Neil Redler, our Director of Operations, took part in a festive parkrun on Christmas Day, dressed as one of Santa’s elves!

Neil Redler at the Christmas Day parkrun

Neil joined hundreds of others early on Christmas Day for the 5 km (3.1 mile) run in Shrewsbury, close to our head office in Shropshire in the West Midlands of England.

The Christmas parkrun is an annual tradition and a record number of people turned out this year on a mild winter’s morning. To the delight of spectators, many of the participants were in fancy dress, including a number of Santa Clauses, a Christmas tree and a turkey!

Neil regularly takes part in the weekly parkrun, although not usually in an elf costume, and says he really enjoys getting out on the course, whatever the weather.

“The parkrun is great fun and on Christmas Day it was fantastic to see so many people really enter into the spirit of things. As it happens, the weather was lovely, so it was nice that lots of spectators turned out to cheer us on.

“5k is an achievable distance for people of all ages, whether walking or running, and it’s a really good way to start the day. It certainly gave me an appetite for Christmas dinner!”

The run is held in The Quarry, Shrewsbury’s main recreational park, set in a loop of the River Severn. Dating back to 1719, the park covers 29 acres. The Quarry is home to a fabulous public garden known as The Dingle - described as a floral masterpiece - and is the venue for the annual Shrewsbury Flower Show, the world's longest running flower show.

If you or your group would like to visit Shrewsbury on a tailor-made tour of England, perhaps to experience the world-famous flower show, please do contact our friendly team. Park runs are held all over the UK and open to all, so if you’re tempted to burn off a few calories on your vacation, just let us know and we will recommend a local one for you to join in!