7 runners made it out tonight in Croydon, tackling 6-7km to give a little timely love to the community gardens at Thornton Heath Rec.

It was great to meet Will, a runner who is hoping to look into Coach Runs. Signing up for Coach Runs requires a DBS check and some straightforward training, but is a great way to get fit and do good outside of (or in addition to!) group runs. Also, before setting off, we enjoyed some cakes from Dom, for whom the run was his 50th Good Deed since starting in June. If anyone wants to join that illustrious company, taking part in Missions and Coach Runs is a great way to get there quicker!

We had a swift run there, punctuated by an energetic dynamic warmup, and got to the community gardens. Here we met Atul and others from the Friends of Thornton Heath Rec. They talked us through our task, and we quickly joined in. Together, we shoveled soil into the new (slug proof!) raised planters, raked it flat, and dragged the bag of soil along to help those doing the shoveling. Once we'd done this, we covered the beds in plastic sheeting and popped on some concrete blocks to keep it prepared and ready for planting in the months to come. Altogether, this formed quite the workout!

Once we finished, the Friends told us that the bed was ours to look after in the future, alongside contributions from nearby Winterbourne School. This is fantastic news, hopefully it'll be the one of many projects we can invest in over time. They also presented us with cupcakes and a rose each, both very much appreciated!

Next week we'll be running to South Croydon to help out at a primary school. Keep running, popping your workouts on Strava, and working on your goals!