Grinch chased from town for a great cause

If you saw a people dressed as Santa, elves or in their other Christmas best running through downtown Modesto on Saturday morning, you weren’t having a holiday hallucination.

More than 1,000 people, some in running gear, some in their Christmas outfits, came to either run or encourage other runners during the Sprit of Giving Walk and Run 5K in downtown Modesto at 10th Street Place. Participants dressed as Santa, elves, reindeer, and other Christmas themed outfits.

There was also a kids fun run to chase the Grinch out of Modesto.

A portion of the proceeds from the run go to benefit The City of Modesto Parks, Recreation and Neighborhoods Department’s Leisure Bucks program that offers financial assistance to low-income children, seniors and individuals with disabilities, giving them access to recreational activities city-wide. This year, the Modesto Gospel Mission will benefitted from a portion of the proceeds, including a canned food drive.

This story was originally published December 9, 2017 at 2:21 PM with the headline "Grinch chased from town for a great cause."