In May this year I will be organising a charity event in memory of our close friend Raj Patel, who sadly passed away last year. Raj was an avid runner, as such the event being organised will start with a 10k run throughout Raj's favourite and most memorable places across Reading. The event will start by Raj's second year house off Christchurch Road, go through the university campus down past the river and finish at one of his favourite bars, The Island. However unlike a normal charity run everyone taking part will instead be required to wear a cookie monster onesie (like the one Raj is wearing in the picture above) in the name of diabetes research (Raj was also a diabetic for those who knew him less well). 

We will also be organising a shorter 5k event starting and finishing at the same location (this can be run or walked) so no excuses! Again onesies are mandatory.

As noted above the finish point for the run will be The Island Bar on Caversham Bridge, I have talked with the management staff there and they are happy to accommodate the event, providing water, snacks and beer/wine and possibly even laying on showers.

I am organising the event so that a payment is made upfront to register your participation. This payment will include your onesie, a beer/wine or soft drink at The Island Bar, light buffet lunch and any excess will be donated to Diabities research. We will leave it to you to pay as you feel fit for the event, however ask that you pay at least £30 to cover your onesie, catering and a potential small donation. 

At current I want to register interest in this event to ensure that we can run it as outlined above. The event can accommodate 150-200 people and I'm keen to max it out so invite friends, family and everyone you know- whether you knew Raj or not it promises to be a great event and a fantastic event in honour of him. Register your interest by writing your name and any friends on the group wall and I will tally up.

I would like to confirm the event with venue etc. by the start of February so please get inviting and spreading the message! I envisage a deadline for payment of start of April to allow the ordering of all onesies and confirmation of details with the bar. And of course all participants are encouraged to set-up their own justgiving pages to raise even more money for diabetes research or another cause close to your heart! Add yourself to the team page: www.justgiving.com/teams/cookiemonster to see how much money the event has raised in total!