[This article appears in the November/December 2019 issue of Boston Spirit magazine. Subscribe for free today.]
For many, the holiday season is a time when people are thankful for what they have and a time when some are extra generous in helping the less fortunate.
It’s a time for people to ensure they have done some good deeds before the year comes to a close. In the LGBTQA community, this is also the case for many people and organizations. And who knows better than the LGBTQA community how to mix a fun time with raising money for a good cause? That is exactly what the Santa Speedo Run Boston has done on an annual basis since it began in 2000 and will do in its 20th run this December.
Although registration for the run has closed, spectators are welcome—and you can still donate online at ssrunner.org.
Plus everyone can cheer the runners along on Saturday, December 14. The run takes place from 1 to 1:30 p.m., and afterwards its participants will partake in a post-run party. [According to the Boston Globe, “It begins and ends outside Back Bay Social Club at 867 Boylston St. via a 1-mile loop five blocks down Bolyston and five blocks up Newbury.”]
Each year, about 700 LGBTQ+allied people ages 21 and over gather in Boston on a December weekend for a half-hour jog down Newbury and Boylston streets wearing Santa hats and speedos.
“There’s always a pretty large LGBT contingent,” said David Chen, a participant of the event for most of this decade. “I don’t know if that just speaks to the general philanthropy of the community. I do think there’s a greater sense of wanting to improve the community. But there’s plenty of straights who do it too.”
“I think gays in general like good costumes and the opportunity to do something creative for a good cause,” he added. “A couple of friends and I usually come up with a good theme for the year. We like to do something different than the traditional red speedo.”
The course runs about 1 mile, but with little clothing and temperatures dropping below the freezing point (32ºF) some years, it has its own unique challenges; in 2017, it even snowed during the event.
“There are years where it’s a warm sunny day, but the past few years have been particularly cold,” Chen said. “You start off at the bar and get a little liquid courage and that helps out a lot. We all party with friends beforehand and after.”
The event is about more than just showing off one’s physique, however. It is a massive fundraiser with proceeds benefiting the Play Ball! Foundation. According to the foundation’s official website, the organization raises money to support middle school athletics in the Boston and Lawrence, Massachusetts communities. A 501c3-recognized charity, Play Ball! provides “competitive sports to over 1,200 Boston Public Middle School athletes in 22 schools with 57 teams offering boys’ football and baseball, girls’ volleyball and Double Dutch, ice hockey, and boys and girls soccer.”
Annually, the event’s goal is to raise at least $100,000, but they have done better than that in recent years. In 19 years of the event, it has raised more than $2 million for various local children’s charities. In its early days, the event raised money for an array of causes but since 2012, the funds raised have gone exclusively to the Play Ball! Foundation.
Chen said he and his team, Wrecking Ballz, hold a fundraising event one month prior to the one where they have computers and tablets set up for friends to donate to the cause.
“It’s a big part of it,” he said of the charity aspect. “It’s one thing to just have fun doing it and another to improve the city we live in. We put a lot of time and energy into it. I think the majority of people in it realize it’s a great cause they want to help.”
Each participant of the race raises a substantial amount of money to compete in the SSRun. There is a special deal for those under the age of 30 to raise a minimum of $250 to compete, but everyone else must raise at least $400. The top-15 fundraisers receive various prizes for their efforts.
Although registration for the run has closed, spectators are welcome—and you can still donate online at ssrunner.org. Plus everyone can cheer the runners along on Saturday, December 14. The run is expected to take place from 1 to 1:30 p.m., and afterwards its participants will partake in a post-run party.
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