Liverpool couple's Christmas ‘spectacle’ which ‘kickstarts’ people's festival celebrations

A Liverpool man who created the Santa Dash 20 years ago is “justifiably proud” of how the event has blossomed over the years.

Alan Rothwell, from Everton, is “excited” to see the city be transformed into a sea of thousands of red, blue and mini Santas come Sunday, December 3 - just as Liverpool does annually for the event. Last year, over 5,000 people signed up to take part over the two days and this time round, the 68-year-old is hoping the event will have its biggest turnout yet.

The dad-of-two, who now lives in West Kirby, told the ECHO: “The passion of running will never leave me. As I got older I thought ‘Should I pack this in?’ but when you see what happens on the day, I know I can’t walk away from it. I’m justifiably proud of how we have maintained and developed the event from day one.

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“It’s fantastic seeing everyone running on the day. When you see it, it’s a spectacle but when you actually run in it, it's plain daft and that’s what everyone loves about it. People come back yearly - not because they want to run five kilometres - because it brightens the city up to no end with the red and blue suits.”

The Santa Dash, put on annually in the city by Alan’s company Born To Run (BTR), first came about in 2004. Alan spotted a photograph of the run happening in mid-wales and wanting to get in on the action, he took his then-eight-year-old daughter, Abby, to the event.

Alan said at first he was giving it all in the race but quickly realised it was a fun run “full of excitement and family engagement”. On the journey home from Wales, Alan told his wife, Yvonne he wanted to