A real-life Mrs Santa Claus from Warrington who completed a 35 mile Christmas Day ultra marathon, to bring miles of smiles to sick children, arrived home and cooked her festive dinner!
Tracy Halligan, dubbed ‘Tinsel Tracy’ completed the epic challenge in 6.5 hours yesterday and then made a traditional lunch, after celebrating with champagne. She has so far raised over £3,000 for local hospitals.
She started at 5.50am from her home in Penketh, braving freezing conditions – and returned to cheers and celebrations from neighbours.
“It was a magical experience, from seeing the sun rise on Christmas morning to reaching the finishing line. All the support has been wonderful,” she explained.
The 50-year-old ran in a specially-made outfit to bring festive cheer, dropping off chocolate goodies at Warrington Hospital as she weaved her way across the town – cheered on by well wishers. Tracy has a justgiving page to raise funds in support of Alder Hey in Liverpool and she is also supporting her local hospital where dozens of toys have already been donated.
Tracy was boosted by support from international audio and video conferencing manufacturer Konftel who are her official sponsor. UK Sales Director, Jeff May, who also lives in the town, praised her sterling efforts.
“What Tracy has achieved is truly outstanding and we are very proud to be supporting her every step of the way.”
In a bid to raise further funds Tracy is planning to auction gifts and prizes donated by local businesses. “I’ve always wanted to go around a hospital on Christmas Day and give out selection boxes to poorly children. Clearly it’s not that simple especially with Covid but at least my run was a positive way to help,” she highlighted.
Tracy runs every day, on average 70 miles a week. She is a member of Warrington Running Club and GB Ultras – and has completed two 100 mile ultra marathons in the past which took over 30 hours to complete.
She emphasised: “Christmas is a magical time but it’s also a tough time for some people too. If I can make people smile then it will all be worthwhile. This year with everything that’s been going on in the world, was the perfect time to do it. The run itself was not too bad. I’m now looking forward to a nice bath and then celebrating with a bottle of champagne. I’ve still got some energy to cook a lovely piece of beef for my Christmas dinner!” To support Tracy her justgiving page is: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/tracy-anne-halligan
