5k Santa Dash Manchester 29th Nov 2009
A curious one, this! A 5k round East Manchester, starting and finishing at Sport City, organised by Sport Tours International on behalf of the RIND. £15 entry fee and for that the privilege of running around dressed in a Santa suit with almost 700 other runners in a exactly the same outfit.
In the opening 100m I was alarmed to find myself right behind the course car with a small group of other runners. Once out of the stadium complex and on Alan Turing way, this opened out a little and the sight of a handful of Santas sprinting down the dual carriage way was a little surreal… and a quick look back to see what was happening behind with hundreds of other Santa's in hot pursuit, even more so. An essentially flat course, but the Santa suit took it's toll on any hope of a competitive time, acting more like an absorbent parachute. I also seemed to inhale most of my beard, but in the spirit of the event, that and the hat, remained in place throughout.
Well organised and with chip timing, this was a great event. I came 10th with a time of 21.34, so hardly serious, but great fun
10th Richard Hirons 21.34 (683 finishers)