NEWPORT — There were Santas everywhere in Newport on Saturday, marching on Main, running through the snow down to The Gateway Center, and along the lake on the bike path.
Organizers say 76 people registered to run, coming from all over northern and central Vermont, and as far away as Seattle, and Quebec City. Milton, Burlington, Hardwick, Marshfield, Waterford, St. Johnsbury, Lowell, Newport Center, Derby, and Newport were all represented.
Ages ranged from 5 to 78, with many families making it a special holiday run. The Warner/Royer family from Lowell and Hardwick was one, and the Sestito/Whitney family was another.
Up and down the roster were mothers and fathers and aunts and uncles running with their “kids,” brothers and sisters running, and couples out on a “date race,” in costume.
Sam Brunnette, the Falcons’ 17-year-old cross country running star from Newport Center, claimed the title of the “Fastest Santa of Them All,” with a time of 19 minutes and 45 seconds in the second year of the Newport Santa Run. Sam capped his extraordinary 2014 running season, loping through the snow on his way to an easy win.
Lisa Whitney 41, of St. Johnsbury, was the fastest female Santa with a time of 24 minutes and 37 seconds.
Elizabeth Scherer, 13, of Newport was the fastest youth female of the day, posting a time of 30 minutes and 30 seconds.
For most of the Santas it was all about the fun of the run, and the parade only added to it. The prediction of rain was replaced with the magic of snow and it turned the day into a joyful holiday moment for the runners, the marchers, and families who lined the street and participated in the Santa Festival throughout downtown Newport.
Newport Parks and Recreation reported as many as 800 passed through the doors at Santa’s Workshop.
The run gathered up a truck load of toys and raised another couple hundred dollars for Toys for Kids, distributing to low income families in the Northeast Kingdom though NEKCA.
