MEDIA RELEASE - DECEMBER 2008
The Inaugural Wendy’s Great New Zealand Santa Run
Spread the Christmas Spirit & Help Save Lives
What: The Wendy’s Great New Zealand Santa Run
When: Wednesday, 10th December at 6.30pm
Where: Auckland Viaduct Harbour
Why: To raise funds for a worthwhile cause while having fun, exercising and getting into the festive spirit!
The Wendy’s Great New Zealand Santa Run is exactly as the name suggests - a fun run where participants dress-up as the
figure that epitomises all that is Christmas, Santa!
Dressed top-to-toe in Santa suits, fun-loving people will join together on the 10th December for a common purpose – to
help create festive spirit and raise funds for Cure Kids.
Through its commitment to finding cures for life-threatening illnesses affecting children, Cure Kids turns research into
hope. Cure Kids relies on donations from events such as this to continue its ground-breaking work, which has helped save
hundreds of young lives.
Kaye Parker, CEO of Cure Kids says: “We just love the idea of a whole bunch of Santas running around town. It’s such a
fun way to get a few family and friends together and celebrate the silly season, all while investing in the future
well-being of our children’s health. ”
The Santa Run concept is big internationally, with many Santa Runs in the major cities around the world. Lactic Turkey
Events will be the first to bring the Santa Run to New Zealand on a major scale, with Santa Runs planned for all of the
major centres around the country in 2009.
Wendy’s front man, Kiwi Dave, will start the race and is keen to see the size of the Santa Run grow to compete with
those overseas.
“The current world record is held by Las Vegas, who had 7,269 people dressed as Santa last year. We might not beat that
this year, but we’ll give it a good crack!’ says Kiwi Dave from Wendy’s.
At only 3km, the run around the picturesque Auckland Viaduct Harbour will be easily achievable by people of all ages and
fitness levels.
Everyone is encouraged to dress up in full Santa ensemble to make the event a real exhibition of Christmas cheer. The
$25 dollar entry fee includes a Santa hat, and for an additional $10 you can get a full Santa suit.
As an added incentive to get involved in the merry making, entrants will receive a Santa bag of goodies and the chance
to win spot prizes.
The charitable aspect of the event also ties in well with sponsor Wendy’s, who are well-recognised for their family
oriented values and honest, fresh approach to fast food.
Register online www.nzsantarun.co.nz
ENDS