Today, after running Parkrun, Nathan and I wanted to make a positive difference to the life of another in the Cardiff Community, and the way in which we were going to achieve that was by running to help Mrs R. Mrs R is an older person in Cardiff who lives in a lovely home with a beautiful garden. However, Mrs R's driveway has gathered moss and leaves over the winter months which has increased the risk of Mrs R falling. Mrs R even mentioned to us that she worries about slipping on the leaves after slipping on them once already.

Our Mission

After running 2.5 miles to the task and hearing about all the trouble Mrs R has been experiencing with leaves and moss we couldn't wait to get stuck in and make a difference by clearing the leaves and tidying the garden.

Nathan grabbed the broom and began brushing away! I was almost swept off my feet (no no, not by the broom) by the speed at which he approached the task.

I began clearing the leaves and the moss in the back garden and carried out some other tasks Mrs R asked for some help with. Mrs R even took some time to introduce me to the fish that inhabit the pond... I met Boss, Beauty, another 1 I can't spell and one that was unnamed. Going beyond my call of duty, together with Mrs R we named the unnamed fish 'Beast' (as there was already a fish named Beauty it was only fitting to name the unnamed fish Beast). Mrs R and I were so pleased with ourselves... and I believe the fish was finally happy to have an identity. Mrs R also told me about her appreciation for nature which was lovely to hear.

About an hour after starting the task we had finished. The driveway looked a lot clearer, by the pond where I had a tidy looked a lot neater and the green bins were full to the brim. Further confirming a very successful task was the smile on Mrs R's face, this really did make it all worthwhile.

Mrs R thanked us for our efforts. She even offered us a coffee too... Nathan and I politely refused the coffee (we had water so we weren't feeling thirsty) and began our run back home. We felt like heroes after helping out Mrs R.

Thank you Nathan for being such wonderful company today and thank you Mrs R for giving us a reason to run.

Would you like to take part in mission runs to help older people? If so, click here to find out more

Do you know an older person who needs a hand with one off tasks? If you do, click here to make a referral for runners to go and give them a hand