Wandsworth goes to Hill and back

The weather was against us last night, but like Nicholas Cage in every film he’s ever done, we laugh manically into the face of rain and wind. For we are runners.

After a quick rundown of news – well done Sally for a great half marathon last week, and congrats to Cath, Sophie and Hannah for most deeds – we welcomed our lovely new group runners. Hello Jenny, Emma, Kylee, Luca and Frances! Not forgetting our weekly CoRUNdrum – what are you allowed to do if you are granted the freedom of the City of London? – we set off for Wendelsworth Community Garden in Wandsworth.

We’ve been to Wendelsworth a few times now, and it’s great to see how the gardens are changing and the difference our work is making. We met Martin, the man in charge, who dispatched us to various plots to dig deep, whilst a few runners ferried Jurassic sized branches across the garden.

Martin set us a challenge – the first group to finish digging their bed and covering it with leaf mould wins a prize. Furiously we forked, turned and excavated. There was a brief pause as Danni discovered hidden treasure – a priceless (ish) antique (ish) tiny bottle that is going to serve as our Wandsworth trophy at the end of the year. Then, storming to victory, it was Sophie, Danni and Lizzie who finished digging their bed before all the others. As we finished up, Martin gathered us together to let us know the great news that he is inviting GoodGym to plant a tree in the garden that we can visit and check on every time we come to work in the garden. Danni, Sophie and Lizzie’s prize is that they can choose our very own GoodGym tree. They will come up with a shortlist and the rest of the group will vote on the winner. Looking forward to hearing your list, ladies! Something Poplar, though, right? Like a Syca(run)more, or maybe some Runflowers? Sorry.

We ran back in the direction of our starting point, the Battersea Arts Centre, but stopped short, right next to a fiendish little chinscraper to do some hill bashing. The group took some convincing that ‘hill-bashing’ was not actually a cruel and unique punishment, but in fact a legitimate training drill, but soon set off, one by one, to tackle the challenge. Every single runner managed three hill sprints, well done team, that’s something to be proud of. Hill training improves muscle strength, is great for your cardiovascular system, and makes your stride more efficient.

We finished up with some stretches, including Tom’s masterful half-pigeon and Sarah’s graceful full pigeon, which was actually more royal swan than common London sky-rat. Sticking with the animal theme, the answer to this week’s CoRundrum was that you have the right to herd a flock of sheep over London Bridge if you’re granted the freedom of the City of London. Why not?

Fantastic job, Wandsworth. You’re making your borough better and yourselves fitter. Next week we’ve got a great task for a fantastic charity, doing laundry runs for the Katherine Low Settlement. You can sign up here: https://www.goodgym.org/group_runs/helping-out-the-katherine-low-settlement-with-some-laundry-runs