Join in our family friendly traditional Marple Santa Dash for 2026

The Santa Dash returns to Marple!!!

Organised by the Romiley and Marple Lions Club , the Santa Dash is a charity fun run for all the family and will take place on December 6th 2026, with all participants dressed as Santas (suits included in registration fee). Registration takes place from 9.30 am. There is a new route. The route is 1.7 miles long, starting at 11.00am from Marple Sports Club, Bowden Lane SK6 6ND and finishing at Dobbies. There are more details below.

Registration

You will need to buy a ticket(£10.00) for each person taking part in the dash. If you are taking part in a group, it helps with the administration on the day if you nominate a group leader when you register.

As usual, Santa Suits(Children aged 5-8yo, aged 9-12yo and adult) are included in the registration fee, and there will be a small present for junior dashers when they finish the course.

Feel free to dress in your own santa suits; let us know when you register if you will be doing this.

Complimentary bottles of water will be available when the dashers finish the course.

How do we use the money raised?

The registration fee (£10) is payable to Romiley and Marple Lions and goes to support those in need in our local community. You can find out more about how the funds raised are spent here Romiley&Marple Lions Club (https://www.romiley-marple-lions.org.uk/)

Help raise money for our charity partners

This year we're working with two charities to help bring the Santa Dash back to Marple - Kidneys for Life and Oliver's Dragons. All race participants are encouraged to raise an additional £10 on top of their entry fee via sponsorship or donations from friends and family or by holding their own small fundraiser.

Kidneys for Life is a well-established local charity, the main focus is to provide funding for research projects into all things kidney related – 300,000 in the North West alone suffer with chronic kidney disease and as it stands, whilst there are treatments(including a transplant) for kidney disease there is no cure. KFL provides starter level funding for research projects which focus on improving dialysis, ways to make transplanted kidneys last longer and also, crucially ways to detect early stage kidney disease. They also fund training and education of North West based renal staff – all with the aim of making life better for kidney patients, of all ages, in our area. Find out more here: https://kidneysforlife.org/ (https://kidneysforlife.org/)

Oliver's Dragons is a well known Marple children's charity created in memory of 11 year old Oliver Buchanan who passed away from a brain tumour in 2023. Regularly hosting imaginative and memorable family events, Oliver's Dragons provide vital grants for local wellbeing projects and also provide financial assistance to children with cancer in the Stockport area.Oliver was a huge fan of the Santa Dash and Christmas in general. He would love to know that it was returning to Marple for all his friends to enjoy.

You can find out more about sponsoring Olivers Dragon by clicking here (https://www.peoplesfundraising.com/fundraising/marplesantadashforoliversdragons)

Help make a difference

Find out more about how you can help Romiley and Marple Lions make a difference in our local community Romiley&Marple Lions Club (https://www.romiley-marple-lions.org.uk/)

On the day

Santa Suits can be collected from the Marple Sports Club by your group leader from 9.30am. If possible, please put on your suits on outside.

Once your group member has collected all their Santa Suits, please assemble in front of the club where a warm up session will start at 10.45am.

In the unlikely event of an emergency, we encourage dashers to carry some form of identification with them.

The new route starts at the Marple Sports Club. See the map below for the route details.

It is not a race and the route can be followed at your own pace. It will be marshalled as in previous years with marshalls at all the major road junctions.

Terms and conditions

Participants agree:

• to take part in this event entirely at their own risk

• that RMDLC, KFL, its sponsors, the event organisers, contractors and agents shall not be liable in any way for any injury, loss, damage or death that might occur as a result of their participation in the Santa Dash

• that they are not aware of any medical condition or other reason why they should not participate in the event

RMDLC STRONGLY RECOMMENDS ALL PARTICIPANTS TAKE PERSONAL ACCIDENT AND MEDICAL INSURANCE FOR THIS EVENT.

RMDLC reserves the right to cancel the event or alter the date or time of the event for any reason.

RMDLC are unable to offer any refunds.

By buying tickets , participants confirm that they have read and understood the terms and conditions set out above and consent to Romiley, Marple & District Lions Club holding their personal details on a confidential basis for the express purpose of participating in the event. By taking

Description supplied by the event organiser.