Take to the streets in a Santa hat and Speedo for this Back Bay tradition
You'll at least raise money for a good cause while you freeze.
To partake in this holiday tradition, you’ll need sneakers, a Speedo, and not much else. The Santa Speedo Run, a charity run for the Play Ball! Foundation, will return to the Back Bay on Dec. 9. When the run began in 2000, it included just five runners. Now the jolly jog limits its herd to 700 participants and raises money to create and fund athletic leagues for more more than 1,200 students in Boston Public Schools.
Runners gather at the start line for the annual Santa Speedo Run on Dec. 14, 2013.
Anyone aged 21 or older is eligible to run the approximately mile-long route, which starts at Lir, an Irish pub on Boylston Street, moves down to Berkeley Street, and then up Newbury Street and back to the pub.
Unsurprisingly, sneakers and Speedo-like attire are required. Holiday-colored outfits, Santa hats, beards, and other festive additions are encouraged. The one thing the organizers ask you to leave at home? The thong.
“We know you have the body to pull it off, so why prove what’s obvious?” reads a statement on the run’s website.
The same statement also recommends that you wear street clothes to the event and bring a bag in which to stash those clothes when it’s go time.
Participants in the annual Santa Speedo Run leave the starting line on Dec. 8, 2012.
The event requires a $30 registration fee. Participants are given incentives, including access to a pre- and post-run party at Lir, drink tickets, and swag for hitting fundraising benchmarks, which start at $250. Since its first year, the Santa Speedo Run has raised more than $1.5 million for children’s charities.
More information can be found on the run’s website.
