Team Trash

12 runners headed to the busy, bustling Aldgate area this evening, to meet Team Tower Hamlets for a supreme clean up effort.

Yes, a decent sized crew congregated in the King William Street foyer to start this evening's warm up in preparation for an active, slightly chilly trip to Whitechapel.

After a few mobility and stretching exercises, the team gathered on the street where we were expertly led by Megan via a scenic, Tower Hill route at a very speedy pace to tonight's meeting point by Aldgate Station. The team did amazingly in keeping up - it was a full-on fitness session from the off, and the energy and the pulse of the group by the time we arrived at the task was incredible.And we were lucky to be beautifully, carefully backmarked by Nigel all the way.

Busy, bustling streets

We were fully briefed on every aspect of health and safety by the brilliant Mark, and James talked us through the area we would be covering, and explained why we were making such a difference tidying up the streets in this vibrant, but very busy area.

The team divided into two, with half of us heading towards Whitechapel Underground, and the other team remaining in the busy Brick Lane/Aldgate area. It was a complex little litter-pick in fact, as we were negotiating congested, commuter-strewn streets and speedy cycle lanes, but pick we did, and it wasn't long before the team had filled sack after sack of cigarette ends, pizza boxes, bottles, cans...you name it.

Before we knew it, it was 7.30pm and we were making our way back to our meeting point, to compare trash stash and leave our overstuffed bags to the oversized bins, in Mark's capable hands.

As usual it was a brilliantly organised, prepped, briefed and kitted operation from Tower Hamlets Council, and we'd like to thank you here for the effort and planning you put into making this happen.

Midweek, midsection meltdown

And so Megan took the lead again, expertly navigating us back to base, via the quietest route, at a steady pace, with just a sting in the tempo-run tail at the last minute.

We gathered again in Reception, with more than a sense of deja vu, and whizzed through a few stretches, but not before tackling our tums with a midweek core kick, which the runners stuck with amazingly, even after over two hours of tough work.

A truly terrific team

Thank YOU all for a brilliant evening: Thank you for everything from your local area knowledge, and taking up the navigation reins, to helping passers by with route directions and taking their litter(!); for sticking together so brilliantly on our run, and for putting up with my traffic light rules. And for working through those abdominal exercises, and for all your smiles and energy...Thank you. And I can't wait to do it again soon.

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.