The Christmas Run 2024 will be the 49th edition. For many years, the race was called the New Year’s Run, but after independence, it was often timed to coincide with Christmas, and so eventually took on a new name – the Christmas Run.
The first race, in 1975, was organised to give running enthusiasts a chance to celebrate the New Year in a group of like-minded people. 77 runners took part. The idea of the race remains the same today. Hundreds of running enthusiasts gather for the last time of the year to see friends and colleagues and to compete in a thrill-seeking race.
Pranas Baublys was the first winner of the 12 km New Year Run. The women competed in the 6.5 km race. Bronė Šablevičiūtė was the fastest.
Vytautas Stanevičius, a physical education teacher, is the only participant who has not missed a single competition. Last year, the veteran also successfully completed 6 kilometres.
The tradition of running in Santa Claus or Snow White outfits during the race is still alive. It was born out of the blue just over a decade ago. The organisers noticed that some of the slower runners were getting disturbed when passers-by pointed fingers at them as they ran through the streets in the freezing cold. They were then invited to “hide” under Santa Claus costumes. Passers-by began to congratulate, wish success and otherwise support the runners, and the original idea caught on.
Hundreds of amateur runners are now taking part in the race in their original costume. The Christmas Run is first and foremost a celebration, so athletes who don’t aim for high results simply enjoy running in winter.
One of the coldest days was when the race took place in 1979. At that time, it was 30 degrees below zero and the runners had frosty noses, moustaches and ears.
The youngest participant in the Christmas Run was three-year-old Tadas Gerulskis, who completed the 5 km race in 2009 with his mother. The oldest veteran, Vladas Levitskis, was 87 years old on the day of the race.
A particularly large number of runners took part in the race that took place between 1985 and 1988. At that time, around 2000 running enthusiasts took to the streets of the capital.
Until 2010, the main initiator and organiser of the race was Jonas Grigas, a famous athlete of great memory and the director of Žalgiris Stadium. Since 2011, the Christmas Run has been organised by the Vilnius Marathon team.
The main distance of the race was 12 kilometres. This number symbolises 12 months. Those who wanted to could also run a distance almost half as long. This year, runners will be able to run 12, 6 or 3 kilometres. Toddlers will compete in the “Elves’ Run” by covering 300 metres.
The start and finish of the Christmas (formerly, New Year) run used to be at Žalgiris Stadium.
Later, the start was moved to Vilnius Old Town.
It’s cold in winter, but warm to run!