Liverpool Santa Dash 2026: 5K and Mini Dash for Little Lights, Sunday 6 December

Several thousand people in Santa suits running through Liverpool city centre on a Sunday morning in December. It is exactly as daft as it sounds, and it has become one of the city's fixtures.

The 2026 Liverpool Santa Dash is on Sunday 6 December. The headline charity is Little Lights, the Liverpool children's hospice that was Zoe's Place until this year, and they still have places to fill. If you have been meaning to do something festive for a good cause, this is a well-run one.

The 5K

The main run starts at 9.30am on Canada Boulevard at the Pier Head, goes down Brunswick Street and Salthouse Quay, past the Albert Dock and round to Leeds Street, and finishes near the Town Hall. It is a fun run, not a race: walk it, jog it, push a pram round it. Everyone gets a Santa suit (red or blue; adult suits are one size), a goody bag and a medal.

Entry is £28 in a red suit or £30 in blue. Children aged 3 to 8 are £20 (red) or £22 (blue). Under 3s are free but must be registered to get a number and a medal.

The Mini Dash

The Mini Dash is a 1K for children up to 12, starting at about 11.15am on Castle Street, down Lord Street and Stanley Street to the same finish as the 5K. Entry is £15, which gets the child a suit (ages 5 to 8 or 9 to 14), goody bag and medal. Parents run alongside for free but have to register too.

If you enter the Mini Dash you are not in the 5K unless you enter that separately.

Running for Little Lights

Register through the Little Lights link below and your entry supports the hospice directly. They ask for a minimum sponsorship of £50 on top. Little Lights cares for babies and young children with life-limiting conditions, and their families, from its home in West Derby.

We will not be running this year (a back that has opinions about it) but we will be on the pavement with a camera. If you are going, wave.

Image: Little Lights.