Belfast Parkrun breaks record on Christmas Day as close to 800 festive runners cross finish line

Hundreds descended on the Stormont estate in east Belfast for an event that has become a seasonal favourite in the local running calendar.

There were Father Christmas hats and elf ears aplenty at the start line, as young and old set off around the picturesque course for the ninth outing of the special Christmas Day Parkrun.

Festive music playing through loudspeakers reverberated around the estate, while crowds of supporters cheered the runners as they passed.

The Stormont event was one of a number of Parkruns in Northern Ireland on Christmas Day.

The previous course record at Stormont was 776 participants, set on New Year’s Day a few years ago. On Christmas Day a total of 788 finished the run.

Such was the size of the bumper crowd that organisers had to record the times of dozens of runners manually in the closing stages, as they only had 720-time tokens to hand out to finishers.

One of those taking part was Deirdre Fitzpatrick, a member of the Ormeau Runners club in south Belfast.

“What better way to start Christmas than to come out for a run with all your friends,” she said.

“It’s been unbelievable. There are over 750 people running here today, which shows how much running has grown – and that’s because it’s so important to all of us.”

Event director Alison Canning said the record number of participants demonstrated the enduring popularity of running.

“It’s been a record-breaking morning,” she said.

“We have had 788 finishers this morning. The most we’ve ever had in the past is 776 on a New Year’s Day a few years back. So it’s absolutely amazing to see so many people start their Christmas morning with us here.”

She added: “We’ve all abandoned our dinner preparations and the Lego building and I think it’s because running and park running in general is so popular.

“The atmosphere here is just amazing with all the costumes and the Santa hats.

“Everybody just likes to get out and spread a bit of Christmas spirit.”

The Parkrun is one of a number of festive activities that take place on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and Boxing Day across Northern Ireland.

We report on page four (and have a picture gallery online) about the annual December 24 swim in Helen’s Bay.

The organisers Gillian and Helen Armstrong said the Helen’s Bay dip has been running for around 30 years, and they have been organising it for the past five or six years.

The swim is done in aid of PIPS suicide prevention charity and the Marie Curie cancer and end of life charity, the sisters said.

“They’re both very important charities to us, having lost people who required care from Marie Curie and also support with their mental health,” Gillian Armstrong said.

It’s really important to us to have a bit of fun at Christmas and to get people together, they said.