It was a Christmas special at all the parkruns across south Cumbria on Saturday as hundreds of runners dressed up in Santa outfits.

At Barrow’s festive parkrun, 182 excited participants came dressed for the occasion to celebrate the Christmas spirit.

Matthew Elkington, a first-timer from Kenilworth Runners, recorded a new personal best of 15:58 as he finished almost two minutes ahead of Ryan Everett in second place.

Neil Kirkham, who runs at Victoria Park Harriers and Tower Hamlets AC, finished third in 17:52.

Fell Foot participants had their running shoes on as the top three for the men were unknown to the organisers.

Bryan Potts, who runs with Elvet Striders, came fourth in 19:06 – five seconds off his personal best.

Darlington AC runner Jade Hutchinson was the first woman to cross the line in 21:12, her 105th parkrun.

Clapham Chaser Rebecca Dobson came second, and Cathy Gill finished third in 22:06.

Ford held its 20th parkrun as a festive fancy dress even, with an array of Christmas costumes and hats on Saturday morning.

Tourist parkrunners joined from Preston, Newcastle, Liverpool, Kendal, Harrogate and slightly further afield from Singapore and Nepal.

Ford park favourite Andrew Dorrian was in the Christmas spirit as he recorded a new personal best with a time of 18:48.

First-timer Tim Grace, from Liverpool, came second in 20:48 and third was Jessica Bailey in 21:14, her 12th parkrun event to date. Jessica also topped the age grade stats with a very impressive 76.69 per cent.

After torrential rain towards the end of the week, Millom parkrun selected the alternative route for their Christmas run. A total of 27 keen runner dressed up to the nines with elf and Santa outfits seen from afar.

Millom Striders starlet John Rodgers blitzed the course during his 65th parkrun, finishing in a time of 26:13.

Graeme Addison, a first-timer from Sedgefield Harriers, came second in 27:17 and Mathias Schaffer came third in 28:41. The first woman to finish at Millom was Rachel Read, who pulled off her second victory in two weeks with a time of 33.27. All the volunteers and organisers wish all parkrunners a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.