600 Santas set to take part in run in Southsea to raise money for The Rowans Hospice

The Santa Runs 2023 Southsea will see 600 runners adorned in Santa suits take on either the 5k or 10k runs from Clarence Esplanade on Saturday, December 16 at 10.30am. While the event has been running for 15 years, this is only the second time since COVID that it has returned, and the first time in its entirety with last year’s run taking place on the same day as the marathon.

The places have now all been filled for the challenge but event organiser, Rob Piggott, hopes that there will be plenty of spectators to cheer on the festive runners. He said: “Come on down, the weather forecast is looking good so we are looking forward to a nice festive run along the seafront. The Batala drummers will be down by the D-Day museum next to the runners as they go round. Its all a bit of fun, in Southsea, in December!”

The main aim of the event is to raise money for The Rowans Hospice and the charity will have a stand there on the day collecting donations. Runners are encouraged to wear Santa suits or other festive outfits which should create quite the spectacle.

Sunday, December 17 will also see the return of the Portsmouth Coastal Waterside Marathon, which includes a festive half marathon and a 50k ultra marathon.