Sugar Talk
Sugar Talk
Ragus team takes on the Macmillan Mighty Hike
A few weeks ago, a group of Ragus team members took on the challenge laid out by Macmillan, the Mighty Hike. A series of marathon and half marathon hikes through beautiful countryside and alongside the UK’s rivers and coastlines, the Mighty Hike brings together around thirty-five thousand people across the UK every year to raise money for Macmillan Cancer Support.
Social connections and stories bonded the Ragus team
Ragus team member Ellie O’Donoghue along with an intrepid team of thirteen, ten colleagues and three family members, took part in the recent Thames Path marathon walk.
Ellie said of the sign-up experience: “It was super easy and the whole team was very enthusiastic,” adding that the community feeling present on the walk was inspiring: “It was lovely to get out of the office and connect socially together.
“Listening to the stories told by the other walkers was really lovely too. There were lots of people taking part solo and they were able to join larger groups and share stories and memories of loved ones.”
Fuelled by sweet treats
The planning and structure of the walk was well thought out, clearly putting peoples’ different abilities and levels of training at front of mind. Ellie continues: “Breaks were built into the walk at around the five-mile mark with big bags of sweet treats, food and drinks. Chairs were also available if you wanted to carry on but just needed a quick break.”
Those pit stops were very welcome, notes Ellie: “The walk is a full marathon, which is no mean feat.” The distance took its toll, with one team member having to stop because of bleeding feet, with another injured by an errant tree branch to the face. But according to Ellie, the weather was on their side: “Because it was such warm weather the occasional rain shower was a welcome chance to cool down.”
Overcoming challenges to complete the walk together
Ellie also mentioned how lovely the route was, winding its way along the Thames taking the group not only on main roads but also through beautiful areas and under bridges and underpasses that she says, “I would have never thought to stop and look at before”.
In the end though, even after surviving a near miss with a car and having to be carried over the finish line by her nephew, Ellie and the Ragus team completed the walk together, greeted by family and friends and tears of joy at the end, with one team member even achieving an impressive time of six hours and thirty minutes!
When asked if she would like to take part in the Mighty Hike again Ellie said: “It was amazing to see how everyone just pulled together, we’re all still talking about it, it is still on all of our minds.”
The team raised an impressive £1835.00, for Macmillan, which Ragus will match from its local causes charity fund.
Ragus supports causes local to our factory in Slough. You can suggest a local cause we could support by completing the form on our charity page.
Henry Eastick
Joining Ragus in 2017, Henry is the fifth generation of the Eastick family to work in the business. He has worked across our company, implementing plant and technology improvements in the factory to working in the lab developing a knowledge for our products. He focuses on our raw materials procurement as well as leading our digital transformation, adapting new technology and plant to meet our needs. His deep interest in nature and sustainability makes him a dedicated and passionate ESG manager.
