While the Wildcat's away, GoodGym will slay!

Validating our waterproof status, 31 determined souls skipped, leapt and sprinted through puddles to cover around 9km and tackle various heart rate raising tasks at the Wildcat Wilderness.

50 good deeds!

Yes, 31 runners! Maybe they had heard about how much fun we have in Lewisham on a Monday evening. Maybe they wanted to get to know some more local people. Maybe they wanted to get fit in company. Or maybe they had heard it was Helen's 50th good deed! Congratulations Helen! Helen joined us in April last year, so has clearly been consistent, coming along every Monday and getting stuck in. She mentioned that her first group run involved running up a hill that seemed to go on an on, but now she tackles hills with skill and gusto, smashing Hilly Fields parkrun most weeks and now heading off to races with the friends she has made at GoodGym Lewisham. Well done Helen, we're all very proud of you.

We might have a core group of runners who have been coming for a while, but we also welcome newcomers with open arms. A big Lewisham hello to Edward, Laura and Sophie, who took on their first ever GoodGym group run and to Victoria, who has been along to a group run elsewhere, but decided to give Lewisham a try (we hope you had fun!).

Before we warmed up, we talked a little about coach running and missions and we congratulated Amber on her first ever 10k race, which she took on at the Olympic Park on Sunday - she's certainly got the racing bug since she's joined us, with another 10k lined up in a couple of weeks!

Indiana Jeppesen

Our warm up took us outside into the drizzle (where did that come from, it wasn't meant to rain?!), where we partnered up for some knee tag. I found myself demonstrating with Kani, forgetting that she does all sorts of crazy sports and turns out to have the agility of a fancy-footed footballer! We then smashed a bit of British Bulldog (respect here to Chris, who demonstrated cunning and impressive acrobatic prowess by rolling through the Bulldogs!) before back-marker Emma got into position - thank you - and we persisted on into the now downpour and towards the lush relief of Ladywell Fields.

I know I kept saying, 'It's just around the corner!' but it's been a while since we visited the Wildcat Wilderness and I had underestimated the distance, so really well done to everyone on taking on what turned out to be a slightly longer run than billed :) Many of this week's runners hadn't been here before, so were suitably delighted by this magical space. Even for those of us returning, there is always something new to explore, as new paths are carved out and new areas uncovered.

We were met by Maria who, as always, had everyone gloved and tooled up promptly, with jobs assigned throughout the space and the rapidly expanding undergrowth being deftly dealt with. In an area of this scale, it's challenging as a trainer to keep track of everyone, so I quickly jogged between tasks, making sure people worked safely, kept track of time and, most importantly enjoyed themselves. The various roles were:

• Weed slashing - always a real favourite, using the 'blunt machete' to hack back brambles and nettles, clearing paths so they are safe for the many smaller users of the space

• Rubbish clearing - this area was used as an unofficial rubbish dump for many years and, as space is cleared, more dumped rubbish is found. A team worked to pull up broken glass, rusted metal, discarded clothing and general litter.

• Pruning - using loppers, shears and secateurs, a team of people carefully snipped away the higher brambles that couldn't be reached with the weed slashers.

• Digging - this looked like a tough one! Yes, it was raining, but it hasn't rained for a long while, making the ground hard and very difficult to penetrate - well done weed diggers!

• Pond clearance - the small pond needed some attention, with debris falling and being kicked in from the path along its edge

• Sawing - there are many branches around the area, which make great wood for the fire

• tree removal - over near the beehive, a team worked with saws to cut down small trees that are encroaching on the hive area. These off-cuts are then used to block off an area near the bees and to create a barrier to encourage younger visitors to pause, before running right onto the flight path!

During our task, we were joined by Joan from Lewisham Local, who took some photos, interviewed people and told us all about this lovely scheme that recognises the contribution volunteers make to our community.

Time to run!

Tools and gloves returned to the shed, we said farewell (and see you soon, sign up here for our next visit) and ran back towards the park. And a hill. There were steeper hills in this part of Ladywell Fields, I could have been tougher! Note to self for next time though, send a group of thirty or so people up in waves, though the sight of this many runners surging up the hill was rather special! Well done on this bit of extra strength work.

On our return we stretched, congratulated Helen, discussed the GoodGym Olympic Games (entries are now in, but supporters most welcome), next week's task as part of the Hither Green Festival and enjoyed some refuelling with a square of ginger cake.

If you like the sound of what we get up to, why not join us one week? Next week we will run to the station at Hither Green, where we will have various tasks to take on, the perfect way to meet new people, get to know your borough and to get a little bit fitter along the way. Sign up here.