An Aberdeen father hopes he has spread some Christmas joy this festive season, albeit in an usual manner.
Iain Young, 44, used Strava, a popular running app that tracks your route, to draw a giant Santa Claus head on the streets of Aberdeen.
Starting in Bucksburn at 5.30am on Friday, donning a reindeer costume and a digital watch to track his progress, he set off.
More than 15 hours and 125 kilometres later, he had completed his magnum opus.
Speaking to the Press & Journal on Sunday, he said: “I can move a bit better now, yesterday I wasn’t moving very well.
“Because it hadn’t really been a planned thing, I didn’t do any specific training for it, so you do tend to feel it a bit more.”
Mr Young only started planning the route three or four weeks ago but he is an experienced runner, ad is eyeing an attempt at next year’s Cape Wrath Ultra, a 400 kilometre run from Fort William to Cape Wrath on the northern tip of Sutherland.
Runner hopes giant Santa Claus will spread some joy
This isn’t the first time Mr Young has attempted a festive-inspired Strava run. Last year, he drew a 36-mile long reindeer.
Mr Young said he met a number of cheery faces along the way. He also shared the finished Santa Claus drawing on Facebook which garnered hundreds of likes and comments.
He said: “I was actually quite by surprised the response it got on Facebook.
“I know it’s an unusual thing for people to see someone dressed up as a reindeer running around. But it’s nice to see.
“It can be quite a miserable time of year for some people, so if I’ve brightened up someone’s day, then I’m happy.”
Conversation