Firmly ignoring the call of the sofa, 21 determined souls ran 4km through Lewisham and scooped, swept, grabbed, picked and gathered 30+ bags of leaves.

Thanks go this week to Stephen for his title punnery

Oh, it's that time of year again, the time when you go all-out to fight the cold, layering on the long sleeves, leggings, gloves, ear-muffs, then you run and realise it's not that cold after all. We might get the hang of it one day. Even though it was uncharacteristically mild, we still needed to warm-up, so a quick game of shoulder tag took place (with accompanying whoops) and a new game of partner tag - I liked that one, it was fun. Pity the runner who found themselves partnered with Chris, he of the speedy legs. On Saturday, Chris bagged himself a tasty parkrun PB up at Hilly Fields, finding himself tantalisingly close to sub-20, we don't doubt he'll creep under that mark very soon, well done!

Leaf it out!

As I ran over the curly bridge the other day (you know the one, looks interesting on an SE13 Strava route), I looked down onto the Ladywell Arena, our local running track and noticed how very leafy it was looking. Time for GoodGym Lewisham to step in and make a difference (I tell you, we need red capes)! Our run took us through Ladywell (thank you to Marta and Stephen for being our trusty back-markers), through the park and to the clubhouse, to gather up a few rakes, brushes and bags. About a year ago, we cleared the leaves and enjoyed a quick track session, which was the first time many of us had run on a track (a few of those runners now make this a regular session). Tonight though, we were looking on as the local football teams warmed up for a match on the infield, so any leaf clearance had to happen quickly, before kick-off and the potential danger of flying balls.

I don't beleaf it ref!

Once the lanes had been swiftly swept, we moved to the area around the club house and to the path outside the entrance, which was ankle-deep in a wet, slippery mush of leaves. As whistles blew and goals were scored, our runners scored their own goals, filling bag after bag with leaves. We had been told to put the bags by the bins, but we soon realised that they were obscuring the bins and beginning to cross the path! In a short space of time, over thirty (yes, that's right) bags had been filled! Building their upper bodies, the team then lifted and placed the bags behind the railings, keeping the area clear and safe. Good work.

Leafing time to run

As we couldn't use the track itself, we used the path around the outside, first of all warming our bodies back up with a few dynamic drills and stretches. One big lap later and our runners were breathing heavily and feeling ready to run back to our start point. If you feel a little less intimidated now by the track, you can find out more about when it's open (free before 9am!) here. Extra kudos tonight to Maria, who was joining us for only the second time and was pushing herself hard after returning to running recently, great effort Maria!

Back at Glass Mill, we continued with our attempts to impress our friends in the North at GoodGym York, this week showing off twenty whole press-ups. STROOOOOOONGGG!As we stretched, we covered a few 'don't forget!' points:

• On Saturday we have a starter session at the (wonderful) Wildcat Wilderness, everyone welcome!

• If you fancy having a go at a 5 or 10k race in Greenwich Park (with post-race hot chocolate/mulled wine/mince pies), sign up here.

• Our Christmas social is now booked, a chance to catch up whilst wearing nice clothes and not breathing heavily!

• And, of course, join us next Monday for some more of the same, wholesome fun.