Loop streets. Warmth awaited them at the finish, though--the Merchandise Mart lobby was open for gear check, race registration, and post-race coffee and bagels.

"The indoor setup is so much better," said Blake Schweitzer of Chicago. "If it had been outdoor registration, I wouldn't have done the race."

Runners lined up on the north side of the Merchandise Mart shortly before the 8 a.m. start only to wait 15 minutes for police to clear the course. As the minutes ticked by, runners bounced up and down, ran strides and hugged friends to keep warm.

"Minutes and minutes were going by; it's the worst thing you can do on a cold weekend," said Chicago Special Events CEO Hank Zemola. Zemola said the course delay was unusual. "Every event we do, the police are there breathing down our neck to start on time...Some people were wondering what really happened at the start, but there's no cover up."

A chorus of jingle bells that were tied to runners' feet bounced off the barren downtown streets once Santa Claus signaled the official start.

Jeff Hojnacki, 32, won in 16:37, nearly one minute ahead of second- place Jason Glowney, 36 (17:28). Hojnacki waited for Glowney to finish before both men headed inside the Merchandise Mart to escape the cold. Tera Moody, 25, finished third overall and first in the women's competition in 18:37.

The downtown course took runners through the West Loop and finished on the south side of the Merchandise Mart.

"It was a lot of fun to run with the 'L' overhead," said Elizabeth Niendorf, 34, of Chicago. "The fact that so many people showed up in the freezing cold shows what a great spirit the Chicago running community has."

Jingle Bell Run/Walks for Arthritis are held all over the country in support of the Arthritis Foundation. The Chicago Jingle Bell Run had more than 2,000 runners in the past, said Zemola, but was canceled for the past few years in order to focus on other fundraising efforts.

"There are a lot of people who ran in the '90s who are back. I've seen faces I haven't seen in years," Zemola said. "I'm glad this race is back. It's a good way to round off the end of the year."

Next year's Chicago Jingle Bell 5K is scheduled for Dec. 2, 2007.

Click here for race results.