On #InternationalVolunteerDay thirteen wonderful people ran almost 9km to sort through donations of clothing for GRACE, enjoying some Christmassy music, good chat, some post-run squats and a few festive treats.

Our group run happened to fall on #InternationalVolunteerDay, which I completely forgot to mention! So, a very BIG thank you to everyone who has joined us at GoodGym Lewisham, to take part in group runs, missions or to visit an older person in our borough. You are all amazing!

Pat on the back!

Once again, we were remarking on how chilly it's getting, with Kim being ultra prepared and investing in some warm accessories on her way to the run, toasty and stylish! First of all, we had to congratulate anyone who donned some red and white and ran around ho-ho-hoing at the weekend - well done to Helen, Caireen, Jacqueline (and me!) for getting right into the Christmas spirit at the Santa in the City run and to Sean, who ran with his family (he's inspiring others to run too!) over at Danson Park. We'll definitely be putting this in the diary again next year, it was so much fun! We talked about a couple of local missions happening this week, then braved the descending frost to warm up, ready to run.

We always like to have a little play after our head-count and name-check and this week we did a bit of 'clustering' - running around on the grass then, when I shouted out a number, everyone had to cluster together in that number. If someone didn't manage to cluster, they did five squats. Nice. Time then for some dynamic stretching - it's all very well playing games but, when it's as cold as this, it's important to warm up our bodies enough to run safely.

Serious face

Our task tonight was slightly different to our original plan. Our task owner, GRACE (Greenwich Refugee Aid and Community Enterprise) are about to open a new shop in Lee, but the keys were slightly delayed, so we decided it would be good to help with some sorting over at their storage unit in Eltham. GRACE receive many donations of clothing, which are then taken over to northern Greece, to help clothe the refugees who are arriving there. Clothing often comes in big bags, bundled together so, of course, needs sorting into women's, men's, children's and so on. It's a big job!

This change of plan meant a longer run, along a busy road. We had missed out on a bit of sinkhole sight-seeing, as this has now been filled in, but we enjoyed venturing in a new direction, passing the location of the new GRACE shop in Lee, ready to help out there in the new year. We could see the Big Yellow as we ran, but still had to tackle some pretty fast and unfriendly crossing points. Arriving in thirteen perfectly formed pieces, we found our way in and met Claire and Donna, who showed us up in the lift. A few conversations could be heard, wondering what is kept in all these spaces...who knows?!

Well, the GRACE space is full to the brim with donations and Claire and Donna had pulled out some big sacks for our volunteers to fill, so everyone grabbed a bag or two and got busy sorting. There were a few 'ooohs' and 'aaahs' at the very cute (and very tiny) children's clothing and plenty of chin rubbing as we decided what went where. Our longer run meant limited time at the task, so there was little chance for pausing, but still plenty of time for a good chat and a little sing-along to the music that was pumping out. Every so often we would find items of underwear and it was interesting to hear about the work Donna is doing with The Lewisham Bra Brigade.

Looking around as time ticked down, the big sacks were now full and ready to be distributed, but our volunteers just couldn't stop! A countdown ensued and 'tools' were downed, with just enough time to enjoy some water (thank you!) before bracing ourselves for the cold. There's lots to do here and everyone really enjoyed getting stuck in, so we will no doubt be back!

As we left, Conroy suggested a slightly more 'scenic' route, that took us towards Hither Green. It did involve running up hill, but hey, it finished with a downward stretch! There was, of course, lots of talk about Christmas parties, presents and the pros and cons of staying put, over traipsing around the country. Before we knew it we were back in Lewisham, feeling that longer run in our legs, but we couldn't stop there! Our start point at Glass Mill is having an advent challenge, with today's being 3x15 squats. It was decided this was quite a lot after what turned out to be an almost 9km run (!), so we did what we had in us, whilst scoffing some lebkuchen. Smashing!

Next Monday will be our last group run before Christmas, so sign up and join in, there will no doubt be some special games, treats and of course running and doing good! On December the 19th, we will still meet, but to enjoy some good food and drink and catch up in our non-running guises (no good-doing that night, it's going to be all bad!).