Chasers Christmas Party As the weather turns dark and cold, it is very nice to have Christmas on the horizon and what better way to welcome in December than the Chasers Christmas party, this Friday 1st December. If you still have to book your tickets, please click here to make your festive dreams come true. For the price of £10, you will be treated to banquets, bubbles and a blooming good time! There will be a great selection of food available, catering to both vegetarian and non vegetarians. See menu The party kicks off at 6.30pm at the Gypsy Queen (for those that have never been, a really nice local pub) and we have the place to ourselves. This event promises to be a really fun evening and if you are new to the club, a great way to come and meet some like minded runners and raise a glass (or two) to the arrival of December. London Marathon Club Places It's that time of year again when members can apply for a club place in the London Marathon in April. To apply, send an email to Adrian Cathersides (adriancathersides@gmail.com) by the end of day Monday 18th December with a supporting statement which should include the following:  1. Proof that you applied for a ballot place  2. Length of club membership (must have been a member for at least 12 months)  3. Service to the club (marshalling, tea, volunteering, etc)  4. Participation in the club (e.g. racing in club events such as xc, summer league, athletics, attending social events). You must also be a fully paid up first claim Mornington Chasers member and not have used a club London Marathon place within the last three years.  More details can be found here London Irish Centre Marathon Place Following on from the above, the London Irish Centre has one Marathon space available and they would like a Chaser to run this on behalf of their charitable function (non Irish runners also welcome). If this sounds like something you would be interested in then can you please respond to Gerry Naughton’s post on facebook, or just post something on the Chasers Facebook page and it will get picked up. Cross Country The Fraternity and Sorority Cup took place at Trent Park last Saturday. It was just under five miles with plenty of hills and mud. Thanks to Rob Scott and the marshals from Barnet and District AC for organising a great event and standing outside in freezing conditions. The next Met League fixture will take place this coming Saturday (2nd of December) in Uxbridge- last stop on the Metropolitan line. The women's race starts at 1.55pm and the men's race starts at 2.35pm (ideal timings for post-Christmas party runs). It'll be an undulating course, with one steep climb per large lap, on grass, woodland paths and an option of small river crossing if conditions on the day allow. Have a look at the Course Map. No need to sign up beforehand- just turn up on the day. As usual, all abilities are welcome. MCRP10K We still need 3 marshals for the race on the 3rd of December. It is really important for us to have enough marshals to ensure course safety and to make it an enjoyable event for all participants. Remember, you get free race entries to the rest of the races in the series by marshalling. Sign up to marshal via the calendar. If you haven't done so already, you can like the race Facebook page to keep up to date with race information Wendover Woods 50 (50 mile Ultra) Race Report Saturday 25th November (Eamon and Andrew) It was a bitterly cold but dry and windless morning when we arrived in Wendover Woods at 7am for race registration. After the mandatory kit inspection which had to be passed before you could collect your race bib, we were off promptly at 8am. Because of the cold, the majority of the field were wearing multiple layers, hats and gloves for the best part of the race. The course consisted of 5 x 10 mile laps totally on trails which included 2,900m of elevation.  Some of the hills were absolutely brutal and we were glad that we had taken walking poles to help us up. We knew it was going to be a long day and that we would need to run, walk and hike our way around.  The last 20 miles of the race were completed in total darkness wearing head torches.  This made the already difficult terrain even more treacherous. The race marshals were made up of runners who volunteer with the promise of a free entry next year were incredibly supportive. Out of 242 participants, only 186 completed the course with some runners dropping out after the first lap. We got separated in a queue to climb over a sty at about mile 3 and we did not see each other again until 200m before the finish line, which we crossed together in 14:49:00 (narrowly avoiding being disqualified for missing the cut off of 15 hours). (Fantastic work Eamon and Andrew!) Beginners Parkrun There will be a beginners Parkrun taking place on Saturday 9th December at Hampstead Heath (see calendar below for details). For anyone that has not yet done a parkrun, this gives you a great opportunity to give it a go with some familiar faces. I think they also head down to Hampstead village for a coffee afterwards, if anyone requires a little extra motivation!   Calendar Here's whats happening over the next few weeks other than our usual Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday runs. You can find our full calendar on the website. Date Event Type Sign-up link Fri 1 Dec 2017 Christmas Party Social Sat 2 Dec 2017 Start Fitness Met League - Uxbridge Cross Country Sun 3 Dec 2017 Mornington Chasers Regent’s Park 10k - Race 3 Road Sign up to marshal (3 of 12 left) Sat 9 Dec 2017 Beginners' Hampstead Heath Parkrun Road We are also currently taking names for the following events. Date Event Type Sign-up link Sat 6 Jan 2018 Middlesex Cross Country Championship Cross Country Sign up to run. No entries on the day. Sun 7 Jan 2018 Mornington Chasers Regent’s Park 10k - Race 4 Road Sign up to marshal (6 of 12 left) Sun 4 Feb 2018 Mornington Chasers Regent’s Park 10k - Race 5 Road Sign up to marshal (7 of 12 left) Sat 24 Feb 2018 National Cross Country Championships Cross Country Sign up to run Sun 4 Mar 2018 Mornington Chasers Regent’s Park 10k - Race 6 - Club 10K championships Road Sign up to marshal (7 of 12 left) Sat 14 Apr 2018 Athletics - Perivale Track Sign up to take part Sun 20 May 2018 Athletics- Watford Track Sign up to take part Sat 23 Jun 2018 Athletics- Parliament Hill Track Sign up to take part Sat 14 Jul 2018 Athletics - Parliament Hill Track Sign up to take part Sat 18 Aug 2018 Athletics- Battersea Track Sign up to take part Results If you want to upload a photo or your results are missing, visit log in to our website and update your picture and Power of 10 ID. RunThrough Battersea Park 10K (London Battersea Park), 18/11/2017 10K Matthew Gibson 35:06 (35:06), 1 [76.59%] London Championships (Parliament Hill), 18/11/2017 ZXC Francesca Molossi-Murphy 26:35, 111   Andrea Sanders-Reece 30:33, 215 Parkrun 25/11/2017 Alexandra Palace Hannah Jean McQuarrie 27:55, 129 [52.96%] Burgess Park Nicola Heron 22:30, 70 [65.78%] Clacton Seafront Paul Matthews 25:40, 35 (1) [71.88%] Finsbury Park David Glencross 20:58, 41 [61.92%] Gladstone Park Simon Fitzmaurice 18:56, 5 [68.75%] Hampstead Heath Fabrizio Sidoli 23:01, 51 [58.73%]   Lucy Fox 23:07, 55 (1) [63.88%] Highbury Fields Russ Hall 19:24, 18 [68.04%]   Georg Isola 22:25, 68 [61.56%] Oak Hill Park Philip West 25:14, 63 (1) [65.98%] Stevenage Lizzy Muggeridge 31:54, 165 [48.48%] Tooting Common Simon Fuller 30:17, 420 [48.71%] Fraternity / Sorority Cup (Trent Park), 25/11/2017 7.8KXC David Thorne 30:49, 30 (5)   John Armstrong 31:28, 38 (7)   Daniel Berry 34:26, 68 (16)   Lachlan Stibbard Hawkes 34:59, 74   Peter Faulkner 36:04, 84   Gary Homewood 40:29, 110 (33)   Carmen Harrington 45:14, 44 Wendover Woods 50 (Wendover), 25/11/2017 Other Eamon Byrne 14:50:00 (14:49:00), 182 (22) NEW PB Links Send your stories to newsletter@chaser.me.uk. Home Facebook Twitter Strava