Run Rudolph! Santas jog offho-ho-home!
THERE was a sea of red as far as the eye could see at this year's Santa Fun Run in Portsmouth.
Thousands of people gathered in Southsea’s Castle Field for the annual event.
Families, couples and even dogs came along for the event — which was split into one mile, 5km and 10km races.
People dressed up as Father Christmas, elves and reindeer – with one group even bringing a sleigh – all in support of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI).
Darren Mccloud, 52 from Stamshaw said: ‘I have been doing this for eight years.
‘I turned to exercise for health reasons and haven’t stopped since.
‘I’ve done all three events – the exercise is a lifestyle change for me now.
‘There are so many running events in Portsmouth now, which is great.’
Kevin Dagnell, 43 from Fareham, said: ‘I’ll be honest, I took part purely so I could run round as Santa all day long.
‘Today was the first time I had worn the outfit and I ended up ripping a hole in it before I even started running.
‘This was something that I was really looking forward to, so today was absolutely fantastic.’
Kirsty Fowler, from Purbrook, said:’There is always a brilliant community spirit around the Santa Fun Run, which is great.
‘This is something that I have been looking forward to a lot, and not only do you feel great crossing the finish line but it’s all for a good cause too.
‘I think there will probably be quite a few hot chocolates going round shortly though.’
Her friend Tracey Hall said: ‘I really like how there is such a friendly atmosphere here today.
‘We do tend to run quite a bit actually, and it was good weather for it.’
n Watch out for more pictures from the Santa Fun Run in The News this week