The streets of central St Albans were awash with antlers this weekend as Rennie Grove’s Rudolph Run returned to the city centre, raising over £4,500 for the hospice care charity.
The annual family fun run was attended by over 200 people, with all ages represented and many taking part in large family groups.
Father and daughter duo, Paul and Eliza Carolan, signed up because they have a shared passion for running.
Paul said: "We love running so thought it was a great opportunity to do that for a worthy local cause.
"Eliza loves running around the playground at school and I’m currently training for the Paris Marathon so this seemed like a great challenge to take on together."
The event included two routes – one 1.5km long and one 5km long. Both routes started outside the Waterend Barn pub where each runner picked up a pair of antlers to wear, kindly sponsored by Collinson Hall.
Starting from the registration point in the pub were the Smith family. Mum, Christina, signed up with 14-year-old Milly and 10-year-old Sadie after Milly saw the run advertised locally.
Christina said: "We like running and we like raising money for charity so we were all keen to sign up.
"We know somebody who has been supported by Rennie Grove so we were really keen to support the charity so it can continue to help other local people in their time of need."
Following a warm-up led by local personal trainer, Hannah Ellis, the first race, the 1.5km route, was started by volunteers Hazel, Lisa and Casey who the rang the bell to send the runners on their way.
Shortly after, the first finishers started to return, to be presented with their Rudolph Run medals.
The Jain family from Radlett proudly donned their medals after completing the route together. For Pankaj, Priti, Anav and Zeven it was their first time running an event together and they have raised an impressive £370 in sponsorship.
Gemma Ralph, community fundraising manager at Rennie Grove, said: "It’s great to see so many people taking part in this festive family fun run.
"It has been a mainstay of our festive calendar for many years now but of course the pandemic disrupted the past few to some degree.
"It was lovely to have the event back with no restrictions this year and see so many families embracing this opportunity to bring in the festive season while raising funds to support the vital care we offer to people with life-limiting illnesses in our local community."
If you’d like to find out more about ways to support Rennie Grove this festive season, visit renniegrove.org.
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