Mission Christmas: Real-life Leeds Santa runs 12 half marathons to raise money for Cash for Kids appeal

Raising money for Cash For Kids Mission Christmas appeal, Pete Benefer decided to run the consecutive marathons to help every child in Leeds to receive a gift this year. Pete has successfully completed many running challenges before – including running 100 half marathons consecutively for charity last year.

He said: “I have one superpower and that is I can keep going, even if its not at a fast pace. I was sick of doing half marathons after doing the hundred, but the 12 days of Christmas added a festive flavour to the run.”

This year, Pete’s manager suggested Pete to try something new to raise money. Pete said he had suggested hopping a marathon and even completing one running backwards.

He added: “There was no chance I would do that. Instead, I ran in a Santa outfit which I think was almost as bad as running backwards. But the only way I was doing it was if he joined me. On the last day, he wore an elf costume and we completed the half marathon in two hours and 24 minutes.”

Pete said that due to the cold weather, the condensation had frozen in his beard but he was committed to donating presents to underprivileged children this year. He said: “I was also planning to do visit the Smyths toyshop in my Santa outfit and try to get a deal on presents. Donating to Cash For Kids just saved me a headache as they do it all. The presents are going to make some children happy.”

Despite the cold, Pete said it was privilege to bring cheer to the people he would pass. He added: “Everyone was beeping and waving. There was this one guy who said we made his day going into work and it’s amazing how this silly little suit of this mythical character can cheer so many people up. I would sometimes ask people when running by them ‘have you seen my sleigh?’. It was just a lot of fun.”

Cash for Kids are currently short of presents for children aged seven to 12. Board games, arts and crafts or magic sets can be donated to drop-off points across the city.