London Santa Run: Thousands of runners raise money for charity Published duration 8 December 2019

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Santas of all shapes and sizes donned their running shoes for the 10th London Santa Run.

Storm trooper Santas, Santas on horseback and a Santa dressed as a snowman were among the 3,000 people who joined the annual event in east London.

Participants could follow either a 5km (3 miles) or 10km (6 miles) course around Victoria Park, Tower Hamlets, to raise funds for a variety of charities.

The organisers hoped to raise between £500,000 and £1m from the event.

image copyright Reuters

image copyright Reuters

The morning began with a couple of elves leading a warm-up before thousands of people wearing red coats, bobble hats and white beards took to the tracks.

Those who completed the run were greeted with mince pies, Christmas carols and a medal.

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Save the Children was this year's headline charity, but participants could choose to support a variety of other organisations with about 65 represented in all.

Skyline Events described the run as the biggest yet, adding that it helped get "everyone into the Christmas spirit".

image copyright Reuters

image copyright Reuters

The run coincided with another - rather wetter - Santa Run in Glasgow.

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