17 ran to Ormiston Families at HMP Chelmsford to paint and clear leaves

A slightly chilly but dry evening saw 17 runners meet up at the University to run the short distance to the prison to help the Ormiston families clear leaves from their foot paths and to complete the paintwork.

Ormiston families are a charity who help those visiting people in prison, helping to make their visits less stressful. They have a small play area with a wooden fence around it, which we painted a few weeks ago and we came back to complete the job. This was achieved with great enthusiasm and probably looks great, although it was a little bit dark to tell if there were any missed bits! I am confident the job was immaculate and the fence is now weather proofed and all the same colour!

Whilst the painting was being completed the rest of us cleared leaves. I am not sure how they got this many leaves into the area from the trees around the site, but bag after bag was filled and the ground changed from an autumnal brown back to the intended concrete colour. This will mke access much easier for those with buggys and will make for an all round safer environment.

As the leaf collectors competed their task just before the painters, we collected in the car park and began some running drills to keep warm! Some ankle flexes, high knees and some sprints later we split into two groups for the run back. One group insisting on adding a little extra distance back to base.

Another really good session, great to see some faces return for a run and to see our regulars working their way towards a black tee shirt!