WHO runs the world? They do!

A dedicated group of 27 colleagues at Imagine Cruising’s Royal Wootton Bassett branch played their part in a worldwide attempt to collectively cover the Earth’s circumference.

While they ran 5km in a mid-morning dash around Lydiard Park, teams from their parent travel company Dnata Travel’s other offices in Dubai, Australia, South Africa and other far-flung locales joined in.

The branch’s customer support manager and head of the charity team Sara Rose said: “It was an amazing thing to be part of. It was a spectacular day of teamwork and camaraderie.

“I think, out of all the teams in all the different countries that took part in this, ours definitely had to deal with the worst weather.

“It did not stop raining the entire time we ran and everyone else had fabulous sunshine. But we didn’t let that dampen our spirits and we all managed to complete the park run.

“We’ve been organising this for three months and kept up with the other teams, encouraging them and cheering them on using an app, it’s been a lot of fun.”

The international effort to run 24,901 miles (40,075km) around the equator supported different good causes in each country.

Bassett employees picked Prospect Hospice because it was a cause that was very close to their hearts and one that they had supported for many months.

Sara is a volunteer at the Wroughton hospice which needs millions of pounds a year to keep going.

She added: “It’s affected quite a lot of people I work with. We’ve had grandparents and friends who have been helped by the hospice

“Imagine makes a yearly contribution to Prospect and we always do the Rainbow Run and Twilight Walk so it’s a big part of our fundraising here and we have a very close relationship with the charity.

“We’ve been organising this run for three months then added cake sales and dress-down days to try to boost our total and it’s worked.

“Everyone’s really pleased because we managed to hit our target, which is great, and more money is still coming in.”

The Bassett team at Imagine Cruising represented Britain in the global fundraising challenge.

They have totted up £2,100 so far through individual sponsorships to contribute to the cause, though the final total won’t be known until later this week.

Worldwide, Dnata hopes to raise $400,000 for various charities.

To donate, visit justgiving.com/fundraising/dnatarunstheworldic