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Hong Kong fun runners raise money for a good cause, all while dressed as Santa Claus

  • City’s Hash House Harriers clubs band together for festive non-competitive running event to raise money for Operation Santa Claus
  • Organisers held seven races spanning from December 5 to 11, with big final taking place on peaks near Yau Tong

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Hong Kong’s Hash House Harriers dress up as Kriss Kringle and run to raise money for charity. Photo: Bharat Khemlani

Runners in Hong Kong have donned red-coloured, festive outfits and endured the chilly temperatures of the winter season to participate in a Christmas charity drive to raise money for Operation Santa Claus (OSC).

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Participants turned up dressed as old Kriss Kringle for the annual Santa Hash, a fundraising drive organised by the city’s Hash House Harriers clubs. This year’s event involved 15 chapters of the non-competitive running organisation and featured seven races spanning from December 5 to 11.

The running sport has participants, also known as hashers, following a paper or chalk trail to reach the finish line. The length of each trail varies and such events are open to both amateurs and seasoned athletes.

Organiser Mark “Hopeless” Hope (foreground) briefs hashers on the directional chalk markings used to plot the running route. Photo: Bharat Khemlani
Organiser Mark “Hopeless” Hope (foreground) briefs hashers on the directional chalk markings used to plot the running route. Photo: Bharat Khemlani

The organiser of this year’s event, Mark “Hopeless” Hope, and his co-organiser, Mike “Moonie” Jones, said the hashers had managed to raise their intended target of HK$60,000 (US$7,685) for OSC.

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