happy finishers

Salford’s annual Jingle Bell Jog took place last Sunday, 2nd of December, gracing MediaCityUK with some unique festive costumes for its 11th running.

The 4km course saw over 550 members of the public wear Santa outfits as they completed the event for their respective charities.

Father and daughter duo Matt and Emmy were raising money for a Christmas appeal at their local primary school.

Matt had already accepted that he would probably have to face defeat to his daughter.

“I’m here with my daughter and we’re both really excited about it. She’s done a few little runs before but this is going to be her longest one.

“She’s excited about seeing all the snowmen and getting a medal at the end. She’s looking to beat me, but I’m not sure what time we’re going to set.

“Emmy’s fairly confident about beating me and I’m also pretty confident she might just beat me.

“This is the first time we’ve taken part in the event, I did an event here earlier in the year, but I think it’s so popular because it’s festive and fun, and you get to dress up and run.

Special guests to the event included members of the Manchester Giants basketball team, Commonwealth boxing champion Stacey Copeland (who ran in a Santa fat-suit), and members of Father Christmas’ reindeer team Donner and Blitzen.

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Dotted around the track were some of the 12 snowmen designed by ‘Wild at Art’, which have appeared in MediaCityUK to celebrate the 40th anniversary of ‘The Snowman’.

Although the run was all for fun and in name of charity, the runner who finished in 1st place recorded his time in a mere 14 minutes and 47 seconds.

The course began outside the BBC offices, before runners headed over the bridge to the Imperial War Museum, before taking the ship canal route and finishing back in Media City.

The holiday themed run was priced at £11 a ticket (including a Santa costume), with all proceedings being donated to ‘Action for Children’, which helps neglected and vulnerable children, especially around Christmas.

For more information on the event or Action for Children, please follow the Jingle Bell Jog team on twitter or visit the charity’s website here.

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