Syndication28 Nov 2007
Betting on Santa
Runners in Las Vegas and Liverpool go race to race in a quest for a Guinness World Record
By Michelle Hamilton
By Michelle Hamilton
Location: Las Vegas Great Santa Run Las Vegas, Nevada
When: December 9
Why would nearly 4,000 runners dress up as St. Nick and run around Vegas? Besides the chance to bump into Elvis (a few hundred times), they were hoping to get into the Guinness Book of World Records. At the second annual Great Santa Run 5-K, this band of merry men and women donned Santa pants, coats, hats, beards, and belts in an effort to surpass the record for the largest Santa gathering. That mark--3,921--had been set the previous year at a 5-K in Liverpool, England. Taking hold of the record would not come easy, however: The Brits had begun a serious public-relations campaign back in August, when a local paper published a story headlined "5 Reasons Why We'll Sleigh Las Vegas Santas."
Among them: "Everyone is too busy gambling." Vegas racing officials fired back with a letter to the Liverpool race director stating the "7 Lucky Reasons Why Vegas Will Win."
Number two: "Our residents don't do much gambling, we just count your money when you go home."The friendly jawing turned out to rally support for both events. On December 3, close to 5,000 red-suited runners showed up for the Liverpool Santa Dash. The headline the next morning: "Beat That If You Can, Vegas!"
Sin City came close: The nearly 4,000 Santas (exact figures were not available) who showed up for the fun run doubled the total from 2005. Alas, it was not enough to beat the Brits. Official word from Guinness won't come for a few months. No matter; both cities are already gearing up for next December's races. But they better watch out: Runners in Milan have announced their intentions to get the most Santas to come to town.