Wigan runner to dress as Santa for charity marathon on Christmas Day

Aaron Woodward, pictured right, will run a marathon on Friday - but will swap his usual exercise attire for the famous red and white suit worn by Father Christmas.

He hopes to make children smile as he passes their homes, but will also be raising money for Wigan and Leigh Hospice.

The 29-year-old said: “I do have plans for Christmas day, but I thought I would try to give something back as well.

“I know there are people out there who will spend it alone, so I thought I would do something good on Christmas Day.

“It is only about four hours out of my day.”

Aaron, who lives in Newtown, hopes his festive outfit will be welcomed by people he passes as he runs 26.2 miles around the borough.

“I’m trying to map out a route to go past a lot of houses, so maybe children can see me and it might bring a smile to their faces,” he said.

Aaron plans to set out at around 9am so he will be back in time to have Christmas lunch with relatives.

He has set a target of £500, but hopes to raise as much money as possible for the Hindley-based hospice.

The charity has been affected by a lack of fund-raising during the pandemic and recently announced the closure of its day service.

“They do such a great job at the hospice,” he said.

Aaron is no stranger to long distance running, having taken on several challenges.

He has previously raised money for suicide prevention charity CALM, having tried to take his own life earlier in the year and in memory of his sister Tracy, who was just 36 when she died by suicide in 2015.

He ran two marathons in two days and did 53 miles from Wigan to Leeds, but had to abort a 75-mile challenge doing 200 laps of the DW Stadium due to injury.

Donate at justgiving.com/fundraising/aaron-woodward3

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