Nuns on the run

Today I took the cameras to shoot a fundraiser for the children's charity Barnado's. A four mile run including 4 of the Thames bridges starting with the most famous Tower Bridge. So what made this one so special? Well I guess the most obvious difference is that all competitors were required to dress up as nuns.

The runners were offered a warm up exercise in the form of an aerobics session near the starting line. This was well attended and provided a great opportunity for a shot against the imposing buildings of the city.

Whilst the runners were finishing off their warm up, I walked quickly to the South side of Tower Bridge to get a suitable backdrop for the runners as they came by. I shot the London Marathon runners (albeit running in the opposite direction) from this locale in 2008 for the Muscular Dystrophy charity with the award winning photographer Richard Bailey (name dropper!). The sense of fun was tangible and thankfully (unlike in 2008) there was no rain.

Funnier still was the reaction from passers by. Whilst it would be difficult for people visiting London not to know that there was a marathon going on in the capital, this was a much smaller and shorter event and the runners had to share the roads with traffic and other pedestrians. At times, people were walking directly in the path of the running nuns, oblivious to their presence until they had passed. The stewards did a tremendous job given the circumstances and most people I saw looking on seemed to have an obvious sense of humour.

There is always a serious side to these events of course. Barnado's does vital work for children who are vulnerable and like almost every other charity, needs events like this to raise their profile and their funds to do the very best they can. The following quote is taken from the Barnado's web site.

"Whatever the issue from drug misuse to disability; youth crime to mental health; sexual abuse to domestic violence; poverty to homelessness; Barnardo’s believes we can bring out the best in every child. We run almost 400 projects around the UK: discover the work we do in your region."

The Barnado's web site can be found at http://www.barnardos.org.uk/