Rotary Santa Run Walk & Reindeer Dash

Rotary Santa Run Walk & Reindeer Dash is held in Arlington Heights, Illinois, on December 5, 2026. The Reindeer Dash for children ten and under opens the morning at 9:30 AM over 0.4 km, then the Santa Run/Walk 5K and an untimed 1 Mile Walk (1.6 km) both start at 10:00 AM.

Three formats half an hour apart make this a straightforward family outing: the youngest run first, everyone else lines up together afterward. The untimed mile removes any pressure for walkers or anyone easing back into activity, while the 5K is the option to pick if you want a measured effort. A 10:00 AM start in December is comfortable, though it leaves you standing around in the cold, so keep a throwaway layer on until a few minutes before the gun and get some easy jogging in beforehand.