HJ Christmas Party
The Horsham Joggers Xmas party will be Friday 18th December in HAODS house this is opposite the table tennis room in BBH Sports centre. It will be bring your own Booze and we will supply food (& maybe some wine if we have money left!). We will have a DJ for some light music at first and then some dancing. There is also a quieter seating area. Numbers are limited so get your tickets from James Munden £10 each or pay money into the HJ account ( 20-23-97 20523984) with name as reference. Let me know if pay into account so can add you to list.

Thanks and look forward to a fun night!

Marathon training
Marathon training Sunday long runs will start on 27th December 2015 and details will be on facebook nearer the time. We need all who take part to volunteer to provide the run and water/snack stops. Any questions please speak with James Munden.

Club Kit and Merchandise
A new batch of race vests will be arriving at Up and Running in the next week or so. We are expecting the new race t-shirts to arrive at the end of the following week (13/14 November). We had hoped that they would be available sooner, but unfortunately there has been a delay with the order. Probably best to give Mike at the shop a call to check that stock has arrived before you make a special journey (01403 268688).

Hoodies: thank you to the 66 people who have paid in advance for their hoodies. The order has now been placed, and the finished items will be with us in good time for Christmas. More news once we have a firm delivery date. We’ll do another order in the New Year. In the meantime, if you have any comments about the online ordering and payment system, please speak to Fiona or Victoria.

Event clips: don’t forget that we have special HJ-branded event clips available, to make your race numbers look smart! A pack of 4 costs £2.15. See Paul Chandler for further information – or to acquire a pack (or two).

Notes from the committee
After the usual reports from treasurer and membership secretaries, Phil gave us an update on the proposed plans for the leisure centre at BBH. Essentially, whilst nothing has been agreed yet, it looks like a brand new leisure centre will be built next to the existing one, with the track being left where it is, at least for the medium term. The plan at the moment is for the old centre to remain open until the new one is built circa end of 2017. Tony Johnson is still heavily involved and fighting our corner. Other items discussed were the upcoming social events including the awards night and handicap and the Christmas party, tickets will be on sale shortly from James Munden. The other big item for discussion was our WSFRL race, the valentines run. Due to a big increase in numbers last year, the existing venue and route are no longer suitable. A new route is being sought so watch this space.

Worthing Christmas Cracker – Saturday 5th December 10:00am
The Christmas Cracker Chase is an annual women only fun run. It comprises a 5km and 10km event, along Worthing seafront, normally held on the first Saturday in December. The event starts at the Lido and is an out and back course. It is totally flat and traffic free on a variety of surfaces, sea views all the way! We like to think it is a fun, friendly event and would encourage participants to enter into the Christmas spirit and wear something festive. We aim to donate a good proportion of the proceeds to a charitable cause each year.

Trip to Lage
Following on from the update in the last newsletter, our Twinning Co-ordinator Dave Maurice has provided some tips on organising a trip to Lage.

HJ have a long standing relationship with TG Lage, the local sports club of our twin town. Since then there have been many visits in both directions and as a result strong friendships have been built between the two sporting clubs. So you can be sure that anyone from HJ wishing to visit Lage will receive a warm welcome, especially as the majority of the German club members speak at least some English.

However, if you are considering a visit, the first thing to bear in mind is that Lage is not easily accessible for a short visit. The nearest airports are Munster, Paderborn or Hanover but they are all around 60 miles from Lage, so car rental would be essential. It is worth checking flight availability to these locations as, since the British Government closed the Army bases in the area, there is less demand for air transport.

If you are planning a visit by car using either the ferry or Channel Tunnel, one should be looking at 5 days as a minimum. It takes the best part of a day for the journey in each direction. I always go from Thursday to Monday and use the ferry from Dover to Dunkirk. This is the most economical way to get there, costing approximately £88 return for a car and four passengers. If there are enough of you a mini bus may be a better option. In the past we have hired the Forest and Slinfold community Mini Bus.

There are many places of interest within a 10 mile radius of Lage so taking your car enables you to get more from your visit. In August you have the town festival at the same time you have the Shutzenguild Fest, which is a shooting/hunting festival involving much eating, drinking and merry making.

Lage is a small town with just a couple of B&B’s. There are, however a couple of very nice guest houses in the village of Horster around 4 km from Lage. In Lage I have stayed in The Alte Residenz Hotel Garni. It is a simple hotel probably of two stars but it is clean and the rooms are simple but adequate. They serve an excellent breakfast and are very friendly – Alte Residenz Hotel. It is in a convenient location and the prices are good, see web page.

Other accommodation nearby is:
Hoersterkrug Tel. 0049 52328894 double room with breakfast 70 Euros. (4 days Min stay).
Hiddentrup this is an old converted farm house and ideal venue for a group who want to look after themselves. 5 persons 65 Euros.

Next Newsletter
If you have any articles you wish to be included in the next newsletter please send these to info@horshamjoggers.co.uk by the 30th November.