I Varnish upon a star...

8 runners ran to a local community centre, vanished a mural, ran back

Another Wednesday, another crystal clear sky with reinvigorating fresh air. A lovely group of endorphin thirsty runners, fuelled by altruism.....and hopefully some race targets.

This week we made the 2.1 mile journey to the fantastic Durning Hall community centre. They play a big role in helping low income families and individuals within the Newham area. It was therefore a pleasure to give them a hand.

A few new faces joined us for the first time in 2016, Mairead and Justin returning after a hiatus...great additions to the group. Plus Sarah as well, running hungry after signing up to Hackney Half, brilliant stuff.

Once we arrived at Durning Hall, we were momentarily puzzled by the task at hand (many were seen scratching their head with varying levels of befuddlement). However now we all know, varnish isn't just for wood, it can be used to make awesome murals more resistant to getting grubby and ruined. Knowledge is power. I'm currently varnishing my trail shoes, take that mud So after a speedy brush down of the wall, the gang began layering the varnish on with precision, speed and love. In roughly 20 mins, it was job done, high 5 to your mother, get your coat, bish bosh bash, start shifting - aka we prepared to depart the vicinity. A quick wash of the varnishing utensils, no one did it more thoroughly than Carol, you could have eaten a hot meal off that brush....

We skipped on home, with a small fartlek (swedish for speedplay) effort on the way back, 30 secs per pace, 3 paces...getting quicker each one. The guys committed and worked up a sweat in and amongst the fresh East London air. Special mention to Diya, who was struggling on the early part of the run with tender knees....but she still managed to run back in strong style...and even finished off getting quicker - bravo.

Next week I aim to have something equally or more awesome lined up.

See you then.

B