Trophies awarded at the Christmas party

Saturday's Christmas Party was once again great fun and a huge success - many thanks to Josie for making it happen. During the evening we presented the John Stonham Farewell Cup and announced the recipient of the David Simpson Memorial Trophy.

John Stonham was an active member of Serpentine from 1986 and the award was donated anonymously in 1993 upon his departure to Thailand. The trophy is awarded annually to the runner who, in the judgement of the Committee, inspires others by being 1) a new runner who shows significant "improvement, but not necessarily victories" 2) an experienced runner returning from injury or illness or 3) a runner showing enthusiasm in the sport even without victory. This year the trophy was presented to Sam Day. Sam took up running four years ago on her return to the UK following the tragic loss of her husband. It was not long before she joined Serpentine. Sam is a tremendous advocate of the positive effect running has on our lives, having benefitted greatly from this herself.

David Simpson, who was a long-standing Serpentine member, a jog leader and recipient of the John Stonham Trophy in 2007, passed away in 2011 after a long battle with cancer. He was kind enough to leave the club a legacy in his will, a part of which was used to inaugurate the David Simpson Memorial Trophy, awarded on an annual basis for achievement in hill and off road running, both of which were close to David's heart. This year the trophy goes to Alan Hall, in recognition of his great contribution to the club in the field of trail running. Alan initiated a Serpentine trail running group which is accessible to runners of all levels. He regularly organises runs in the countryside around London, which are very sociable and have built up a dedicated following.

Congratulations to Sam and Alan.

Fraser Johnson
Chairman
chairman@serpentine.org.uk

Submitted: 4 December 2016

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