Talbot House Blog

On Sunday 4th December, 42 hardy volunteers, all dressed in Santa outfits, battled strong winds, driving rain and hail to complete a festive 5K Santa Run on behalf of Talbot House.

The event was organised by the Manchester United Foundation and enabled local North West charities to raise much needed funds and have a lot of fun at the same time.

Manchester United legend, Clayton Blackmore, kicked off proceedings and the run got under way promptly at 12.30pm taking in Media City, the Imperial War Museum and ended with a lap around the Old Trafford pitch.

A choir and a brass band playing Christmas carols helped to give the event a real festive atmosphere. Lots of supporters shouted encouragement from the side-lines as hundreds of rain-drenched Santa’s made their way along the route. It was really quite a sight!

Jo Moore, Support Worker, led a group of singing and dancing Santa’s. They were last to finish but it didn’t matter to any of them. They had all made it around the course and had had so much fun along the way!

It was truly a memorable experience for each and every Santa who took part and commemorative medals were handed out at the finish to acknowledge their achievement.

Centre Manager, Bernie Wood, thanked all our Santa’s and their supporters who came to watch, for giving up their time and for helping to raise money for Talbot House. She said ‘It’s been a fantastic experience for everyone involved. I’m so grateful to our Santa’s and their supporters. The sense of community spirit and togetherness really shone through today and is what makes events of this type so special. We’ll let everyone know how much we’ve raised once all the money has been collected’.

Despite the extremely bad weather a number of Talbot House Santa’s have already volunteered to do it all again next year!

Click HERE to read an article on the Manchester United website.

Also click HERE to watch our Phil on the UK Community Channel - the clip is 20 minutes in.