30 people ran 7k and crammed themselves into a small nature reserve to weed and shift rubbish and clear a pathway

We had a lovely time this Wednesday night. We ran to one of Camden's hidden gems, a nature reserve on the banks of an overground train line near Gospel Oak. The reserve was saved from development into housing around 20 years ago, and has been maintained by a dedicated band of volunteers and local residents ever since. It's all co-ordinated by local lady Jeanne who has been involved since the outset. She is a pretty inspiring person- working tirelessly to protect the plot into her 70's! She can be found in the reserve most days teaching local school children and coordinating the activites of other volunteer conservation groups. We salute you Jeanne!

The running bit

We ran up there as a pack, covering the 3.5k in around 19-20 mins, most of which was uphill, and we spent a good deal of time dodging pedestrians along Kentish Town High Street. So not bad really.

The task bit

We surprised Jeanne with the size of our group so in the end it was hard to find tools for everyone. However we did manage to make quite an impact! One big group grabbed one glove each and headed with Jeanne to a corner of the reserve where some overgrown nettles needed chopping back. In 30mins they had obliterated the area- nice work (I think!). One small group grabbed a hacksaw and headed off to chop down a tree, while the rest of us busied ourselves with a variety of jobs around the park; shifting metal boards, amalgamating bags of twigs- that sort of thing!

The run back

After a quick clean up we headed home, dividing at Kentish Town to give the speedsters a chance to stretch their legs on a slightly longer route home to Somers Town. Nice one to Axel who managed to complete his first run after injury on his birthday. Happy birthday you plonker!