By DCist Contributor Orrin Konheim

Traffic delays on Woodrow Wilson Bridge and unseasonable warmth weren’t enough to deter 6,000 runners in ugly sweaters from making their way to National Harbor for the fifth annual Ugly Sweater Run this Saturday.

The event was originally created six years ago by events management company Human Movement Management in Colorado. This year, the event is being held in 18 different U.S. cities this month.

HMM spokeswoman Courtney Lancour says that one of their employees came up with the idea. “She had really fond memories from college going to ugly sweater parties and she thought why not keep the party going, throw in some exercise and you have the ugly sweater run”

“We’re really just a bunch of events management junkies,” said HMM president Jeff Suffolk, who also served as the event’s emcee.

Funds from the event will be donated to the Connecticut-based charity foundation Save the Children. A spokesman for Save the Children said that they raised $20,000 during the last holiday season, and they should be on track to match, if not out-raise, that number this year.

As a sign of the growing popularity, traffic was clogged on the Wilson Bridge as many cars were at a standstill on the sole highway that could provide access to the National Harbor from Virginia. Fortunately, the race organizers had people begin in waves, so some runners started as late as 10 a.m. The staggered start times were also helped by the fact that the race was not timed.

“It’s more encouraging for people to get out and it’s not intimidating to people,” said Lancour. “The whole event is less about the competition and more about having fun with everyone.”

The event made runners out of those who wouldn’t typically see themselves that way.

“My sister made me [run],” said participant Priscilla Jackson who initially felt intimidated by running a long distance for the first time in a while. Upon completing, Jackson said, “Next year I plan on bringing my kids and the dog”

Still, some noticed that the race course fell short of 5 kilometers, which frequently happens on road races.

“I wish they would have let us know beforehand that it was gonna be short in case we had some people in our group that really wanted to get a time on a 5K but it was a good run. Well-organized, and fun and definitely entertaining,” said Julie Showalter.