Santa Claus Run 2012 and Festive Greetings to all!

At this time of year training, never mind 'events' of any distance may seem few+far between.

So it was great to be involved in a simple fundraising 5k run in Las Vegas recently. The seasonal twist was that it was started and completed dressed in festive Santa Claus garb!

The opening mile saw runners pick their way through children and parents with Strollers (very Americana) but the more agile Father Christmases were able to pick up their pace & stretch their legs around peripheral Vegas to collect a souvenir tee if finishing in top 1000. The bunfight was a scramble to finish with a World Record of between 8-10,000 participants all dressed in (thoughtfully provided) Santa costumes. 

Sadly only XL appeared on the day itself for last minute UK runners! Of which there were a few.

Clock the footfall of these Santas to see the variation in landing strategy & propulsive toe off! Can you assess the biomechanics of their running styles, and see the differences?

Compare it to the barefoot and shod styles seen in the 

glorious Runblogger slo-mo clip here:

Great to see so many kids & families out as we know there were in Edinburgh for the recent 10k event from the number of patients dropping into the clinic for remedies or assistance in preparation for the run.

That is a great message for anyone aspiring to run in 2013: get yourself checked by SPACE if you think there is a hint of a problem before it develops. And enjoy your running! Dressed as Santa or a normal person...