On a bright but chilly morning, six super runners tackled 2km and a fallen tree in the Secret Garden.

First of all, well done to Ian for running Crystal Palace parkrun beforehand (and subsequently shivering for a while as we waited to start!). It was a cold, damp and muddy sort of day, but this didn't put off two brand new first-timers, hello (and a big cheer) to Kat and Kerry!

We talked briefly about coach running and missions - our two new runners can't always make a Tuesday evening, so these are two options that can be done at other times. With coach running, you are paired with an older person nearby, visiting once a week for a chat and missions are where you go to someone's home, to help out with a task that they can't manage by themselves.

Once we had got past our first barrier, opening the big container that holds all the tools, we were all set to trundle over to the Secret Garden with our wheelbarrow of good(ies). Here we were trimming back the edges of the path, keeping it under control during the sleepy season, making sure it's usable for the forest school and other activities that go on here. Very quickly we were confronted with a real challenge, a fallen branch, pulled down by its covering of ivy (when I say covering, it was twisted with thick branches!). Off went Ian to grab a couple of saws, while the rest of the group snipped away at the gnarled ivy.

A sight for saw eyes

It was impressive to see Kat and Ian sawing away, commenting that you knew when you had hit the branch, as the saw slowed down slightly. In no time at all the path was cleared and the offending chunk of wood was moved to the side. Excellent work! Clearing the ivy leaves and removing the rest of the brambles from the path edge, our work was done. Back went the tools and out came the games.

We warmed ourselves up to run with a knee-tag game and a bit of stuck-in-the-mud (though we rather wisely didn't play this on the actual mud, as it was super slippery!). We moved on to some drills and dynamic stretches, so important, especially at this time of year. Once we were warm, we ran steadily up towards a nice little hill, weaving in and out of the various dogs, who were eager to say hello to me for some reason! This hill is great for some repeats, building strength and improving our running form. Running as a group, everyone turned when the first person reached the top. You could jog down, or power walk, using this as your recovery. We then looked at our downhill technique, thinking about running tall and going with gravity - I saw a marked improvement here, really lovely form!

And dip!

On our run back, we admired the view and made use of some benches, pushing up and dipping down, all good strength building to support our running. If you like the sound of a GoodGym group run, why not join us on a Tuesday evening? We meet at 6.45pm at the Bridge House and do good stuff in our borough. Sign up here for our next run.