Rumble in the jumble

Embracing the lighter evening and the golden sunset, 21 awesome athletes skipped happily through Lewisham, covering 5km of running, to help sort through clothing donations at Greenwich Refugee Aid and Community Enterprise.

A big thank you to Claire, our task owner, for the marvellous title pun!

Yes, the clocks went forward! It was light as we warmed up and set off on our run! If I sound deliriously happy about this it's because I am...a little bit of sunlight makes all the difference when you've been running in the dark and cold for a few months (well done to all those who have kept on keeping on!).

The foyer at Glass Mill was a-buzz with chat about how many layers we were (or were not) wearing, respect to Caireen, who had taken off her jacket for the first time this year, how lovely to see the red t-shirts on show at last! This week we welcomed three new runners, who were not only attending a group run for the first time, but going on a run for the first time! Lewisham Love to Wisdom, Freda and Favour.

More and more ridiculous

Time to warm up and get to know each other's names. Tim commented to our newcomers at the end of the evening that 'It gets more and more ridiculous every week'. I'll take that as a compliment, since I think (hope) he was referring to our get-to-know-you warm-ups and limbering-up games. This week's element of bonkers was an up-and-over ball game: two teams, two balls and a speedy relay race to get the heart pumping. Some high-five squats to fire up the glutes and quads (and to check we know our partner's name), then time to run all the way to...the wiggly bench at the front of the building. Our start point has its own art installation, in the form of a colourful light display that responds to the noise levels from the nearby road and railway line and, now we could see the rainbow tiles, it would be silly not to get a group photo in front of them.

As we ran to GRACE, we realised the sunset was behind us, so we must remember to schedule in some westerly facing runs over the next few months. At the Leegate Centre, Claire was as busy as ever, setting out huge sacks, labelling them and gathering bags of clothing for our volunteers to sort through and categorise. This Sunday, GRACE will be having a day of celebration, raising money and bringing together the local community to raise awareness of the amazing work they do. This is a mission that GoodGym runners can join in with, have a look here to see what's involved.

As with previous clothing-sorting tasks, there were a fair few puzzled expressions, as people questioned an odd-looking item and a good hearty chuckle, when Eve uncovered some rather generous knickers (Claire, I'm pretty sure she'll be back on Sunday, clutching her pennies...). The sacks quickly filled up, time ticked away and the last few black bags were torn open for the final push.

Thank you to Claire for the sweet treats (see hamster cheeks in the group photo!)

Fuelled by biscuits and brownies, the run back was a little speedier, allowing us time to work on our cores back at the children's playground. A few rounds of knee-ups and squat throws to get into gear, then onto some good, solid planking and some incredibly focused bridge work (are those glutes feeling it today?). Worked out, stretched out and happy, we talked about next week's group run, a short run to Lewisham Library (a brand new task), to sort out the rear external wall. It's also a milestone week, with my 100th GoodGym run coming up, so a good time to get sociable, with a post-run drink and meal.

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