Shunning the Bank Holiday sofa in favour of a good deed, 18 epic athletes covered around 4km of running and cleared LOTS of weeds at Glebe Court.

Many of our runners took part in the London 10k this morning, with some also managing to turn up and take part this evening! Check out our lovely Medal Monday photo (and extra special well done to Kim and Vic, who both bagged a personal best time).

Thank you once again to Oli, who has done himself proud with this week's title pun (and others throughout this report). When is he going to win the International Pun of the Month?!

NEWS

• Thank you to those of you who joined our neighbours GoodGym Bromley at their volunteer takeover, at South Norwood parkrun on Saturday. It was a lovely morning and the core team and runners really appreciated our help. We have our own volunteer takeover on June 9th at Hilly Fields junior parkrun - no experience or special training needed, just a good clear cheering voice and plenty of energy! Sign up and find our more here.

• A little later in June we have another community mission, over at the children's centre in Bellingham, all details here.

• Don't forget, we're coming up to our Summer Social at Wildcat Wilderness! Have a look here and add your name to the list.

EDIT

It seems one of our runners very quietly hit the big 1-0-0 this evening without mentioning it! Congratulations Anna, it's even more special that so many of your good deeds have been to visit older people and help them in their homes, well done.

Last week Ian became a fully qualified Run Leader so, in celebration, he led the warm-up and took the front on the run. I loved having a chance to join in a game I normally get other people to play (and will definitely be using pegs instead of cones from now on, ingenious!) and all those squats, we were definitely fired up to run. Thank you to Marta taking the role of back-marker on the way out and to Chloe for taking over on the return leg.

Out with the old (chairs), in with the new (location)

We haven't been to Glebe Court before, so it was great to hear from Jenni about the work they do here. This Salvation Army residential space is home to a number of older people living with dementia, who require around-the-clock care, so the outdoor space is important for residents and staff to enjoy, with some taking time to go outside and tend to the plants. Our job was to clear away some old furniture (Jenni told us they will be moving to a different space in the next few months, so this is very helpful), clear weeds, tackle brambles and generally have a good tidy up.

Night out on the pull

A few people stayed around the front of the building, doing a fantastic job of improving the appearance of the area that people see first. It seems that one of the residents used to be a gardener and had commented that 'You won't be able to do anything with that!' I think he might be pleasantly surprised! Around the back we had a trail of helping hands shifting the unwanted furniture to the skip, while others pulled, chopped, swept and turned over (or fell over in Vic's case, as she pulled and pulled and pulled at a stubborn weed that eventually threw her off balance as she got the better of it!). As we spent time here, we could see what an oasis this must be, with birds coming and going to the feeders, with roses in full bloom all around.

A sense of (Lady)well-being

Gathering up tools and tidying away the rubbish, it was time to head back towards our start point. As we were so close to Ladywell Fields, we took advantage of this lovely space for our fitness session, working in pairs on a lucky dip game. Great determination from everyone to complete the challenges, even if racing legs were tired! Next week we will have another new task, again in Ladywell, working in the outside space at the Children's Centre - sign up here to join us.

Have a great week!

On a warm evening in Lewisham, 22 runners covered a whopping 8km of running and helped paint ALL the fencing panels at Camelot Pre-School.

It was a delight this week to welcome along Clair and Stephen for their first ever GoodGym group run, Lewisham Love to you!

Thank you to Oli once again for this week's puns and congratulations on your one year anniversary of doing good!

We had another fantastic weekend of goodness, with lots of our runners over in Hackney for the half-marathon. Well done to everyone who got up at the crack of dawn (yes, really) to volunteer on baggage drop and water stations and great running from Vic and Bradley, who tackled the race (Vic smashing her run with a personal best time!). We also had volunteers at the Wildcat Wilderness, Manor Park and at Hilly Fields parkrun and junior parkrun (thank you Sarah for offering sign language support on Saturday).

COMMUNITY MISSION NEWS

• This Saturday you can join our neighbours, GoodGym Bromley, as they take over the volunteering at South Norwood parkrun (easily reached on the Hayes line). There are some marshalling spots still going and plenty of opportunity for pacers (any pace welcome!). Check out the details here and don't forget to email the parkrun team!

• We will be having our own junior parkrun takeover on Sunday June 9th. If you have never experienced the enthusiasm and energy of a group of 4-14 year-olds running around a park, then sign up now! There are lots of roles to be filled and it's the best way to start a Sunday morning (with a post-mission cafe stop).

At GoodGym Lewisham we like to give runners the chance to take the lead and learn new skills along the way. Last week, Emma completed her Run Leader training and is now part of the team, alongside Amber, Kim and Ian. To celebrate, Emma led tonight's warm-up, having us touching body parts (nowhere near as racy as it sounds!) and some good, strong dynamic stretches - thanks Emma! A big thank you once again to Kim, who ran up front, leading the way, Amber, who took care of the 'break-away' group and Clare, who kept us together at the back. WHAT A TEAM!

This week, we were working in collaboration with the Hither Green Festival, who connected us with tonight's task, a new one for us. It was a long run to Camelot Pre-School, 8km in total, so well done to everyone for pushing on through to get there promptly! We were helped in part by some unexpected motivational signs en route (we think we have Anne-Marie from the Hither Green Festival to thank for our awesome little bursts of cheer).

Night of Camelot

Arriving at the task, we were likened to Challenge Anneka. This absolutely delighted me, as I was a BIG fan, but I imagine many of our runners might not be so familiar with her jumpsuited ways. In the garden, Laura introduced the task, directing us towards delicious refreshments, brushes and paint (thank you for laying everything out ready!). Our challenge for the evening was to paint all of the fence panels a lush shade of green.

Two Oceans to brushing motions

The pre-school had recently been threatened with closure, but a group of parents came together to ensure that this didn't happen and taking on jobs like this is part of the process of keeping this amazing space running. Quite quickly the panels were getting greener and the time was ticking away. While he painted, Tom told me all about his recent adventures in South Africa, where he ran the Two Oceans Marathon (it's actually an ultr-marathon of 50+ kilometers!).

Panel beaters

As much as I would like to be able to, I can't really expand time, but I tried very hard, by making five minutes last a little longer. Adam just had a few pieces of wood left to cover, so I urged him on, finishing the very last bit of fence. Our run back from this area always feels ever so slightly easier, with a downward pull back to Glass Mill. Next week is Bank Holiday Monday, but that certainly doesn't stop play! We will have another new task, this time much closer, opposite Lewisham Hospital, helping in the garden at Glebe Court residential home - travel light, we don't have access to lockers, as the leisure centre closes early.

Have a great week!