Organisers of the BTR Liverpool Santa Dash have revealed plans for this year’s event to mark the 100-day countdown this Friday (25 August).
This is always an exciting date for eager Santas who are counting down the days to this year’s event, which takes place on Sunday 3 December 2023.
The 2023 event is a significant milestone in the history of Liverpool Santa Dash – this is the 20th staging of the festive spectacular, which was created by BTR Race Director Alan Rothwell and first held in 2004.
The BTR Liverpool Santa Dash is thought to be the UK’s biggest festive 5K fun run – and is highly regarded as the city’s kick-start to Christmas.
Last year’s event attracted 5,500 Santas.
To highlight the 100-day countdown, organisers BTR Liverpool have announced the official charity partner as Alder Hey Children’s Charity; Radio City as media partner; and supporting partners Arriva North West, St Johns Shopping Centre, and Royal Albert Dock Liverpool.
BTR Liverpool have also revealed the design of this year’s commemorative finishers’ medal. A new range of red and blue Santa Dash T-shirts and hoodies merchandise will also be available to purchase.
Alder Hey Children’s Charity is the event’s Official Charity Partner. Alder Hey is devoted to transforming young lives through funding state-of-the-art equipment and facilities and ground-breaking medical research. The charity’s aim is to deliver a fun-filled and positive experience for families – even at the toughest times – by raising money for innovative projects and creative activities. Thanks to generous donations, the charity has proudly pioneered life-saving treatments and provided comfort for young patients and their families.
Santa Dash participants or supporters can fundraise or make a donation on the official Alder Hey Liverpool Santa Dash giving page here.
Adam Dixon, Running and Challenge Manager at Alder Hey Children’s Charity, commented:
“We are so excited to once again be the official charity partner for the BTR Liverpool Santa Dash. We always look forward to the event as it really is the start of Christmas and gets us all in the festive spirit – and our mascot Oli will also be on the start line! Alder Hey is close to the heart of many Santa Dash participants with most local families having a connection to our hospital. Funds raised will help benefit the 330,000 patients and families we treat at Alder Hey every single year.
“If you would like to take part in the BTR Liverpool Santa Dash and support Alder Hey then please get in touch. Register your details through the website.”
Radio City is the event’s Official Media Partner. Leanne and Scott from the Radio City Breakfast Show will be throwing themselves into the fun of the BTR Liverpool Santa Dash in the months leading up to the event in December.
Leanne and Scott present the Radio City Breakfast Show every weekday between 6am and 10am. The show is broadcast live from the top of the Radio City Tower, reaching an audience of 228,000 listeners every week. As well as hosting the Breakfast Show with Scott, Leanne is a star of stage and screen, international business entrepreneur, and charity ambassador. Scott’s been by Leanne’s side since 2020, waking listeners up with tales of misspent weekends, a doomed dating life, and the intricacies of being an honorary Scouser.
Leanne from Radio City said:
“We are so excited to be working with BTR Liverpool on this year’s milestone 20th Santa Dash event. It’s always such a fantastic sight to see thousands of Santas take over the city – and we know it means Christmas has officially arrived in Liverpool! We’ll be having so much fun every morning on Radio City Breakfast, so if you’re running it, come and be part of the show! You might even see us dashing on the day…!”
Arriva North West is supporting the BTR Liverpool Santa Dash for the sixth time with free travel for Santas on the Arriva bus network across Merseyside on event day. To claim complimentary bus travel to or from the city centre, Santas must be wearing their Santa suit and race number on the morning, or their Santa suit and finishers’ medal when travelling home. There is no cut off time post run.
Jay Drummond, Arriva Regional Marketing Manager, said:
“The Santa Dash is a real highlight in the city’s event calendar and we are delighted to again support the event with free bus travel on the day for Santas. It is a fantastic event which brings people together for a day packed with festive fun, with many raising much-needed funds for charity. We’re looking forward to seeing lots of red and blue Santas on-board our buses throughout the day, it’s a pleasure to be involved.”
St Johns Shopping Centre will again host the BTR Liverpool Santa Dash pop-up shop. The Santa Dash pop-up shop will be at St Johns Shopping Centre for the seventh consecutive year. The shop will open on Wednesday 1 November. It will be open every day until Saturday 2 December for registrations, Santa suit collection, and Santa Dash merchandise will be available to buy.
Neil Ashcroft, Centre Director of St Johns Shopping Centre, added:
“We are delighted to be welcoming back the Santa Dash pop-up store to St Johns. It is an event that we have supported since 2017 and we look forward to it every year. Not only do we enjoy being part of the build-up by hosting the pop-up stop, but we love being part of the strong celebration of community – the St Johns team will also be taking part on the day.”
The Santa Dash 5K route will pass through Royal Albert Dock Liverpool.
The BTR Liverpool Santa Dash 5K route starts from Pier Head Liverpool at 9.30am and finishes outside Liverpool Town Hall, with a grandstand finish line featuring stilt-walking festive characters and ‘real’ snow.
The dashing Santas make their way through the city centre which includes running through the Grade I Listed Royal Albert Dock Liverpool estate. The route was changed in 2018 to include the waterfront attraction after the Churchill Flyover in Liverpool city centre was demolished.
Sean Morrison, Estate Manager of Royal Albert Dock Liverpool, said:
“It’s always an incredible sight to see thousands of Santas dashing through the dock on Santa Dash day. We’re thrilled to be part of such an inclusive, family friendly event during this milestone 20th year.”
BTR Liverpool is the leading independent organisation for creating, managing, and delivering headline running events across Liverpool City Region. Its extensive portfolio covers various distances across different terrains, all with an ongoing commitment to sustainability.
The BTR event calendar also includes the BTR Tour Of Merseyside, BTR Liverpool Skyline Half Marathon, and BTR Mersey Tunnel 10K.
The BTR Liverpool Santa Dash event also features the Mini Dash 1K for youngsters aged 12 and under. It starts at approximately 11am in Castle Street, once all Santas in the main Dash have completed the course. The youngsters follow a similar city centre route before crossing the finish line outside Liverpool Town Hall.
BTR Liverpool Race Director Alan Rothwell said:
“We’ve reached the 100-day countdown to the UK’s biggest festive 5K fun run. This is a real highlight for the city, dashing Santas, and for us as organisers BTR Liverpool. This year we have the added excitement and celebration of the 20th staging of this family festive spectacle which first started in 2004.
“We are delighted to announce our first partners on-board for the BTR Liverpool Santa Dash 2023 – Alder Hey as official charity partner and Radio City as official media partner, with support from Arriva North West, St Johns Shopping Centre, and Royal Albert Dock Liverpool.”
The Liverpool Santa Dash entry fee covers all costs to organise and deliver the event including road closures, safety measures, Santa suits, medals, goody bags, and entertainment.
Entries are open and you can register online here.
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