Dr. Austin Chinn knows how to treat arthritis and knows the Jingle Bell Run.

Dr. Chinn, a doctor of podiatric medicine with OAK Orthopedics, which is a division of the Illinois Bone and Joint Institute, is this year’s medical honoree for the Jingle Bell Run. The 35^th annual run, which raises money for the Arthritis Foundation, is scheduled for 9 a.m., Sunday, Dec. 7, at Kankakee Community College.

The best way to sign up for the event is to log in at events.arthritis.org/Kankakee. Checking in at that site will give up-to-date totals on the number of participants and funds. As of Thanksgiving, 175 persons had raised more than $17,000. Folks can also register by flashing their cellphone at a QR space on a Jingle Bell Run poster. Posters are up at the Kankakee, Bradley and Bourbonnais public libraries, along with other locations. Persons are also welcome to donate by logging in.

The Jingle Bell, which is the county’s only fundraiser for arthritis, includes a competitive 5k Run and Walk and an untimed fun walk. There is also a free short Santa Run for young children. A Jingle in the Water swim has already been held at the Kankakee Area YMCA.

OAK Orthopedics is the major sponsor for the run and walk. Sponsorship support also comes from Riverside Medical Center, St. Mary’s Hospital, Gotion, the Kankakee County Sheriff’s Department, Nucor Steel, CSL-Behring and the Kankakee Nursery.

Refreshments donated by local merchants will be available after the race, including: hot pizza from Chicago Dough; hot chocolate from Oberweis; hot soup from the Bennett-Curtis House; Gatorade from Pepsi; water from Culligan and bananas from Jewel.

This will be Dr. Chinn’s fourth year running the race. His biggest satisfaction in medicine, he says, is giving his patients a more active lifestyle. Working with physical therapists at OAK, he tailors a treatment plan for each patient.

He notes that if a foot is not right, it can send the pain upwards, to the knee, hip and back. A good first step in prevention is to make sure you are wearing the correct footwear for the sport you are in, with shock absorption and support from side-to-side and front-to-back.

He handles any condition of the foot and ankle, which is a complex part of the body. Dr. Chinn looks for the most conservative treatment. There could be a brace, pain modification, a lifestyle change, or surgery.

Dr. Chinn grew up in Bourbonnais and lives here with wife Alexa, son, Grayson, 3; and newborn daughter, Isla.

He is a graduate of Bradley-Bourbonnais Community High School, where he was a member of the baseball, basketball and golf teams. His mother and grandmother were both nurses, and he got more interested in medicine by shadowing Dr. Carey Ellis at OAK. Chinn earned a college degree at St. Ambrose in Davenport, Iowa, and then earned his podiatry degree at the Dr. William Scholl College of Podiatric Medicine in Chicago.

“I love working here,” he says. It is also, he adds, a privilege to be able to treat people he grew up with.

Top fundraisers at the Jingle Bell will receive prizes donated by local merchants.

The Jingle Bell is a measured 5k, which winds through the KCC campus and heads down to run along the Kankakee River. Race results will be posted on Itsracetime.com.

Everyone who comes across the finish line will get a finisher medal. All participants will get a long-sleeved shirt. Everyone also gets a goody bag with fliers about other local Christmas events and swag given by sponsors and local merchants. The course is staffed by volunteers from local high schools.

Adding a festive touch, the Jingle Bell includes a costume contest, with prizes for adult, child, and team entries. In the past, folks have come as Santa and the elves, or Rudolph and the reindeer. There is also an ugly Christmas sweater competition, again with prizes.

Those wishing to register the day of the race should plan to arrive by 8 a.m. Persons can also register at KCC Saturday from 2 to 6 p.m. Persons who registered in advance can pick up their packets the day of the race or Saturday, Dec. 6, from 2-6 p.m.