In pictures: Christmas Day parkruns kick off festivities in the South

Runners across the South donned their Santa hats and took part in parkruns to kick off their Christmas Day.

Braving the elements, lots of participants wore festive red colours and costumes as they covered the 5km routes.

In Winchester, there was a new record attendance of 537 runners who took part at North Walls Recreation Ground.

At Dunorlan Park in Tunbridge Wells, around 400 people joined in the morning run, which organisers said is likely to be a record number.

Volunteers of the Southampton parkrun at The Common thanked participants.

In a post on Facebook they said: "Our Christmas Day parkrun is always one of the highlights of the year and today was no exception.

"We trust that the many hundreds of you got your big day underway with the best possible by joining us a little earlier."

What is parkrun?

Parkrun, which began in 2004, offers free events on weekend mornings for everyone, of all ages and running abilities.

The 5km courses are held in parkland and run by volunteers. It can be run socially, competitively or as a club training session.

Weekly 2km events are also held weekly for children, aged 4-14.

Parkrun founder, Paul Sinton-Hewitt, took to X - formerly Twitter - to thank everyone for taking part.

In a post, he said: "Loneliness is one of the world's biggest problems and this is even more true at this time of year. So I implore you to extend a hand of friendship to a stranger this Christmas, giving a gift that costs you nothing but has such enormous value.

"Wishing you and your loved ones a joyful and peaceful holiday season. May your days be filled with warmth, happiness, and the exhilaration of a well-earned finish line.

"Thank you for being an integral part of the global parkrun family. Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year."

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