Living on the hedge

With a spring in their step, nine athletes covered 4km of running and about 1km of pruning at Cator Park.

This week's top title pun was gifted to us by Louise, thank you Louise. We certainly were 'living on the hedge' tonight, delving into those brambles without eye protection!

We were delighted to welcome one newcomer this week, who had been recruited by Jenn, who had joined us for the first time last week (I love it when people bring along a friend!). Welcome to GoodGym Bromley Ben, I hope you enjoyed a our Pengetastic approach to running and doing good.

Before we warmed up and set off, we had a quick chat about upcoming races, with the Beckenham Half- Marathon and Petts Wood 10k just around the corner. I know a few of you have already signed up, but it's worth giving it some thought if you fancy a nice autumn goal to work towards (don't forget, cheerers are just as important as runners, so are very welcome at our racy gatherings). We all looked on at this point, with great admiration for Louise's lovely new black 50 t-shirt, which she wore with pride - well done Louise.

This week we were returning to the lush surrounds of Cator Park, where we were met by Millie, from the friends of the park. With the dog show coming up in a few weeks, we were working on the space that will be used, cutting back shrubs, tugging out brambles and bindweed and generally making it look all the more lovely. With a great selection of tools to choose from, everyone found something to tackle and got stuck straight in (as I legged it around, trying to capture the obligatory 'before' pictures). In one area, Bradley and Ian released a bench from the clutches of the shrubs. Elsewhere Stuart embarked on a far- and high-reaching challenge, using a rather nifty extendable grabby thing. Further along, Jenn, Ben, Louise, Hannah and Louise decided to work on an area that Millie had suggested might be too much take on. Not at all! We're not put off by a bit of spiky stuff!

Before long, there were numerous piles of offcuts, showing just how much had been achieved. Stepping back, we could see a neater, more rounded-looking area, with a path and a bench brought back into use and a rampant run of brambles being shown what for. Tools were downed and a moment was taken to enjoy some rather special home-made (and still warm!) cookies, presented by Millie - thank you, what a treat!

Feeling fuelled and ready to go, we jogged over to the open area, for a game of Lucky Dip. Taking it in turns to pick a treat out of the bag, we alternated between running, jumping, squatting and pushing. Good work, all of you!

As we stretched back at our start point, I mentioned next week's task, a 5k round trip to Forest Hill Station, to water the plants. As I will be away, the run will be led by Lucy, the trainer for GoodGym Southwark - show her how welcoming we are and make her feel at home! When I return, we decided it's time for a post-run social, perfect after a run to Baxter Field to paint those railings.

See you soon, be good!