Rick Neale

Florida Today

COCOA BEACH, Fla. — By land and by sea, an estimated 1,200-plus costumed Santa Clauses celebrated Christmas Eve by sprinting across Viera and surfing clean, chest- to shoulder-high waves off of downtown Cocoa Beach.

At 7:30 a.m.ET, the inaugural Run Run Santa 1-mile sprint race drew a sellout field of 500 runners just south of Space Coast Stadium, former spring training home of the Washington Nationals. Billed as "Viera's first and only all-Santa race," each entrant received a white beard, red hat, red jacket, red shorts and a black belt.

Race registration materials included a Grinch-like warning: "Any runner or walker not wearing the Santa suit will be asked to leave the course with no refund.



Then throughout the morning, a record-shattering 772 St. Nick-costumed surfers and thousands of spectators poured onto the sand off of Minutemen Causeway, near Coconuts by the Beach and Beach Shack. Touted as (probably) the world's largest gathering of surfing Santa Clauses, the eighth annual holiday spectacle attracted a throng of onlookers reminiscent of spring break that stretched across roughly a city block's worth of beach for hours.

Surfing Santas draw thousands to Cocoa Beach

"Everybody, paddle out! Surfing Santas is on! If you haven't done it, now's the time. Paddle out," Hunter Joslin, the emcee, declared just before 10 a.m., sending scores of Santas toward the sea.

The Melbourne Beach, Fla., surfer is a member of the Class of 2016 East Coast Surfing Hall of Fame.

While the Run Run Santa runners were warming up for their race, the temperature was 70 degrees under overcast skies with relative humidity topping 90%. Elsewhere across the USA, temperatures were a chilly 29 in Denver, 30 in Des Moines, 37 in Seattle and 38 in Boston.

Some Run Run Santa runners competitors added Christmastime fashion accessories like bells, tinsel garland and holiday-themed socks. Scattered dogs and babies in strollers also sported Santa outfits.

"The race sold out much quicker than we had ever expected, which means that we're going to have to go bigger for next year," Brittany Streufert, race director, announced at the starting line, addressing the swarm of Santas via microphone.

Some of the faster runners approached the finish line with their synthetic beards flapping behind their necks, like white cotton capes.

"I left the beard on, and I got fur in my mouth. That's why I was a little distracted," Melbourne runner Lisa Petrillo said afterward. She was the fastest female in the non-elite division, finishing in 19th place overall.

Surfing Santas founder George Trosset wants Cocoa Beach to continue outpacing his friendly competitors Down Under. He received a recent email from a man in Crescent Head, an Australian coastal village, where a Christmas Eve event was expected to feature more than 500 surfing Santas and 1,000 spectators.

Surfin' Santas hang ten in record numbers

"They sent an email challenging us. They said, 'They're coming at us' in the email. 'Watch this space: We're coming at you,' " Trosset said, standing on the sand.

Cocoa Beach Mayor Ben Malik described the Surfing Santas mob surrounding Coconuts by the Beach as "organized chaos." This year's count of at least 772 surfing Santas tops last year's total of 648.

"This is getting worldwide press. It's in Australia, Europe, Southeast Asia," said Malik, who never will forget his initial Surfing Santas experience.

"The first year, I wore the full suit — I about drowned. Note to self: Don't ever wear the whole Santa suit," Malik said. "It gets real heavy when it's wet."

Follow Rick Neale on Twitter: @RickNeale1

Related:

Ho, ho, hang ten: Surfin' Santas catching a worldly wave

‘Surfing Santa’ shreds waves in Cocoa Beach

'Surfin' Santas' draws hundreds in Florida