Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

The Mesa Monument Striders want you to know ---- Hello runners, Have a wonderful active Christmas holiday, everyone! The off-and-on Striders tradition of running in the New Year is back! Thank Marty Wacker for organizing! Thursday, December 31 (with a big moon!) 530 Walnut Av, GJ (between 5th and 6th north of Orchard) New Year’s Eve FREE Fun Run!!! Join fellow runners and friends in a 4K to 8K (any distance you’d like) run/walk/jog and pre-run/post-run festivities at Marty’s house (530 Walnut Ave. near St. Mary’s hospital). REQUIRED: you and your friends; OPTIONAL: running shoes, shorts, tights, headlamp, sleeping bag (kidding) favorite beverage, favorite food item. Host may make African recipes to encourage your inner Kenyan running spirit. The party will start around 10pm on 12/31, run will start around 11:25PM and post-run party will go till sometime 1/1/10, TBD. Non-runners are welcome to hang out at the house and it will be very easy to run your distance, then rejoin other runners on the course, if desired. Call Marty at 234-1730 (cell) with questions. House is easy to find, head two blocks west on Walnut Ave. off 7th street. Keep piling up the miles so you'll be ready for this one: Saturday, January 9, 7:30 AM Bangs Canyon Trail Run - 30K, 60K (formerly FA 50K) Bangs Staging Area (up Little Park road) Do one lap or two, totally self-supported extreme trail run. Racers must be able to carry; a cell phone, map (single sheet of paper), and at least 40 oz of fluids. There will not be any course markers or aid stations. Each lap consists of over 3000 feet of climbing. Yahoo! More info: bangscanyon@yahoo.com Saturday, January 16, 11 AM Appleton Freezer 4-Mile Appleton Elementary School, 2350 H Rd Another great low-fee big-fun Strider race Info: Rick 255-6510 Group training run every Thursday 5:45 PM Dec 24: take the night off and celebrate! No run. Dec 31: run in the New Year with Marty. See details above. Jan 7: Craven's Coffee Warehouse, 598 N. Commercial Dr. For Craven's from Patterson: between 25 and 25 1/2 Rd turn south on Northgate at B & H Sports, make an immediate left at the T, when the street turns south again go straight ahead into the parking lot, the door is in the middle of the south side of the building; there's a big sign on the end of the building that says "Images". We'll be out there rain or shine. A headlamp is a good idea. As always, this is casual and all shapes and speeds are welcome with various routes to choose from. We'll look out for you.