Covering 5km of running, thirteen top athletes took to the streets of Sydenham to help out at the Community Library.

As you can see from the photos, we had a half-marathoner in our midst. On Sunday, Clare took on the inaugural Big Half, a half-marathon organised by the London Marathon team, starting on Tower Bridge and finishing by the Cutty Sark in Greenwich. The event was different in that it was focussing on the communities it passed through, with many participants representing community organisations and charities in the four host boroughs. GoodGym were out in force, with 250 runners taking part and lots of non-running members out on the course, cheering everyone on (I was in Deptford with my son, catching a glimpse of Sir Mo himself as he glided by, before taking the win :) As I sat down to write this, I noticed that Clare was also doing her 25th good deed this evening, so a double well done!

On the subject of half-marathons, we also talked about the very local Beckenham Half-Marathon, which is taking place on September 23rd. It was brought to our attention by Ian, who ran the race last year and enjoyed it. Why not sign up and give yourself a goal to work towards (Kate and Ian have already committed!)?

Shelf life

Tonight's task was over at Sydenham Community Library, so off we headed, doing a little knee-lifting warm-up as we went (the High Street was particularly busy this evening, so we probably provided much-needed entertainment for the static traffic). Thank you to David for back marking this evening, making sure nobody was left behind. As we ran, there was a mysterious rattling noise coming from Bradley's rucksack which, he informed us, was Smarties. Nice! Turns out he was joking and it was actually a supply of vitamins. Bother. Everything was just fine though because, at the task, Ilse had laid on a delicious selection of treats! Who needs Smarties when you have mandarins, coconut macaroons, Bourbons, cheesy twists and cheesy/spicy savoury triangles? Thank you Ilse!

There were a few different jobs lined up for us tonight, with everyone picking something they liked the look/sound of:

• painting the toilet
• cleaning the IT equipment (using fancy spray cans)
• pulling out the fridge in the cafe, to clean behind it
• taking books off the shelves to clean underneath

Everyone got stuck in, pausing occasionally to enjoy a snack, with piles of books building up and cloths getting surprisingly grubby - the library is on a busy main road, with all the grime drifting in from the traffic passing by. Ilse informed us that the Romance section was especially filthy, of course, but Louise found that the Science Fiction was also quite grimy. Interesting. As time ticked by, there was the inevitable chatter about what we're reading and the odd rumble of laughter as a funny title or subject emerged from the shelves. Gathering together our cloths, sprays, brushes and rollers, we wrapped up our work for the evening and made our way back outside.

Witness the fitness!

On our return leg, we like to have a little fitness session if there's time and tonight I had planned a simple version of a classic (I had hoped to use the local basketball court, but it's still bathed in darkness...soon, soon). Running between the grass and the benches, we tried to cover as many laps as we could in one minute (I let Clare rest her legs, I'm not that cruel!). Well done to everyone, it's quite an intense exercise after a 5k run! This is a great way to test your fitness and look for improvement, choosing a space that you will revisit at intervals to see how you are progressing.

Don't forget (I forgot to mention it!) that this Thursday is the monthly GoodGym social, which is in Greenwich this time, so not too far away. Sign up here to meet runners from other areas, to hear from the guest speaker and vote for the International Pun of the Month. While you're at it, why not sign up to next week's group run for more of the same good stuff?