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runners at Liverpool Santa Dash

Festive favourite Liverpool Santa Dash gets 2020 makeover

Organisers of Liverpool Santa Dash, the biggest festive running event in the UK, have announced plans for the 2020 version of the iconic event.

The impact of Covid-19 means that the big early December gathering of the Merseyside tribes at the Pier Head for Liverpool Santa Dash won't take place this year however there are plans for a brilliant event which will give runners the chance to get the Christmas season off to a flying start in big-hearted fashion.

Charities and local groups are determined to give coronavirus a 'clip round the ear' with plans to stage a number of Covid-secure small scale runs at various Merseyside locations including Rainford, Sefton Park and Hoylake. 2020 is set to see an explosion of red (and blue) across the region on Sunday 6 December.

Liverpool Santa Dash organisers BTR have made an early decision that they would be unable to stage their feature event in the normal way however they are determined to keep the event on track in an 'enhanced' virtual form to give the expected 10,000 participants a day to remember and to ensure the charities the event supports continue to benefit from the generosity of the Merseyside public.

All profits from Liverpool Santa Dash 2020 will be shared between eight local charities – Alder Hey Children’s Charity; Claire House Children’s Hospice; Clatterbridge Cancer Charity; North West Air Ambulance; North West Cancer Research; Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation; Wirral Hospice St John’s and Zoe’s Place Baby Hospice. Charities and their supporters are set to be at the heart of the 2020 event which organisers hope will take on a special character of its own.

BTR Race Director Alan Rothwell is determined to make it an enjoyable event for all: “Liverpool will prevail and keep the city’s favourite charities on track.”

Liverpool Santa Dash has a reputation as an inclusive, fun event and that's equally true of this virtual option. Choose your Santa suit, organise a socially distanced run with your family or group of friends and share the photos on social media. Your reward is the bespoke Santa Dash medal and a warm glow from supporting much-loved local charities.

Runners, joggers and walkers across the region are already into their stride with hundreds already having signed up after entries opened earlier this week. One early bird is Mike Rogers who said: "Gutted to not be able to do it for real (my 6th one), but understand why. Might just do the route anyway on my own."

You can enter the 2020 virtual Liverpool Santa Dash online now

Image courtesy: Paul Francis Cooper

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