Shropshire Magazine

The participants in last year’s inaugural Hope House Santa Run enjoyed a sleigh-free slog around Oswestry. Neil Thomas was in the thick of it

Santas ready for the off at Oswestry last year

It’s not often you get the chance to race around the streets dressed as Father Christmas in broad daylight without running the risk of arrest.

So every opportunity must be grasped and charity ‘Santa runs’ present the perfect one.

Dressing in bright red from head to toe and hitching on a false white beard would tend to make one fairly conspicuous on most occasions. Ordinarily, I’d feel rather self-conscious if asked to parade around the centre of Oswestry thus apparelled. However, I did just that last December.

I might add that I was joined by hundreds of others dressed the same way, taking part in the inaugural Hope House Santa Fun Run. There is certainly safety in numbers.

The title of Hope House Santa Fun Run ticked virtually every box. It raised money for Hope House, we were all dressed as Santas and it was most definitely fun. How much running was involved is another matter. Of course, some hared around the course of just over two miles in no time at all while others ran a little, then walked a little.

Sam Thomas and his father Neil prepare for the Mini Rudolph Run

Quite a few jogged a couple of hundred yards before taking the sensible option of enjoying the strolI actually managed to run the entire course last year, though in a time that suggested I had a ship’s anchor chained to an ankle.

There is something quite stirring about being part of such a huge communal gathering in aid of a good cause – especially when thousands of wellwishers line the route to cheer you on.

It is probably another illustration of our famed eccentricity, but we British love to dress up and make spectacles of ourselves. Raising vital funds for charity affords the perfect excuse. That was evidenced by the fact that a thousand people ran in last year’s Hope House Santa Fun Run, raising £50,000 towards the £1.5 million needed each year to fund the children’s hospice in Morda, near Oswestry.

So popular did the event prove that the organisers are expecting twice as many participants in this year’s event on December 2.

“It would be a fantastic Christmas present for the children of Hope House this year to double the number of entries and to double the money raised to £100,000,” says Hope House appeals co-ordinator Vanessa Lloyd.

“For details of how to enter, you can visit www.hopehouse.org.uk or pick up an entry form from your local Hope House shop.”

Santa runs appear to be a growing national phenomenon, with events springing up all over the country. Newtown set the ball rolling in 2001. Thousands have since poured into the Mid Wales town centre every December to either take part or spectate, and the event has raised thousands of pounds, principally for the charity Dial-a-Ride.

The Newtown event has set entry records in the past, though this year’s event will, as last year, be on a smaller scale than in the past.

The Newtown & District Dial-a-Ride Santa Run Committee has also switched the date from its traditional first Sunday in December so as not to clash with the Hope House event. Newtown spokesman Peter Thompson said it would give runners the chance to take part in other Santa runs.

Hundreds of Santas running for charity in Newtown

Telford is also getting in on the act, with a Santa Run scheduled to take place in the Town Park on December 8, to raise cash for the Royal National Institute of Blind People.

Clearly Santa Runs have caught the public imagination and I’m relishing being a part of the Hope House event again.

The camaraderie, the coming together of people of all ages and backgrounds with a common altruistic purpose, warms the heart and inspires the soul. I love the festive flavour of it all. Being part of the razzamatazz and spectacle more than compensates for winding up out of breath and with a face the colour of your outfit.

This year there will be a slight variation on my participation. I’ll be ditching the Santa costume in favour of running around Oswestry town centre in a pair of toy antlers. I’m taking part in the Hope House Mini Rudolph Run, which will start an hour before the Santa Run, accompanying youngest son Sam in an event specifically aimed at young children and older relatives.

In theory I should find it considerably easier than last year, if only because the Mini-Rudolph run is 800 yards as opposed to the two-mile Santa run. That is unless Sam eschews the chance to wander vacantly twiddling with his antlers and decides to run seriously.

Then I stand every chance of being beaten to the line by a four year old . . ..