Santa Fun Run '˜signals the start of Christmas'

THOUSANDS of people have started training for the return of the Santa Fun Run which brings a sea of red and white to Southsea seafront.
Thousands of people take part in Southseas Santa Fun Run, dressed as the great man himself in 2015Thousands of people take part in Southseas Santa Fun Run, dressed as the great man himself in 2015
Thousands of people take part in Southseas Santa Fun Run, dressed as the great man himself in 2015

The run, which takes place on December 11 and is sponsored by The Unbeatablecar Supermarket, is hugely popular and more than 2,000 are expected to take part this year.

Runners wear Father Christmas costumes and pound the seafront as they compete in one mile, 5km and 10km races to raise money for the RNLI and the Rowans Hospice.

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This year the Snowflake Challenge has been introduced for those who want to take on all three races.

The Santa Fun Run was started nine years ago by fitness instructor Rob Piggott who said he is hoping this year will beat last year’s record-breaking 2,000 entries.

‘I never would have thought nine years ago that it would be as big as it is now,’ said Rob. ‘We started with just 250 people and it’s grown and grown.

‘We bring a sea of red and white to Southsea. For many it’s the start of Christmas.

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‘The atmosphere is just amazing. It’s very festive, but also really calm.

‘Even if the weather isn’t great it’s still really good fun – but, actually, we’ve been lucky in that we’ve never had bad weather.’

Places are going quickly so anyone who wants to take part needs to sign up soon.

Already 400 people have snapped up the Snowflake Challenge places – which cost £37.50 for adults and £30 for juniors.

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The first run will be the Southsea Festive Santa Mile which starts at 9am with an entry fee of £10 for adults and £6 for juniors.

The second run at 9.40am is the 10km. The entry fee of £23 includes a Father Christmas suit or £20 without.

And the 5km run is at 11.45am and costs £18 for adults, £12 for juniors and £8 for under eights.

There is breathing space between each race for those taking part in the Snowflake Challenge.

To book your place go to fitprorob.biz.

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