NORTHAMPTON —Rain couldn’t slow down the Santas, elves, bananas and even an inflatable gingerbread person who raced through downtown Northampton in the 20th annual Hot Chocolate Run on Sunday, raising $778,293 for Safe Passage.

“People got wet and cold and might have stayed longer sipping hot chocolate, but overall people showed up and had a good time,” Safe Passage Executive Director Marianne Winters said.

Nearly 6,000 people drizzled into the racing area while speakers commemorated 20 years of the event, waiting out the rain as long as possible until their event started.

“Obviously with the weather today, it was pretty quiet until the last minute,” Hot Chocolate Run organizer Natalie Ulrich said. “People were kind of waiting to show up until their event was about to start. So it’s so nice to see that giant crowd of people.”

As soon as the walks and races began, the crowd’s attitudes and joy perked up.

“I get to be up on the stage and watch the walkers flow through the starting gate and it just made me really happy to see the people of all ages, smiling really excited, waving to each other, high fiving each other, that part is just really touching to me,” Winters said.

As a way to commemorate the 20th year of the Safe Passage fundraiser, a special anniversary pin decorated each of the Hot Chocolate Run’s signature red hats. The event also included new red socks decorated with the event’s polar bear and penguin mascot for a certain fundraising tier, along with special fleeces for the top donors.

Ulrich said she spent most of the event handing out bibs and swag, giving her the opportunity to thank those who’ve spent the last months fundraising and preparing for the event. “To able to like actually have somebody walk up and see their name on their bib and be like, ‘thank you so much and here’s your hat’...to be able to make that connection person to person is what deepens the community connection of this event.”

The fundraiser has grown dramatically since the first race in 2004, where, according to the event’s website, runners raised $6,000 for Safe Passage. Event founders Jen Dieringer and John Frey made 40 gallons of hot chocolate in their kitchen for 400 participants for the first race, but now Tart Baking Company, Franklin County Community Development Corporation and Hood HP supply a truckload of homemade hot chocolate.

Kerri LaBonty, who has worked the Hot Chocolate Run for 20 years, said her first time at the event, she entered all the participant names into the computer by hand and ran the race. Now, she can’t get the mugs out fast enough.

“You see people coming from all over and it’s become a tradition. And when we started, the kids who were in strollers are now in college,” she said. “[It’s like] you’re here with your mom. And now you’re taller than your mom.”

One participant, who goes by Pfeiffer, is one of those children who started with their parents and now walks every year. This year, Pfeiffer came with two members of their Girl Scout troop: Beatrix Williamson and Elena Conklin. It was Williamson’s first time at the event, but this year was Pfieffer’s 10th time, showing off the pin of a mug with a “10” on it.

“I realized that my family has been doing [the fundraiser] since before I was born, and I’m 16,” they added.

Whether it was their first or 10th time at the run, participants continued the tradition of wearing festive attire to the event. Elizabeth Murdock, dressed in a tinsel-textured Santa outfit, drives down from Providence, Rhode Island with her husband to participate in the Hot Chocolate Run. For the decade she’s come, she’s dressed up with her husband with the motto “the more bling, the better.”

“We just started doing it and dressing up and it’s a great way to make me come out and visit my friend and spend time with her but also knowing that you’re doing something to keep women safe,” Murdock said.

Three girls came as candy canes, their cane-like hats flapping as they ran. Lauren LeBlanc and Becca Howard begged their friend Morgan Smith to join them in the 5k; Smith agreed under the condition of running in a silly costume. Their curved hats were heavy with rainwater by about halfway through the race, but they managed finish in style.

“So it was one of those things where I was like, if we’re gonna do this, we have to look funny because then people cheer you on and it’s more fun.” Smith said. “I feel like every corner, they’re like, ‘Go candy cane!’”

Some runners opted for purple attire instead of the holiday garments to show support for survivors of domestic violence. Survivor and Safe Passage board member Marissa Quintera began running the Hot Chocolate Run two years ago, which connected her to Safe Passage’s programs, resources, and community.

“The energy is something that I cannot even describe because there’s so many others that gather for a cause that has so much meaning to me,” Quintera said. “I feel very grateful that there are many people willing to put themselves out there despite the conditions of the weather today.”

The Hot Chocolate Run supplies 25% of Safe Passage’s budget, allowing the nonprofit to expand it’s programs to include a new housing program and bring domestic violence education to high schools. Longtime runner and Safe Passage board member Sarah Buttenwieser said the sense of community at the run counteracts the isolation and fear that often occurs in situations of domestic violence.

“All of the messages that we are bringing today are heard by people who have served have been survivors and by people who haven’t but need to know that so that they can be better allies. I just think that this is how you build a safer and more compassionate community,” she said.

This year’s top awards for the 5-kilometer race included an honor for nonbinary participants. Northampton local Ab Mosca tied with Rhode Island resident Kaden Paulson-Smith at 19:53, with Liv Lohmeier coming in third at 20:34.

The three top male runners were Brad Mish from Hadley at 15:25, Victor Carranza from Northampton at 15:35 and Segev Mortiz from Amherst at 15:53.

The women’s race winners were Kayla Lampe from Shelburne Falls at 17:09, followed by Anna Steinman from Springfield at 17:16 and Elianna Shwanyder from Northampton at 18:26.

“I came out here just to have fun. It’s an extra bonus to come in first,” Lampe said.

This year’s mug design featured many polar bears and penguins in Santa hats running through Northampton. This is the second year the mug illustrated by cartoonist Hilary Price came back to the event after  COVID.