The volunteers from the Bournemouth parkrun were surprised on Saturday when three Cherries players visited and handed out goodie bags.
The parkrun, which takes place at Kings Park Athletics Stadium is a timed 5k run, is free and it happens every Saturday morning at 9am.
The parkrun event is supported by one of AFC Bournemouth's principle partners Vitality, while the AFC Bournemouth Community Sports Trust were on hand with a Power Strike activity on the morning.
On Saturday, Cherries players Simon Francis, Steve Cook and Charlie Daniels joined Cherry Bear and Steve Fletcher in going along to support the volunteers ahead of the Parkrun.
Karen Roberts, a core team volunteer who was run director for Saturday's event, spoke to afcb.co.uk after the parkrun.
"Without the volunteers there wouldn't be a parkrun at all," she explained. "There are seven of us in the core team and we do a lot of things during the week behind the scenes.
"On the day volunteers are recruited to help, from timekeepers to people scanning barcodes, and there can be up to 50 each week.
"We hadn't told anyone about the players coming, so they had quite a shock. We've been running past the stadium in recent years so it was lovely that they got involved with this event."
Roberts also encouraged people from the local area to get involved with the free weekly event.
She explained: "If you're not sure or you're shy then it's so welcoming. We have a new-runner's briefing at 8:45am each week which gives you the chance to meet all the people who are also running for the first time.
"Any questions and there is someone there specifically for them."
To get involved head to the website here and register for free, print off a barcode and then head along to the event and enjoy the run.
