Santa Speedo Run 2023

Santa Speedo Run Boston 2023

Note this event did not take place in 2022 – we are awaiting an update for the 2023 edition.

The Santa Speedo Run: a fun, zany annual event that supports the Play Ball Foundation and sees thousands of guys run through the streets of Boston in the tiniest Speedos you have ever seen

• Visiting Boston for Christmas? Stay close to the Speedo Run at the The Lennox, rated “Wonderful” by guests,  featuring spacious rooms, a modern gym and perfect location.

The Speedo Run

• Hundreds of people gather in the New England winter to “run” slightly less than a mile wearing either a Speedo or other holiday garb.
• Pre-game and post-game factor into the event – everyone gets the nerve up to run, and then spends time boasting about how difficult it was.  So you can join the run, and support a great cause while having a hilarious time with your crew.
• The Santa Speedo Run occurs every year the Saturday before the Holiday break. Boston runners raise money to support the work of the Play Ball Foundation to increase sports opportunities for middle school students in under resourced communities in Massachusetts. Play Ball creates school-based middle school sports leagues for over 2,000 students in Boston, Lawrence, and Holyoke.
• Stay just steps from the race at the “Wonderful” rated Eliot Suite Hotel, featuring elegant, spacious rooms, historic décor and perfect location. 

The Route

• The Back Bay Social Club is the host of the kick off. The run starts and ends at the corner of Gloucester Street and Boylston Street in Back Bay, Boston.
• The course is an approximate 1-mile jog down Boylston Street to Berkeley Street, then up Newbury Street back to Gloucester Street. Pre and post-run festivities were held at Back Bay Social Club.

How it all began

• The Santa Speedo Run, Boston began as a whim. At 2:23PM on Saturday, December 16th, 2000, five men wearing nothing but Santa hats, Santa beards and Speedos ran past the crowd of holiday shoppers on Newbury Street, Boston’s high-end shopping district. They didn’t know what to expect.
• The short-term response was encouraging: the crowd of holiday shoppers erupted into earth-shattering applause, screaming and cheering for them. The longer term effect was miraculous: a twenty year tradition that has raised nearly $2 million for various local children’s nonprofits.

What to wear?

• Speedo’s are the traditional garb of the event, but are not necessary.
• Festive holiday gear is strongly encouraged but sneakers are essential!
• Add in a Santa hat, beard, and other holiday flair at your discretion

Recommended Hotels in Boston

Here are the Hotels we recommend that keep you close to all the action,

Boston Harbor Hotel,  Hyatt Regency   The Liberty   XV Beacon Hotel