You better watch out – Santa Claus is running through town

By Michael Thompson

Tuesday, Nov. 25, 2008 | 7:13 p.m.

In 2007, 7,269 Santas made history as they gathered in downtown Las Vegas to help Opportunity Village break the World Record for the Largest Santa Gathering and, at the same time, raised much needed funds and awareness for "Las Vegas' Favorite Charity."

Recently, I was talking with a few friends about the Great Santa Run and spoke to an avid long distance runner, Carlo Chavez, who took the opportunity of last year's event to create some wonderful family memories.

"The Christmas season has always been an important time for our family," said Chavez. "My wife Sophia and I both relocated to Las Vegas from Mexico City where our parents still live. Being family is important to us, so brining some family fun into the lives of our children, little Carlo, age 11, and Sophia, age 7, helps make the season special for us by creating some new family traditions."

Chavez went on to say that his employer, the MGM Grand, like many other small and large businesses, encourage their employees to get involved in the community by participating in events such as the Great Santa Run.

"It turned out to be a great company and community builder for many of my fellow co-workers who also participated. We all really wanted to be part of setting the Guinness World Book record," Chavez said.

Carlo shared that, "It was pretty fun driving to the starting location for the run, where you would see people in their cars all dressed up as Santa. We then parked our car and had to laugh as we saw men and women, young and old, cats and dogs, all getting dressed up for the funnest run ever."

The Chavez family, along with a few invited friends and co-workers, plan on making the Santa run an annual tradition.

Excited to learn a little more about the event I contacted Mike Thomas, the events coordinator for the Great Santa Run, who said the annual event has grown in its first three years.

"During a pretty challenging time for Las Vegas, with the economy, this event has really taken on a life of its own," he said. "Starting only three years ago, the participation has grown from 1,000 to over 7,800 last year.

"Through the Great Santa Run, Las Vegas is going to gain some wonderful world recognition, for something that is fun for the entire family," he said.