By 
IN what has become a familiar sight in Strabane in the lead-up to Christmas, Adrian ‘Rusty’ Crossan’s 12 Runs of Christmas concluded last week with yet another bumper total for local charities.
Now in its sixth year, Rusty’s Runs sees Adrian and an ever-growing band of followers undertake 8km runs around Strabane and district to raise money for charity, with this year’s haul going to Autism NI.
Speaking after hanging up his running shoes for another year, he said, “This has been another brilliant, mad year with yet another brilliant turnout. The runs are always well supported but between businesses lining up to contribute and runners joining us nightly, the support has been phenomenal.”
“When Sorcha (Matthews) from Autism NI came down for the cheque presentation even she was blown away, absolutely couldn’t believe the support the runs receive.”
Initially hoping to raise something in the region of three to four thousand pounds, Rusty admits he was overwhelmed to discover the total was close to £10,000.
“It was a shock and as of today (Thursday) the total is £9,868 and we still have more money coming in, so topping the £10,000 mark between money collected on the runs and our bucket collection is entirely possible, and I would estimate that.
“Once again this shows the generosity of people in the town, especially at what is an expensive time of year. All I’m hearing from people this year is how they love the annual runs and are keen to get involved; we had over two hundred runners on some nights.”
As ever, Rusty is thankful for the support from businesses and locals alike and issued a heartfelt thanks to everyone who donated or came out to support him, saying, “I couldn’t do this without your help, so thank you everyone.”
