It wasn't intended from the outset, but we ended up having a games themed evening.

We started the night talking about the upcoming Goodgym Olympics. Back for a second year, this brilliant sports day style event will include everything from 100 metre sprint to sack races. And this year we want H&F to be represented with athletes and a flag! More on the Olympics here.

On to the task. This week we were tasked with delivering the last of the ‘Move 4 Change’ flyers around north hammersmith. This is an event happening on 12th May for the first year with the aim of raising awareness of poverty in the borough.

The team smashed through the flyers in a record breaking 10minutes which left us with over an hour left to run to the park and do some speed work. This fitness sessions came in the form of games. Some of these you many recognise from childhood and other you won’t. Like ‘stuck in the mud’ (with jumping squats), duck duck goose, “everyone catch Jason”, wheelbarrow race. Then we attempted/invented 'The Mexican Burpee Wave' and did an array of planks.

With everyone roughly worn out, we headed back to base for warm-down stretches.

We started the night off a bit differently this week. We were going to be delivering flyers to promote Crosslight’s Poverty Awareness Walk for a second week and Stephan from the charity had sent over an account from one of the people they had helped. I read this story to the runners that explained how one woman had got into personal debt after loosing her job and caring for her ill mother. When her mother had passed away, in grief she had got behind on rent and tax payments plus inherited her mother’s debt. Crosslight helped her arrange with the council to cross off her debt relief if her of an escalating situation.

This story was really helpful for the runners to understand more about the who and why they were helping. You can find out more about the event and Crosslight here.

Scrambled legs

After this unusual start we went back to the normal routine and headed outside to warmup our legs. Following that we ran up the length of Hammersmith Grove to loosen the legs road and then started delivering leaflets for Crosslight and both Goodgym missions. The runners worked with such efficiency, sweeping down and around the roads using a leap frog approach. We did this for 40mins before heading over to Ravenbourne park for so fitness fun.

Grass is greener in the park

It was so nice to be out in the park finally. We used the grass to do some partner exercises - working out arms, abs, bums. Then the pavement to do some out and back runs in pairs. Andrew and Anders first back every time!

Then it was back to base for some stretches.

100 GOOD DEEDS 🕊

Congratulations to Jason for completing his 100 good deed on this session! What an achievement - give him a cheer! This hero has only missed one H&F session since it opened and is pretty much always the back marker for the group. Making sure no one gets left behind and feels included. He’s been part of our task force since the beginning and has trained up to be a run leader too. Thank you for all your hard work, cakes, fancy dress and help Jason!

PSB
OVER AND OUT

After a quick round-up of the week’s task and session we headed outside for a warm-up. Then we ran around the Hammersmith roundabout to to meet Stephan from Crosslight Advice at St Paul's Church.

He was there to tell us about the Local Poverty Awareness Walk taking place on 12th May around the borough. Crosslight Hammersmith and the Hammersmith & Fulham Foodbank are hosting this interactive, all-age walk to explore this issue and what it means in our local community. Walkers will get to hear hearing from some of those involved in tackling poverty locally to learn more about the extent of the problem and ways in which we can respond.

Our runners had been drafted in to help distribute flyers promoting to the walk to locals houses. Once we’d heard all about the walk we headed off to South Fulham.

The runners smashed through our pile of flyers in no time. Next up, we headed to Chelsea FC to do some pyramid speed work, using the lampposts as markers. After that we ran along the river towards Hammersmith Bridge, where we did a circuit and abs session (see photo evidence).

Once back at base we did warm down stretches and then headed over to the Queen’s Head for our April Social.

Good luck to Will at the London Marathon this Sunday