The drizzle didn't dampen our spirits

A decent sized group of runners gathered in the WF foyer this lunchtime to head to the Royal London for a fabulous variety of tasks.

And it was a resilient bunch too – no sooner had we headed out the revolving doors, than the heavens opened, and we were left weaving in and out of congested City streets with the rain coming down.

With the team patiently sticking to the ‘green man’ pedestrian crossing rule, our route was run at a decent pace but with some frustrating moments.

FOUR teams at the hospital!

But then we arrived, and were greeted so warmly, so enthusiastically by Nancy, Marufa, Richard and Bernadette to be dispatched to not one but four corners of the hospital!

One team headed to wrap staff presents; another to A&E distribute leaflets & Metro newspapers, while a further two teams headed to the wards to chat to patients. Amazing Wednesday lunchtime work!

We received a great reception by patients and staff alike, with ward nurses gratefully receiving literature on Delirium and the new volunteer drive, and floors being shuttled up by runners, to cover as much ground as possible, in record time.

And then it was 1.30 and we were congregating for our goodbye pics and a thank from Nancy, who runs the volunteer team heading up an outfit of hundreds and hundreds of people.

What an awesome efforts from everyone involved.

It felt like we sped back to base in no time – maybe the lights were a little kinder to us on the way back, or we were just relieved to see the back of the rain, but it seemed like we were racing down King William Street before we knew it, back to reception for our final cool down stretches.

What a lovely way to spend a long lunch hour. Thank you all.

Yet again, your determination, productivity, energy and appreciation has been commented on – WF, you rock!

Let’s do it all again in the New Year!

A good sized team of 29 runners headed to the Royal London Hospital this evening to help out the brilliant team from Barts Volunteers.

Safety briefing: Beware the wind

After a very patient start ("Bear with me, while I brief you on the health and safety of running in the wind...”), we sped along Aldgate & Whitechapel High Sts at varying (and erratic, for some of us) paces, taking advantage of green lights for speed work, and red lights for a bit of recovery.

Task owners Nancy, Marufa and Richard were waiting for us in the foyer with a variety of different tasks...

Gardeners galore

A small team of keen gardeners headed out to the front of the hospital for some overdue pruning of the rose bushes donated very kindly earlier in the year by the RHS Chelsea Flower Show, while another, larger team followed Nancy out to the John Harrison Garden, the hospital’s only green space, for a huge litter-pick; weeding and litter-picking the many planters, and more rosebush deadheading.

Doing the ward rounds

Meanwhile, Marufa and Richard took a good-sized team of 12 up to the wards to deliver newspapers and FFT (Friends and Family Test) papers. They finished in record time and it wasn’t long before they joined fellow runners for one last blast of a litter-pick in the John Harrison Garden.

Chasing one last challenge

Finishing with one final, “12-minutes-to fill-your-bin-liner” garden challenge the team then gathered to pose proudly with their litter-and-weed haul in front of a trolley now groaning with full refuse sacks.

“Of COR-se we can finish with some abdominal work”

We then sped back to the foyer for some pics and…core work. Of cor-se (see what I did there?). We worked on a standing balance challenge, to prime glutes and hamstrings for the run back, and some core work on the hospital floor, including the Elbow Plank with Donkey Kick. Ouch. What can I say? Good work, guys.

And then we were racing back down significantly less busy high streets, back to base, for some last minute stretching.

Your efforts were so much appreciated

What an evening. What teamwork. To say you were a fun, dynamic, productive and highly effective crew is an understatement. Thank you for getting so much done, and I’m sure I speak for Nancy and the Barts Volunteer team too (Nancy told me that there weremany positive comments and acknowledgments on the work you were doing in and around the hospital this evening ,by people making their way home through the grounds). You should feel very proud.