Monday 26th August 2019
Report written by Laura Williams
It was a small crew that gathered for tonight’s task this evening.
We were pleased to be leafleting the busy Bethnal Green area for St Margaret’s House, a charity that supports creativity and wellbeing in the borough. After a quick pic to celebrate our fabulous partnership with Team GB’s Nation's Biggest Sports Day at the weekend, we headed around the corner (yes, we ran the 0.2 miles around the block) to meet Tony Hardie, director of the charity, and tonight’s task owner.
Tony explained a little bit about the charity; what they’re looking to achieve in the weeks and months ahead, along with some info about the events we were leafleting for this evening.
Despite being a reduced number of runners, we soon adopted a splendid strategy to cover the most ground in the shortest amount of time: Bryon and Jo headed to nearby Hollybush and Teesdale developments; Tom and Clair meanwhile headed south down Cambridge Heath Road hitting up everything and everyone from park pedestrians to local businesses. I headed up a team of 1 moving north up Cambridge Heath Road to local businesses - flourishing, independently owned, busy local traders who were unbelievably supportive in taking leaflets, displaying them prominently and listening intently to what this wonderful charity has to offer the community.
It struck me this evening that although a Bank Holiday may not offer the best run turnout, and the city may feel a little sleepier than usual, it’s a wonderful opportunity to take a little more time to meet people on pavements and truly terrific local traders, and help to connect buildings, events and people.
And so we met back at St Margaret’s at 8pm, with just the smallest stash of leaflets remaining. We then headed up Approach Road to the beautiful Bonner Gate entrance of Victoria Park where we found a perfect spot by the canal for tonight’s fitness. Tonight’s session of Pilates in the Park involved the use of kit: yes, the runners were lucky enough to benefit from exercise content using resistance bands and tubes, tailored to tackling dormant glutes and comatose cores.
We wrapped shortly after 8.30, after some great use of the steps and railings back at the hotel showing our quads and calves some love after a warm run.
A great evening’s work: we blitzed the local area for a wonderful charity, and enjoyed the last of the Monday sunshine conditioning our hardworking muscles.
And of course we’re back at it again next week: off we head for our first visit following the break to Oxford House, where task owner Deborah has some exciting work cut out for us…Don’t miss out – check it all out here.
St Margaret's House offer projects that provide spaces for residents to eat, shop, learn, create, and enjoy a diverse cultural program.
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