Whether you watch, support or join in, venturing to a sporting event over the Christmas period will help blow away the cobwebs, says Matt Baird
Craziest festive sporting events
Pennine fell runs
Triathlon superstars the Brownlee brothers have been regular participants at the Auld Lang Syne Race, the New Year’s Eve fell-running event that takes place near Haworth in the Pennines. While Alistair and Jonny – both Olympic medallists – wear just a vest and shorts to compete, an array of fancy dress outfits are donned by those at the slower end of the field.
Starting off in Penistone Hill Country Park, the 6.7-mile route includes a mighty 305m of elevation gain. Other festive runs in the Pennines include the Whinberry Naze on Boxing Day and Bilberry Fields on 29 December.
Seasonal swims
Turn on the local news over Christmas and you’ll likely catch a segment showing experienced open-water swimmers braving our chilly seas… in just a Santa hat and swimming cossie (or superhero outfit).
Tenby’s Boxing Day Swim in Pembrokeshire, the Helen’s Bay Christmas Eve swim in County Down, Clevedon’s New Year’s Day Dip in Somerset and the Loony Dook in the Firth of Forth (1 Jan) are four established events. The Serpentine Swimming Club’s Christmas Day dash into Hyde Park’s serpentine Lake has been held since 1864.
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Boxing Day Football
Festive football is a very British tradition, but just where are the UK’s most scenic spots for a match? Gwent’s Abertillery Bluebirds, Alloa and Arundel are three starters for you, while the Peak District is a prime area for football-watching with dramatic backdrops.
Take your pick from Matlock Town’s Causeway Lane overlooked by Riber Castle (pictured), the UK’s highest ground at Buxton FC (310m above sea level) or Mossley’s Seel Park on the northern fringes of the national park. Just don’t forget the cup of Bovril (other salty beef-based drinks are available) and bag of chips.
Santa Runs
Dig out the elf hat! What was once a barren month in the UK’s running calendar has become packed with festive-themed events of multiple distances. Take your pick from one-mile events at London’s Lee Valley VeloPark (20 Dec) to half-marathon options at Birmingham Running Festival (21 Dec) and everything in-between, including plenty of parkruns set for Christmas
5 winter bike rides
Organised by outdoor kit brand Alpkit, the annual Sonder Winter Gravel Series of multi-terrain bike rides is a fun, muddy and affordable way to keep cycling in mid-winter. The series stops in Bristol
(7 Dec), Ilkley (21 Dec) and Kingston upon Thames (11 Jan) before further stops in the Peak District,
A medieval contest
For something a little more raucous, venture to North Lincolnshire where a battle between two villages has been fought on 6 January since the 14th century. The Haxey Hood game begins with a ceremonial fool delivering an opening speech in front of a bonfire, before participants scrum and scramble to capture a ‘hood’ – a long leather tube – and push it to one of four pubs in the villages of Haxley and Westwoodside.
