Local people brought glad tidings to the rain-swept St Albans streets on Sunday as Rennie Grove’s Rudolph Run returned to the city.
The festive fundraiser went virtual last year, so participants were thrilled to see the COVID-safe live event return this year.
Senior community fundraiser Gemma Ralph said: “It was so lovely to see people turning out in their best festive attire, topped off with reindeer antlers. We really missed this last year and we’d like to thank everyone who took part and volunteered to help on the day.”
Rennie Grove made some changes to the event to keep participants safe, such as giving the 1.5K and 5K fun runners staggered start times to avoid overcrowding.
Participant Rosa Johnson said: “I’ve lived in St Albans all my life and we’ve been doing this event for 10 years. Before I had my daughter Olive me and my mum did the 5K to raise money. Then when Olive came along we took her in the pushchair and we’ve done the event ever since.”
“Rennie Grove is a really lovely, local charity and this has always marked our festive period – this is our first festive event and it’s when the Christmas tree goes up!”
There were also some new runners taking part, like Natalia from St Albans: “As a family this is our first run together. It’s a fun event for the children and I want them to feel part of the community.”
Many runners also had a personal connection with the charity, like Lloyd, whose father was cared for by the charity: “I watched the Rudolph Run two years ago when my other half did it, but this is my first time. We love running, we do the local park run every week, and it’s just a bit of fun to take part.”
The charity’s volunteers handed out medals and rang the runners over the line with festive bells.
All funds raised by the Rudolph Run will go towards supporting local families affected by life-limiting illness.
To support Rennie Grove’s care over Christmas and beyond, you can donate to the charity’s Christmas Appeal by visiting www.renniegrove.org/christmasappeal.
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