More than 130 runners disguised as the big red man took part in The Great Kids/Santa run at Mount Main Beach last night.
Tauranga event organiser Denis de Monchy said numbers may have been a little down on last year due to the rain but it failed to dampen the enthusiasm of those who ran, walked or skipped the 2.3km to raise funds for a worthy cause.
The annual Great New Zealand Santa Run which was also held in nine other main centres last night was to raise money for KidsCan Charitable Trust which works to fight child poverty.
Among the Santas were groups of runners from TrustPower, Mainfreight and eight Santas from Resolve Salvors - the guys cutting up Rena. Zumba Tauranga also joined in the fun giving the Santas a pre-race warm up session to the K-pop Gangnam Style tune - much to the delight of the junior Santas.
Along with spot prizes, there were also prizes handed out for the fastest Santas and the best dressed. Donations can still be made to www.kidscan.org.nz
