Aberdeen runner completes marathon route in the shape of Santa

Iain Young, who works for offshore helicopter operator Babcock in Aberdeen, made his own Christmas card this year – and it was a genuinely marathon effort!

The keen runner used the Strava app to record a very special 26-mile run around the streets of the city, drawing a very familiar figure in the process!

Iain said: “I really enjoy running so thought drawing a massive Santa would be a great way to say Merry Christmas to my Babcock colleagues, while keeping my training up at the same time. Running at this time of year isn’t always easy and the weather hasn’t been great but this was good motivation to get out and get some miles done!

“I didn’t set out to do a marathon but with a few wrong turns it ended up being a long run!”

The festive route saw Iain complete a marathon distance in 3 hours 51 minutes, despite a lot of stopping and starting to make sure he was going the right way.

“It was quite complicated but a lot of fun – and I was really pleased it worked out so well. It took a while to plan out the route but I think it makes for a pretty convincing Santa!”

A huge effort and a cracking a warm-up for Iain as he trains for an 80-mile run from Dundee to Aberdeen next year.