On a warm evening in Lewisham, 22 runners covered a whopping 8km of running and helped paint ALL the fencing panels at Camelot Pre-School.

It was a delight this week to welcome along Clair and Stephen for their first ever GoodGym group run, Lewisham Love to you!

Thank you to Oli once again for this week's puns and congratulations on your one year anniversary of doing good!

We had another fantastic weekend of goodness, with lots of our runners over in Hackney for the half-marathon. Well done to everyone who got up at the crack of dawn (yes, really) to volunteer on baggage drop and water stations and great running from Vic and Bradley, who tackled the race (Vic smashing her run with a personal best time!). We also had volunteers at the Wildcat Wilderness, Manor Park and at Hilly Fields parkrun and junior parkrun (thank you Sarah for offering sign language support on Saturday).

COMMUNITY MISSION NEWS

• This Saturday you can join our neighbours, GoodGym Bromley, as they take over the volunteering at South Norwood parkrun (easily reached on the Hayes line). There are some marshalling spots still going and plenty of opportunity for pacers (any pace welcome!). Check out the details here and don't forget to email the parkrun team!

• We will be having our own junior parkrun takeover on Sunday June 9th. If you have never experienced the enthusiasm and energy of a group of 4-14 year-olds running around a park, then sign up now! There are lots of roles to be filled and it's the best way to start a Sunday morning (with a post-mission cafe stop).

At GoodGym Lewisham we like to give runners the chance to take the lead and learn new skills along the way. Last week, Emma completed her Run Leader training and is now part of the team, alongside Amber, Kim and Ian. To celebrate, Emma led tonight's warm-up, having us touching body parts (nowhere near as racy as it sounds!) and some good, strong dynamic stretches - thanks Emma! A big thank you once again to Kim, who ran up front, leading the way, Amber, who took care of the 'break-away' group and Clare, who kept us together at the back. WHAT A TEAM!

This week, we were working in collaboration with the Hither Green Festival, who connected us with tonight's task, a new one for us. It was a long run to Camelot Pre-School, 8km in total, so well done to everyone for pushing on through to get there promptly! We were helped in part by some unexpected motivational signs en route (we think we have Anne-Marie from the Hither Green Festival to thank for our awesome little bursts of cheer).

Night of Camelot

Arriving at the task, we were likened to Challenge Anneka. This absolutely delighted me, as I was a BIG fan, but I imagine many of our runners might not be so familiar with her jumpsuited ways. In the garden, Laura introduced the task, directing us towards delicious refreshments, brushes and paint (thank you for laying everything out ready!). Our challenge for the evening was to paint all of the fence panels a lush shade of green.

Two Oceans to brushing motions

The pre-school had recently been threatened with closure, but a group of parents came together to ensure that this didn't happen and taking on jobs like this is part of the process of keeping this amazing space running. Quite quickly the panels were getting greener and the time was ticking away. While he painted, Tom told me all about his recent adventures in South Africa, where he ran the Two Oceans Marathon (it's actually an ultr-marathon of 50+ kilometers!).

Panel beaters

As much as I would like to be able to, I can't really expand time, but I tried very hard, by making five minutes last a little longer. Adam just had a few pieces of wood left to cover, so I urged him on, finishing the very last bit of fence. Our run back from this area always feels ever so slightly easier, with a downward pull back to Glass Mill. Next week is Bank Holiday Monday, but that certainly doesn't stop play! We will have another new task, this time much closer, opposite Lewisham Hospital, helping in the garden at Glebe Court residential home - travel light, we don't have access to lockers, as the leisure centre closes early.

Have a great week!