Dubai - The run saw people dressed in Santa Claus gear cover three distances - 1km, 2.5km and 5km.
Published: Sat 14 Dec 2019, 5:20 PM
With Christmas around the corner, Dubai is finding quirky ways to usher in the festive spirit. On Friday around 600 racers and their families gathered at the Dubai Festival City promenade to take part in a fun Santa run.
Organized by RaceME, the run saw people dressed in Santa Claus gear - red and white caps, beards and red jerseys, cover three distances - 1km, 2.5km and the more seasoned runners ran for the 5km distance.
Set against the backdrop of the Dubai Creek and the city skyline, the DFC Santa Run was held along the scenic Dubai Festival City Promenade finishing at the Festive Market at the mall, where six winners were felicitated and were given shopping vouchers as their prize.
The fun family race kicked off at 9am and the registered participants were given a free Santa T-shirt along with a Santa hat and beard. Participants were also encouraged to get creative and come in their own Santa costumes to stand a chance to win best dressed Santa prizes.
UK national Tim Jordan and his family won the best dressed title at the event as the couple not only included different elements of Christmas in their attire but also dressed up their two year old son Rafferty Jordan as little Santa in a baby pram that looked like Santa's sledge.
"We wanted to include all elements of the festival which is why I dressed up as a Christmas tree, my wife Kate is wearing a reindeer costume and Raffi is our little Santa Claus. My wife is eight months pregnant but since we have always been into athletics, she runs about four times a week and hence we could easily manage the 5km run. This is our second time at the Santa run and although we won the race last year, this year we managed to get the best dressed since Kate is pregnant and I was pushing my son's buggy so we ran a lot slower. This is a great way to bring the community together and makes us all feel part of this country as they take care of our festivals, our fitness and our enjoyment too," Tim told Khaleej Times.
Participants were treated to live music after the run before being facilitated on the stage set in the middle of the festive market that also had a huge christmas tree in the centre. A wide variety of refreshments will also be available at the market along with the opportunity to shop from various retailers.
saman@khaleejtimes.com
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