Hundreds of Brooklyn kids donned antlers and galloped through Prospect Park on Saturday for the annual Reindeer Run. And the youngsters weren’t just horsing around, said an organizer — they also got a serious workout.
“It’s about getting the kids out running and being active,” said Michael Rodgers, vice president of development and philanthropy of community running group the New York Road Runners, which stages the event to raise money for its youth running programs.
This is the third year the group has staged the festive dash in which elementary and middle-school-aged squirts complete a three-quarter-mile course in Brooklyn’s Backyard.
Volunteers dressed as holiday icons like snowmen and Christmas trees helped nearly 450 pint-sized striders along the way by encouraging them to keep on running.
At the end of the run, the wiped-out kids were rewarded with hot cocoa, holiday-themed bagels, and a sense of accomplishment — a win-win for both parents and their offspring, according to one mom.
“They like the challenge and I love when the kids get great exercise,” said Park Sloper Dana Blitstein, whose daughters Holly, 9, and Liora, 6, also participated last year. “What could be better?”
