Here come the Squat Steppers......Rooooccccchhhhhester

34 runners ran between 5-7k and shifted loads of.....detritus from a former Squat turned Nomad community centre

Wednesday's run started ominously. A sudden drop in temperature didn't bode well for an evening of shifting and carrying at a derelict garden centre. Ooooof- I think a few people quickly regretted not wearing those extra layers. We enjoyed it though.

To the Nomad Centre....Roooooocchester

We headed back to the London Nomad Community Centre in Rochester Square. There is sooo much to do there. Its a mess (in the nicest possible way), and they are really grateful for any heavy lifting, shifting and clearing we can get done. They have ambitious plans for the area- turning an old abandoned garden centre into a community hub, offering workshops, spiritual healing classes and permaculture courses. There is a long way to go but there trying to renovate the place sustainably- attempting to salvage and reuse a lot of the derelict site.

We're the Miracle Clearers. Roooooccchester

We shifted absolutely loads of stuff - sorting and breaking down wood, moving roof panels for disposal and rationalising rubbish piles. It was dirty...and a little bit dangerous but armed with our new outdoor lights we got through all the jobs they needed doing in just over 30mins. Rob, one of the group's residents was particularly grateful for all the hard graft.

We're running riiiiiigggght back....Rochester

We headed back- and after a garbled explanation of the various route options on the canal we set off- some headed as far as Regents Park and back, while others jogged back to base.

It was cold, it was dark, it was slightly dangerous- but it was fun. We got a decent run- the guys at Rochester got some help with a job that would have taken at least a day to do on their own, and our fingers all thawed out in the end.