Denim Drift on memory bliss

On GoodGym Lewisham's first anniversary group run, 32 good, good runners celebrated in style, with a 5k run, a transformative task at Crofton Books, some intense (and transformative?) hill repeats and some warming food at our local pub.

A year! We can't believe it! From that first group run one year ago this week, where we welcomed the head of council and 34 eager runners, to one-off missions, with a couple of volunteers visiting local residents, to help them with their garden and to individual coach runs, visiting an older person, who is feeling a little isolated, we have been moving and growing gradually in our wonderful borough, slowly making a difference to those around us. This week it was easy to see just how much we have grown over the past year, with a group of 32 energetic runner/volunteers assembling in Glass Mill, both regulars and first-timers, catching up and welcoming, creating a buzz and bubbling over with enthusiasm.

Whirlwind!

It has been a whirlwind of a year, with very many charities, community groups and individuals inviting us to help them make a difference. On our weekly group runs, we have worked with:

New Cross Learning, AFRIL, Goldsmith's Community Centre, Crofton Books, The Woodpecker Centre, Calabash Centre, Wildcat Wilderness, GRACE, Lewisham Gardens, Brockley Society, Ladywell Adventure Playground, Deptford Mission, Hither Green Festival, Honor Oak Adventure Playground, AHOY, Ladywell Arena, Surrey Docks Farm, Honor Oak Community Centre and The Albany.

We are building new relationships all the time and were delighted this week, to work with Thames 21 on our Saturday starter session, wading in the River Ravensbourne, just outside our start point. Many other organisations will have benefited from our volunteers helping out at the weekend, including Dacres Wood, Manor Gardens and John Evelyn Community Garden.

The Task

This week, we were off to our friends over at Crofton Books, who had been lucky enough to receive a donation of paint from Dulux and brushes from our local Wickes in Catford. Our pre-run name-check took a little longer than usual, so many new faces and names to remember! Please show some encouragement and give an SE13 cheer to Lizzie, Francois, Eleanor, Tim, Monica, Helga and Lauren! We warmed up our bodies (largely by trying not to fall over on the slippery grass) with a good, old game of shin-tag and some high-knees, skips, heel-flicks and side steps. Thank you to Judy and Stephen for offering to be our back-markers, keeping the group together and making sure nobody was left behind.

We swept through Ladywell, skirting the edge of the Brockley and Ladywell Cemeteries, arriving promptly at Crofton Park Library, where we were joined by a few late-comers, who had been chasing us along the streets! Jason welcomed us in and quickly showed everyone what needed doing. The whole of the bookshop area, currently a slightly faded and patchy primrose yellow, was to be transformed and updated with the lovely 'Denim Drift' - perfect for what was being labelled 'Blue Monday'. Nothing 'blue' about Mondays in Lewisham, so we renamed it 'Red Monday'. Roni handed out bin bags for people to wear (!), those who wanted to paint grabbed a brush or a roller, those who were happy climbing a ladder started climbing (with a footer-buddy in place, of course) and those who were interested in the work of the library and bookshop, took a more literary approach, with some book sorting, labelling and pricing (nice pricing-gun action Tim!).

Transformation!

The music was playing (I'm sorry Patrick, a bit of New Order would have been perfect at this point, but my playlist/speaker juggling skills need a bit of work!), the brushes were dipping and spreading, corners were being reached, books being moved and genres discussed. Within about twenty minutes, the space was beginning to look totally different, just look at the photos and see how quickly everyone worked! As the five-minute shout-out happened, we were pretty much pulling some people (Conroy) down from ladders, reminding them that we will be back next Monday, to finish those areas that are still revealing the yellow and to help Jason with some other jobs in the wider space.

We wrapped up our brushes, dabbed away traces of paint from exposed skin, put hats and gloves back on and ran towards Hilly Fields, the home of the hill repeat. Oh yes! One of our runners, Stephen, will vouch for the benefits of the humble hill repeat, as he managed to smash his 10k PB on Sunday, not on one of those easy, flat courses, but in Greenwich Park! Well done Stephen. The goal for this session was to build strength and encourage good form, with everyone running hard for fifteen seconds, remembering where they reached, turning and running back down. And repeat. Five times. I could see the runners had listened carefully, everyone running tall, with light feet, elbows driving back and making the most of the recovery.

You smashed it!

As one last birthday treat, we ran up again, but continued over, enjoying the view of the rest of London and embracing the downhill towards our base. Here, we stretched, we heard about next week's task and also our upcoming starter session at the magical Wildcat Wilderness. Some said goodbye and went home to get warm and refuel, but the rest of us chose our local Ladywell Tavern to rehydrate and refuel, to enjoy a good chat and a bit of birthday cake (we even sang happy birthday!).

We were also celebrating Roni's 50th good deed! Roni was with us at our first ever group run a year ago and has run regularly since, becoming paired with Margaret, running to see her once a week for a chat. During the year, Roni also brought along Dave, who was new to running at the time, having built up gradually, to a point where he was running confidently and wanting to push himself a bit further. This week we said goodbye and bon voyage to these two gorgeous people, as they head off on a new adventure and a new life in Miami. You will be missed Dave and Roni!

In the past year, it has been incredible seeing our group grow, but also seeing our members grow as runners, heading off together to run races, taking on challenges and pushing themselves further than they thought possible. I asked our runners to contribute a few words to this run report, outlining something that they have enjoyed about participating, thank you to Caireen, Lucy and Joan for sharing some thoughts...

Caireen: The thing I have loved most about the last year is discovering new areas of Lewisham. I only moved to Lewisham a year before GoodGym opened and didn't know anyone in the immediate area so GG has helped me to meet some wonderful people who I now consider friends, has made me feel like I'm a really part of a wonderful community in Lewisham, and has opened my eyes to how utterly brilliant Lewisham is! I love it and that is mainly down to running with Good Gym. All of the tasks and charities that we work with are fantastic, but highlights for me are the Catford Wild Cat Wilderness (obvs) and more recently working with GRACE.

Lucy:It has been fascinating to discover such a variety of community projects in our neighbourhood, which I hadn't realised existed before joining GoodGym! I was particularly moved to hear about the work and vision of GRACE. Being able to help them, even in my small way of doing some cleaning, gave me a warm glow.

Before joining GoodGym I was a novice runner and had only run on my own. Running with a group of runners of different abilities has been an eye-opener and has helped me to push myself more with my running (in particular aiming to improve my speed). Being part of the GoodGym community has encouraged me to set running goals and to log my runs (something which I had not done previously). I love hearing about all the races that fellow GoodGymers have run or are planning to run. So inspirational!

Joan:I'm really enjoying 2017 as a Good 'gymer'. Out of my comfort zone of the 'couch', having done two runs, kinda!

There you go! Thank you all for coming along this year, it's you, the runner/volunteers, who make this what it is. Here's to another year of doing good and getting fit in Lewisham!