Now that's squat I call a hill!

As the frost crept in, a tip-top ten took to the streets to spread the word about GoodGym and to climb a reaaaaalllly long hill.

First things first, it's the end of the month, so the end of our January Challenge. At the time of writing, we are in the lead in our division, with a marvellous 49 good deeds and a smashing 354km! It's a shame we can't put a lid on January right there, because our closest followers, Hounslow, have a run to do tomorrow evening and might just step alongside us. You know what to do everyone, get yourselves to a Wednesday group run! ;) We also took some time to celebrate our Heroes of January, with most of our leaders being absent this evening, but let's give them some respect anyway.

• Most good deeds: Hannah, with 6, followed by Tim, with 5
• Greatest distance: Tim, with 121.2km, closely followed by Molly, with 97.7km
• Most cheered: Hannah, with 62
• Most cheers given: Louise and Hannah, with 2 each (come on, I think we can be a bit more cheery than that!)

I think we all deserve a great big collective pat on the back for getting through the darkest, coldest and at times - remember January 2nd?! - wettest month, good work everyone! At the weekend, Stuart took on a 10k race in our local Crystal Palace Park. He did so well in the wind and mud, pushing hard all the way. Great work Stuart! (See his photo and lovely medal above).

Welcome!

How wonderful to welcome not one, not two, but three new runners this week! Let's give a big cheer to Helen, Joe and David.

This week we had planned to spread the word about what we do here in the borough of Bromley. Sadly my stack of GoodGym flyers didn't arrive on time, so we were working with what I happened to have at home. There are a few roads nearby that have the most beautiful little cottages on them, so we headed there and discovered we had just the right amount of cards to cover this spot. Our group split into pairs and took off, cards in hand. I waited on the corner, smiling at passers by and chatting to one resident, who had been somewhat startled when he came face-to-face with one of our runners as he left his house to walk the dog! He was intrigued to know more, so our task was working!

Running up that hill

Once the word was spread, it was time for our run and fitness session. Our regulars seemed keen to point out to our newcomers that 'it's not normally like this!', though I pointed out that there isn't really a 'typical' group run, it's different every week! With a little more time to push ourselves, we took a longer and better-lit route towards Crystal Palace Park, which included a hill...a very long hill. As we always say, you have to learn to love the hills around here, because there are many. Good work everyone, it did go on a bit! With some downward skips, we found a gate to the park that was actually open and stepped carefully, enjoying our now peaceful, calm surroundings.

Seeking out some light, we drove our knees hard to the top of the steps and paused, overlooking the running track and sports courts, the perfect spot for a bit of HiiT! I think this came as a shock to the system, a longer run AND strength work?! Why not?! We were up, we were down, we were pedalling, we were jumping, we were planking and we were pushing. Excellent.

Next week we will be off out in our community, doing more good, sign up here. Don't forget, if you're on Strava, we have a February challenge coming up, where you can win yourself a special GoodGym Love Running badge. Have a look here and join in (and here is the GoodGym group, if you want to connect with other runners).

See you soon!