57 varietiez of tinz

With a spring in their step, eight eager athletes ran to Living Well to sort through donations at the food bank.

Thanks this week go to Ian for our very apt title pun and also for being tonight's back-marker, keeping us all together.

How lovely to welcome a first-timer tonight, a big, warm welcome to Jen, who chose a lovely evening to dip her toes in the GoodGym Bromley water (or long-life milk, chunky vegetable soup or pasta sauce?!).

(new) T-shirt Tuesday

Regular runner Bradley wasn't with us last week, a rare occurrence, as he has been with us every week (pretty much) since he joined back in February. He has also been along to our neighbours in Lewisham on a regular basis, so it's no surprise that he is already celebrating reaching his 50th good deed. He actually ticked off this milestone at a mission, which is always pretty special. Congratulations Bradley, now you are also mission-verified, it won't be long before we see you with wings on your back!

Tonight's task was arranged as a result of phone call, asking if we might be able to help last minute, as the food bank was in desperate need of a good sort. In the school holidays, there are many families who depend on free school meals and find themselves struggling, using the food bank to ease the pressure. This demand has led recently to an empty food bank and a call-out for donations. Last week, Rowena and her team of volunteers were inundated and the container was full, an amazing position to be in, but one that creates a need for some strong helping hands.

Can we sort it? Yes, we can!

When we arrived, we were met by Rowena and Jane, who had opened the container, ready, and had set out tables for us to work on outside (how lovely, we usually have to carry all the crates into the church!). We all had a look at the full container and quickly set-to, pulling out bags and sorting the contents into crates of beans(z), soup, meat, fish, sauces, pasta, rice, biscuits and so on. One of the things we like about this task is that it presents us with a cognitive workout as well, lots of pondering over which category a packet of noodles or a tin of curry falls into!

With the tables now full and the bags still coming, there was a moment where I looked around, looked at my watch and truly wondered if we could get this done. I needn't have worried, of course we could!

With our limited time in mind, we started putting the full crates back in the container. These will be gradually pulled out to restock the cupboard inside the church, so need to be handy to reach. Using our best squatting action and some pairs work, we lifted and shifted everything in no time and were very soon telling Bradley to get out of the container, before we barricaded him in with biscuits and rice. We did it! One of the reasons we love visiting Living Well (apart from knowing the impact we can have in a short space of time) is the fact that we can see a task through from start to finish, it gives us a real sense of achievement.

Saying goodbye and looking forward to our next visit during October half-term, we headed to the nearby park for a quick fitness session (as if all that lifting wasn't enough). In pairs, we alternated between shuttle runs and squats, push-ups or planks. Everyone flew through this, so we had enough time left to work our oblique abs too, excellent work, no jelly bellies here!

Next week we will run to Cator Park, where we will be working on some pruning and clearing, always a fun task in a lovely space. Expect a run of around 5km in total and plenty of nattering :)