After a weekend of rain, red T-shirt’s began gathering in Glassmill foyer, making the most of the sunshine and ready to run and do good.

Welcome to our first timer, Julia, and to those that haven’t been for a couple of months due to injury - I hope you enjoyed your evening of doing good in Lewisham.

News this week: - we had quite a few people taking part in the final stage of the London Relay - well done everyone! - let’s not forget the people that have volunteered during the event, I know there were a couple of night shift volunteering happening this week - great effort keeping everything running smoothly - it was Emma’s 200th good deed at the weekend which she did at a mission, helping an isolated older person with a task they wouldn’t be able to complete themselves - give her a big cheer when you next see her!

Our task this evening was a short run up hill to Luxmore Gardens (which meant we had the down hill to look forward to on the way back). On arrival we checked out the new water fountain that had been installed since our last visit and has options for humans and dogs!

Main tasks this evening were weeding the flower beds, clearing some plants that had overgrown on one of the walls/fences and watering all the plants especially the shrubs.

Once we knew exactly what was a weed and what wasn’t, everyone got stuck in with the tasks. There was a lot of looking at plants/leaves going on, working out what type of plant it was and whether it should be dug up. some people played it safe and targeted the grass that had taken over in some areas, others expanded their knowledge of plants and working out which to dig up.

Because it was a shorter run we had plenty of time to get everything done but it still wasn’t long before it was time to be depositing all the piles of weeds into the compost heap and gathering together for a group photo.

We made our way back to Glassmill with a couple of people peeling off on the way back (maybe they’d heard that I’d asked Amber lead the fitness session or maybe the call of their dinner was too strong!!). Thanks Darryl for keeping everyone together at the back of the group, we arrived at Glassmill in one group ready for a quick fitness session (big thanks Amber) that involved squats, press ups and planks, and in pairs to encourage and motivate each other.

Next week we are off to Wildcat Wilderness, it’s a slightly longer run but lovely run through Ladywell Fields and broken up with the task in the middle - details here to sign up.

If anyone fancies a community mission (details to sign up here)at the weekend then there is litter picking pre-Hilly Fields Parkrun, meet around 8ish with a bag and some gloves.

Braving possibly the greyest evening in a while, a super sixteen ran 5km in different directions, helping at the Salvation Army in Deptford and GRACE in Lee.

Oh, Oli, you've done it again with the beautiful puns (the title refers to me losing one of my four gloves, which was found with the help of The Big Light)!

Did you look out of the window at any point today and think 'I'm not going out in that!'? Well our runners looked out and thought 'Bring. It. On!' Admittedly, we had a much smaller group than recent times, with some definitely hearing the call of the sofa, ahem ;) Before we warmed up and set off, I did a little round-up of the weekend's activities, with some of our group out and about helping at the Cancer Research Winter Run and others off on missions, or heading into the bitterly cold wind on long training runs for the Big Half - well done everyone, however you used your time!

If you want to fill your weekend with fun too, there are a few opportunities this coming Saturday:

• A community mission over at the marvellous Wildcat Wilderness

• A community clean-up along the station embankment at Hither Green

• Collecting donations for the Rainbow Trust with our friends GoodGym Bromley, over in Crystal Palace

And you could even fit in a parkrun beforehand!!

Tonight we had two tasks, both in different directions. I led a group to Deptford, to the Salvation Army and Kim and Amber led a smaller group over to Lee, to help at GRACE. Thank you both for your fantastic leading, it's all about the teamwork. Keeping us together at the back were Caireen and Sarah, tip-top back makers.

Hose ride is it anyway?

At the Salvation Army, we were met by Munetsi, who very proudly told us about the space and the work they aim to do in the local community. There are regular playgroups here, with a big outside space tempting the toddlers outside the play. It was our job to have a good look at the play equipment, giving it a scrub down and checking for any broken toys. We also had a sub-team clearing leaves that had been gathered recently by our friends at GoodGym Greenwich. There was a real buzz in the garden, with everyone finding a job that they enjoyed (some more than others Helen!) and feeling a great sense of achievement when we stepped back to see all the leaves cleared and an inviting space filled with gleaming toys - we would love to see the children's faces tomorrow!

Fools brushin

Over in Lee, GRACE have a new space adjacent to their current shop and needed some help giving it a good clean before we go over next week to help set up shop. The space is BIG and a little dusty (though nowhere near as dusty as that first visit we did many moons ago!). It was all hands to the brush or mop, with a line working from the back to the front, one team sweeping and the other fetching hot water to mop in their wake! Working so well as a team, the job was done with enough time to even give the windows a clean - top job!

Back at base, we had just enough time for a quick plank (and moan, there's always a moan when we plank) and a reminder to sign up to next week's run. Have a great week and maybe see you at parkrun.

On a crisp January evening, a record-breaking 37 outstanding athletes ran 5km and helped at Crofton Books.

Happy birthday to us! THREE YEARS of doing good in Lewisham! Just to help us get our heads around this fact, here are some statistics that illustrate the extent of our efforts since we started back in January 2016.

• Total good deeds - 5,691
• Total missions - 229
• Total coach visits - 941
• Total group runs - 193
• Total KMs - 72,043
• Total cheers given - 100,024
• Total cheers received -77,348

Just look at those figures, all done by 993 different runners! In coming weeks we will have completed 6,000 good deeds between us! It's especially heartening to note that we will soon have paid 1000 visits to an older person for a chat, reducing isolation with every visit. Well done to every single person who has been along over the past three years and who has gone on to volunteer outside of our activities, who has stepped up to a race start line (and finish!) and who has made a friend through what we do - this is a pretty special community that we've built here, in our little corner of South East London.

January Challenge

We are currently first in our division for good deeds (144) and utterly smashing it on KMs (1955)! Well done everyone, especially those who went the extra mile this weekend, by attending starter sessions, missions and community missions! If you haven't connected Strava or Run Keeper to your profile, now's the time! A special mention has to go to Emma, who 'did the treble' over the weekend, by completing a mission on Friday, another on Saturday morning, then a community mission shortly after!

A big welcome and all our Lewisham Love go this week to Suzi. We hope you enjoyed the evening, you certainly chose a special week to join us!

In this colder weather, it's even more important to warm up, but more important than anything ever is to have some fun. Handshakes, stuck-in-the-mud and a few hi-fives and we were ready to run. Thank you to Marta for being a tip-top back-marker tonight, keeping us together on the run.

3’s a crowd, 37 is a record!

As we arrived at Crofton Books, I realised that we might just beat our attendance record and, with a couple of people trailing in after us...we did! 37 runners, all ready to get stuck in! Jason had a lot for us to do this week. He had been over to Brixton to collect some HUGE bookshelves for the shop and these needed bringing in from the van (they really were very tall). The shelves they were to replace needed clearing (human chain!) and there was a lot of jiggling to be done to accommodate the new storage.

One for the record books

Meanwhile, in the children's section, Silvana had some more shelf action. These shelves had been dismantled and are quite complex in design so, in addition to wiping down and dusting, they needed reassembling with an allen key. This was a task that required thought and consideration, so there was much chin rubbing and head tilting! It was amazing to see the progress that was made, with a wall now being ready to take more books, giving a wide open space for children to enjoy the many activities on offer.

Outside we had a team of litter-pickers. There has been some great planting along the wall of the building, but sadly some people throw their litter over the fence. This was no problem for our crack team of pickers, flying around and getting it done.

With time flying, we had to clear the floor of books, so the library will be usable, so back to the human chain (though it's difficult not to get distracted as interesting books pass through your hands!). Jason had set the turntable going and the music set the pace, with 'Two minutes!' then 'One!' being called. We really could have stayed all night, but sadly had to leave so, gathering for a group photo, we said our goodbyes and ran the downhill route back to Glass Mill.

Many hands make light work... of 25 pizzas

As if all that running and lifting. shifting and building wasn't enough, we just about had time for a plank relay (cue a bit of moaning and groaning!). Those of us who were able, then headed over to Mamma Dough in Ladywell for some post-run pizza. We also enjoyed some birthday cake and the light and fluffy pannettone that Silvana had kindly given to us - thank you! At the social, I presented a few medals, marking some notable contributions. Well done to Bradley, who has been very nearly every week since he joined us a year ago (he also goes to GoodGym Bromley on a Tuesday, so is about to get his wings!), thank you to Oli, for making my life that little bit easier with his beautiful puns (see his work throughout this report) and a very special award for Jacqueline, our longest standing coach runner, who has visited her coach now for three years, sharing a cup of tea and making someone feel special. To finish, here are some words from our punmeister...

'Thank you for...

• Painting walls and passing balls
• From Glass Mills
• To Moby drills
• For group runs and humorous puns
• For feel-good missions
• And even hill repetitions!
• With high-knees
• Past abandoned WCs
• For making friends
• To sprinting ends
• Through injury woes
• Wielding garden hoes
• Bringing sore feet
• For home-baked treats
• For planting flowers
• In passing showers
• For evening trots
• Despite dreaded squats!
• Up to Hilly Fields
• Down for social meals
• Helpful training tips
• Whilst filling skips
• For friendly faces
• At local races
• Wearing head torches
• Flyering through porches
• Helping at Wildcats
• Wearing Christmas hats
• Surviving aching thighs
• To share free mince pies
• From tree collection
• Earning award selection
• For feeling fine
• Come rain or shine!'