Lewisham

Group run

Reasons to be chairful

30 GoodGymers made their way 6.8km to help the Seniors in Lewisham.

  • Julia Pavey
  • Emma Presley Abbott
  • Adele Prince
  • Martin
  • Frances Powrie
  • Kate Warre-Cornish
  • Caireen McGinn
  • Jacqueline Francis
  • Conroy
  • Sarah
  • Helen
  • Rebecca Cavanagh
  • Lucy Harris
  • Kim Parker
  • Sarah
  • Nykolette
  • Amber Maurice
  • Monica Charlery-Cazaubon
  • Florence
  • Greenwich runner
  • Carla Guerra
  • Rosemary Alexandrou
  • Rosie Reeve
  • Maria Ahmed
  • Lewisham runner
  • Juliet
  • Birchlyn Conte
  • Bradley Smith
  • Lewisham runner
  • Matthew Tipler
 
Monday, 16th of April 2018
 
Led by Adele Prince

Smiling happily at the blue sky and sunshine, 30 joyful runners took on 7km of hills, moved furniture, cleaned chairs and organised the cellar at Seniors.

A big thank you to Caireen for this week's inspired title pun.

We are now well into Medal Monday season, with a weekend full of incredible achievements.

  • In Brockwell Park we had Tom and Conroy taking part in a charity run, with Tom stepping up onto the podium in third place and Conroy in first!
  • Down in Brighton we had Hannah, Eleanor, Chris P and Chris J taking on the marathon, with each of them running hard and doing brilliantly.
  • In Crystal Palace Park we had Nykolette, Amber and Bradley running either 5 or 10k in the Run Through race. For Bradley, who only started running in February, this was his first 10k race, which he sailed through, in a superb time of 42 minutes - well done Bradley!

This evening was extra special, because our very own Mission Machine, Monica, was completing her 100th good deed! Monica joined us in January of last year and has been a really supportive part of the group ever since, encouraging her fellow runners, visiting her coach once a week and taking on many missions (even doing more than one in a day!). Monica is also valued amongst the group for her baking skills, having won the Bake-Off at last year's GoodGym Olympic Games :) Well done Monica.

I must admit, all this excitement, combined with a bit of sunshine rendered me a little delirious, add to this a fun game with a ball and a competitive element and I am pretty much tipped over the joyous edge. Just as well we had a longish run ahead then, with some tough hills to calm me down. It really was a fantastic feeling to be running through the park, chatting away and not dealing with driving rain, ice, or dampening mizzle. Great work from everyone, taking on those hills with determination, scooped up perfectly by our top team of back-markers, Nykolette, Jacqueline, Rosemary (and possibly some others, it was a party at the back tonight!).

When we arrived at Seniors, we were met by Cathy and Phyllis (who thanked everyone for the work we put into putting up (then taking down) the Christmas decorations back in December - we really enjoyed those tasks!). There were a number of very different jobs to choose from this week, with a large group stepping up eagerly to clean the chairs in the cafe and the rest of us heading downstairs to the sprawling cellar, to lift some heavy items out of the way, move some shelves and other furniture and to clear out a dusty cubby hole. Some trestle tables were taken out to a storage space, the chairs were put neatly back under the tables - gleaming - and the mangle was moved to one side (I had to explain what a mangle was to one runner, having played happily for hours with one in my Nain (that's my Welsh grandmother)'s garden). Cathy thanked us and said she looks forward to welcoming us back to work in the garden soon and off we headed up the hill.

This hill is hard work. All talk pauses for a few moments, with hard breathing taking its place, until you reach the top, dip down and around the corner and stop to take in the views of a sparkling London. I love this place.

From here we stepped down towards Ladywell, sweeping along Marsala Road and sprinting in to the finish. As Monica turned the corner, we stood together to form a guard of honour, cheering her through the last few meters of her 100th good deed. We had hoped maybe to see Chris J at this point, to wish him well on his next adventure, as he heads to Canada to start a new and exciting life. Good luck Chris, you will be missed, but we know you will be back to join us on a Monday night in the future, full of tales of your new landscapes and new friends. To celebrate Monica's achievement, we took some time to enjoy a few sweet treats and to look forward to Sunday, when we will be lining the streets of London, to cheer on our very own Amber and Ali, who are both tackling their very first marathon. Some of us will be volunteering, then heading out to wave banners, spot our friends and to encourage them to put all their hard training into practice. Good luck both of you.

Next week we are off to see our friends at the Wildcat Wilderness, sign up to join us for a - no doubt - delightful outdoor task.

Report written by Adele Prince


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Mulching at the Tiny Forest extension

Monday 18:45 - 20:30
Led by Kim Parker
Glass Mill Leisure Centre

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