This years dinner was held at the Vardar club in Littlehampton who did us proud with a good meal well stocked bar and a disco with even the most reluctant dancers cutting a rug. The evening went well and the secret Santa proved a fantastic source of comedy.
After the meal was the draw for the London marathon place. This year it was decided by the runners in the draw  there would be no draw and that the place would be given to Sarah Richards who is raising money for the Royal Brompton hospital who have been involved with the screening of her son Reggie following the tragic loss of her other son Max earlier this year . We wish Sarah well in her training and hope she enjoys the race and is able to raise a lot of money on the way we are all behind her. Samantha Morfee was drawn as the reserve runner.
A big thank you to Mary Crabb for all her hard work and time in putting on the event and making it a great night.

The second cross country had a change of venue from lancing manor leisure  centre to Stanmer Park and followed the same course as the first event . 
Striders fielded a ladies and mens  team on what was a very difficult day for running horrible drizzle and very muddy and slippery underfoot .  The ladies did two laps one small loop and one large loop with the gents doing one small and two large laps with a lot of climbing my Strava counted 751 feet in 5miles .

 Saturday 8th December is our Strider's Christmas Meal at the Vardar in Littlehampton. For all those that attending, it has been agreed that we should all purchase a unisex gift up to the value of £5 that we can add to Santa's sack. Everyone attending the meal will then have an opportunity to choose a gift from the sack at some point in the evening - fun and creative gifts very welcome!

We are also hosting a Christmas raffle this year and will be selling tickets at both the Christmas Meal and our festive running evening on the Thursday 13th December (information below). The raffle and the festive running evening will be to raise money for the Royal Brompton & Harefield Trust Charity. This is a charity that has been chosen by Sarah Richards in memory of her Son Max who sadly died earlier this year. We would like to raise as much money as possible for this fantastic cause and to let Sarah, her husband Jamie and other Son, Reggie know how much we have thought about them during this incredibly difficult time.

Sarah said about the charity 'The Royal Brompton have really helped us with screening of Reggie and also in finding out the true cause of Max’s death. Without them we would still not really know what happened. A gene was responsible and Jamie & I were both carriers. With their ground breaking research we would not know this. They also do amazing work in treating people with heart & lung problems.'

Please join in showing your support and giving generously. If anyone is able to donate a raffle prize, we would be very grateful.

So, on to the festive running evening. On Thursday 14th December, we will be inviting all members to run in festive wear and contribute £3 each on the evening for our chosen charity. We will then be holding a 'Christmas jumper' drinking session in the bar. Everyone is welcome. We will be drawing the raffle on this evening.