Pushing on through in sweltering heat, 24 tip-top athletes ran 5km to make a difference at Crofton Books and Beecroft Garden School.

Thank you to Olifor tonight's title pun and some cleverly interspersed puns within this text. Thank you also to Jacquelinefor the Beecroft Garden photos.

What a great weekend of volunteering and running! We had a community mission this weekend. These are fairly new to us, allowing us to send a smaller group of volunteers to help out in the community, outside of our group runs. Our heroes this weekend were Emma, Sarah and Nykolette, who trailed around local streets, spreading the word about this Saturday's Family Fun Day at the Ewart Road Clubhouse - well done you three! We had some very determined running from Clare, who ran the Hever Castle half-marathon yesterday IN THAT HEAT! Wow, it sounds like it was pretty hard-going, but the hog-roast afterwards seems to have done the refuelling trick :) We had lots of our regulars at Hilly Fields parkrun on Saturday, either running or volunteering and Bradley has been a regular feature at the I Move London relay, joining in on numerous runs now and spending a lot of time volunteering (I'm pretty sure he'll get his own Guinness World Record for his efforts, he should!). There is still plenty of time to sign up to join in, with the event continuing until the end of the month.

This week we had not one, not two, but three new faces joining the run. Lewisham Love goes to Matthew, Christine and James, welcome.

We don't beetle about the bush!

We had a bit of fun with tonight's warm-up, playing a little ball game and partnering up for some dynamic stretches. Bradley took the role of back-marker, making sure nobody was left behind and off we headed to Crofton Park. On the way, we did good deed number one, saving a beautiful beetle (we think a female Stag Beetle) from being trampled on (see photo, with foot for scale), always doing good ;) Having visited Beecroft Garden Primary School last week, we were returning in the same direction, so decided to split up into two groups, one under the guidance of Jacqueline (thank you!), continuing the good work on the raised beds at the school and the rest of us a little further down the street at Crofton Books.

At the library, we worked in small groups, sorting through donated books. One group were alphabetising (I am full of envy), another were sorting through a box, others were pricing books and another group were sorting through some bags outside, then watering the plants along the edge of the building (I hadn't realised there was such a great outdoor space here, with a grapevine and everything!). As is usual here, it wasn't long before some literary gems were uncovered, with Kim sharing a lovely fitness book from the eighties. We all gathered round to enjoy the illustrations of people 'jogging' in massive jumpers and tiny short shorts, we were also rather taken with the 'hip twists' and the advice for running in the dark. I just had to buy it to add to my collection!

Buckets of fun

Over at the school, there was a hive of activity, with our top team of gardeners working hard to clear the soil from behind the wall, digging the dry, hard ground, lifting it into wheelbarrows and transporting this to the front of the building, to be used in another bed. This wall is due to be repaired and can't be done until the soil is moved, so great work everyone, you were really digging the Sensory Garden! This task was a particularly good upper-body workout, with buckets and trugs of soil being lifted and shifted and some great wheelbarrow action to work those thighs and glutes.

Once our work was done, we regrouped seamlessly out on the road, gathering together to run up and over to Hilly Fields. At the bottom of the steep hill, I suggested that some people might like to push hard to the top. Like the adventurous athlete that she is, Eleanor (fresh some GoodGym tourism to Liverpool) took the lead, running fast ahead of us, with a group following closely behind, trying to catch her! At the top, we formed a circle, with my speaker blasting out in the middle, ready to introduce a really lovely squats session. Oh yes. Around three minutes of up, down, hold repeat, glutes burning, thighs throbbing, faces grimacing. Excellent work all of you and not a bit of groaning going on!

As we planked and stretched back at Glass Mill, we talked about next week's group run, another double task, this time over in New Cross, at the Woodpecker Youth Centre and the Samaritans. We will need all hands again, so do sign up. I won't be here, but you will be well looked after by Conroy.

See you soon!