Thousands of people will stream through the streets of Marlow in a sea of red at the annual Santa Fun Run.

The High Street will be awash with runners dressed both as Santa Claus and Santa’s little helpers, and organisers say many of the participants see this event as the first day in the official lead up to Christmas.

Organised by the Rotary Clubs of Marlow, the event will see 2,500 runners take to Marlow’s streets in a bid to raise money for good causes.

Last year, the run raised around £35,000 for local charities, and organisers are hoping to raise £40,000 this year.

The two lead charities for this year have been chosen as Scannappeal and The Compassionate Friends.

Scannappeal, based in Amersham Hospital, provides state-of-the-art medical equipment to Bucks hospitals.

Every 10 minutes, someone in Bucks is diagnosed or treated with equipment funded by Scannappeal, and one in four of the population has benefitted from Scannappeal’s work. Organisers said one current Scannappeal project is a particular focus for Santa’s Fun Run support – a 3D heart scanner, believed to be the first in the UK.

The Compassionate Friends provides support to parents after the death of a child, with all trained volunteers having lost a child themselves. They help those more recently bereaved to develop coping strategies and find hope.

They offer many different forms of support – local groups, online forums, a telephone helpline (open every day and always answered by a bereaved parent), and residential weekends.

The 5k route takes participants from and then back to Higginson Park, and for all those who complete the course there is a celebratory bronze medal.

The Rotary Santas Fun Run organising chairman, David Sutherland, said: “We started planning for this event just six weeks after the 2016 run.

“We do everything from agreeing the 5km route with the council, developing and managing the website, to ordering and distributing the Santa suits.

“And well over 100 people volunteer to help us on the day to make sure everything goes safely and smoothly.

“This year there will again be a far greater focus on Fun Run spectators, and quite simply Rotary want to see more of them.

“Those standing on Marlow High Street to see the start will witness a truly fantastic sight – 2,500 Father Xmas outfits running up the gentle incline in one wonderful sea of red.”

Entries have opened for this year’s run, set to take place on Sunday, December 3. They are usually filled by November.

For more details or to enter, visit www.santasfunrun.org.