Southwark

Group run

Rubble & Strife!

5 GoodGymers made their way 11.0km to help the Tabard Growers in Southwark.

  • Ian Gostling
  • Emily Waller
  • Ellie Hopkins
  • Sam Lefevre
  • Sophie Hallam
 
Wednesday, 11th of March 2020
 
Led by Ian Gostling

Wall of Honour

  • Fist Pumps to the 5 runners that came out last night! Despite the last minute change of task to a further destination!
  • Shout out to Sophie, a GoodGym Lewisham runner, but running with GoodGym Southwark for the first time!
  • Pat on the Back to Sam for kindly writing this weeks run report.

Lets have a recap

You could already tell it wasn't going to be a good night. At the last minute, the original task of running 8k to Crisis near Elephant & Castle was canceled. Yet, in a desperate scramble Ian managed to get in contact with one of our regular community superstars, Peter (aka tall Eastern European guy from Tabard Garden), who had a task for us on King James Street. So, things were looking up that we had a task, but it would require us to run an extra 3k than what was expected in total.

As the clock struck 19:00, Old Spike Roastery was unusually quiet compared to other weeks. It seemed only four runners and Ian had showed up. Maybe it was because of the last minute longer run change, maybe people had to stay behind for work or had other plans or maybe it's that virus thing that's going around... Who knows, but there was one thing for sure: we had a 5.5k run to King James Street to complete. We took the most direct route - ran up Peckham Rye, passed Peckham Library, into the park/bike path, onto Old Kent Road and suddenly just over 30 minutes later we found ourselves roaming the back streets of Elephant & Castle and finding King James Street.

Peter was there waiting for us with gloves and tools to complete a simple task: to fill up abandoned, but going to be re-used oil drums with concrete slabs (rubble) and soil. These oil drums will hold flowers and be placed in spots commonly used for fly tipping to prevent this. The estate is going through some changes as it has previously dealt with drug users and drug dealers. The new garden has given hope and inspiration to the younger generation to plant and grow their own food.

We had two teams, one had to take concrete slabs or essentially rubble from the road (up-cycling concrete waste from the nearby road works) filling 2 wheelbarrows and transporting over to the line of oil drums, filling the lower half up to half way to support the soil. And the second group, you guessed it, had to dig up soil and transport it by wheelbarrow to transfer into the top of the drums, filling the empty gaps that concrete slabs couldn't fill. The task was a quick one (20 minutes or less) as we had a long (5.5k) run back, but Peter had really appreciated our time and would welcome us back anytime.

Unfortunately, on the way back and towards the end, Ian tripped over a step that wasn't marked with white or yellow paint. It looked like he didn't fall too awkwardly, but somehow in the process he managed to break his little finger. We stopped the run and ensured he took a cab to the nearest hospital. Sam steered the group home. Everyone at GoodGym wishes Ian a speedy recovery.

Fact Of The Day - King James is so well known, he authorized a new translation of the Bible to begin in 1604 during his reign as King of England (1603-1625). This translation of the Bible was completed in 1611 and is considered one of the most majestic and most important books of all times. It is called The King James Version (KJV).

We didn't finish off with any fitness due to the lateness and the incident, but we made sure to get in some stretches.

Next week we are running 7km overall to Galleywall Nature Reserve in Southwark. Bring a head torch, you can sign up here.

See you next week Team.

Report written by Ian Gostling


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Ian Gostling
Led by Ian Gostling

Running, Dancing, Waving kind of guy. Lets get stuck in Team!

GoodGymers helping out
  • Back marker

    Make sure that no one is left behind

    • Sam Lefevre

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Group Run: Gardening @ Elmington Community Gardens + Monthly social (Social)

Wednesday 18:30 - 20:15
Led by Sam Lefevre


Old Spike Roastery

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