Nineteen fine athletes took to central Lewisham, covering around 2km, tackling not one, not two, but THREE tasks and challenging each other to a Workout Off.

This week's Lewisham Love goes to Abby, who joined us for the first time - pop off and give her a cheer, go on!

What better way to start off a Monday evening group run than with a bit of celebratory back-patting? This week's heroes were Shanice and Kim, who both ran the 10k Run Through race in Greenwich Park on Sunday. 10k race you say? Yes, a 10k race with mega hills (x3) AND that heat! So very well done to you both, especially as this was Shanice's first ever race and Kim was seconds away from a PB. Winners.

We were very excited by tonight's challenge of three tasks:

• finish off the painting at Lewisham Library

• paint the walls along Burton's Yard

• move some unsightly barriers near our start point

Yes, our very first multi-task run!

To warm up, we got to know each other's names, got in (and out) of a complicated arm-tangle then had a good heart-racing game of Lewisham Labrador (a bit like British Bulldog, but, you know, Lewisham innit?).

Thank yous this week go to Steve for being our back-marker (we always appoint a back-marker, it's no fun being left behind, so we don't let it happen) and to Kim, for stepping up to lead Team Lewisham Library. Good work.

First things first, we had to equip ourselves with paint, rollers and brushes so, as a group, we ran over to the library, where Anne-Marie and Ade met us with all the gear and some very handy supermarket trolleys. Here we split into teams, with Kim, Lucy, Helen, Shanice and George opting to finish what we started last week (well done also to Wisdom and Freda, who arrived at Glass Mill as we left, but caught up and joined in!). I'll hand over now to Kim, who has written a Team Library report (and you can see her superb photos above)...

Over to Kim

Five of us stayed at Lewisham library to finish the painting task we started last week, there was one corner left to finish that had been too dirty last week.

We quickly got to work repainting over some patchy areas from last week and starting on the corner that needed painting along, with braving the awful smell in the corner (even though the area had been cleaned and this was an improvement!). Just as we got started, Wisdom and Freda arrived at the library! We could do with the extra hands, not realising how high we'd have to paint so they got stuck right in and before we knew it there was only 15 min to go.

There was one last push to make sure all the painting was done, a group photo in front of the newly painted corner and then we ran as a group to the rest of the GoodGym Lewisham team at the second task of the evening.

Team Burton's Yard

As you can see from the photos, the rest of us made our way towards Lewisham Market and the alleyway that is used by market traders to store their barrows. When the market is open and the high street is bustling with shoppers, you wouldn't notice this unassuming little passageway but, as we soon realised, it's a vital resource for the traders in the area. When we were in the space, we noticed a plaque, low to the ground, stating 'This stone laid by Stanley Howard Burton 1930'. I couldn't find much written about this, but it seems Burton was from the Burton's men's clothing family and these stones were placed at the foot of their stores. I couldn't find any photos depicting a Burton's store here, but there is a little article here about the nearby Lewisham Clock Tower.

Once paint had been poured and rollers or brushes grabbed, everyone quickly set to work, digging in between brickwork to give a nice, bright finish. Every so often, we all stood with our backs to the wall, as barrows were towed through to the storage area behind. Satisfied sighs were heard, as one smaller group moved along from bricked surface to graffiti-covered ply and last-minute edges were reached with the help of taller friends.

Smiling runners appeared soon in the entrance, Team Library happily rejoining us, job done. A quick group photo was taken before packing up and heading over to...

Task #3

We were asked recently if we could help local community whirlwind Joe to remove some barriers that have been left around some new steps near our start point. When I had a look, I realised we could probably get this done really quickly. Yup, five minutes or so later and the barriers were lifted and placed near the steps, revealing a nice new walkway to access the shopping centre or station. Once they've been swept down (we didn't have any brushes), it could also be a nice spot to have a sit down ( we are hoping something will be done with the wonderful arches, such great potential!).

So that's three tasks complete and still a little time for a fitness session - what a truly bumper evening! We paired up and had a game of Pacy Racy (I don't know, sounds good), where the pairs run in opposite directions, aiming to reach their start point at the same time. A nice warm-up for our game of Workout Off - two teams, some huddling and conferring and some challenges to the other team (burpees were popular). Lots of encouragement and some good hard effort. Well done everyone, you should be very proud of yourselves!

As we stretched, we talked about next week. Yes, I know, Easter Monday but, as we enter a run of Bank Holidays, it's good to remind everyone that we do, indeed, run on a Bank Holiday. What better way to feel good before you head into your working week? Next week is another brand new task! We're very excited to be helping over at the Ewart Road Clubhouse, where we will be painting the kitchen, cleaning windows and generally tidying the outdoor space, lots to choose from. The run will be a bit longer, around 7-8km, but remember, it's split in two by the task. Sign up here to join in. There will be games and Easter treats :)

On a glorious Spring evening, 26 of Lewisham's best ran 2km, scraped, sanded and painted a whole wall and worked together in pairs to build strength and endurance.

Thank you to Steve for this week's title pun (thank you also to Helen, who had a suggestion, but this one seemed so appropriate for this week...I'll save yours!).

What an amazing evening! Just take a look at those photos to see exactly what we're about: getting good stuff done in a short space of time, getting to know each other and supporting our community. Three new runner/volunteers chose a particularly good week to join us for the very first time. Lewisham Love to Matthew, Amanda and Rajesh (though Rajesh was just passing through ahead of a long trip to Australia, so we won't be seeing him for a while!). Welcome back also to Jacqueline and Helen, who are both fine examples of patience and focus, having dealt carefully and determinedly with injury recently - lovely to see you both again, in full working order!

26! That's a lot of names to remember. Don't worry, each week we form a big circle and do a name-check (sometimes we even play a little name game to make sure everyone's listening). After we'd remembered our names, we had a game of Shark Attack then, since we are now the proud owners of a beautiful mural near our start point, we did some dynamic drills all the way to the 'Welcome to Ladywell' sign. I'm sure you'll agree, it's really rather lovely.

Welcome to Ladywell

This week we were running the short(er) distance to Lewisham Library, a brand new task. We were there in no time and were met by Ade, Anne-Marie and another helper (sorry, I didn't catch his name). The plan had been for a company to come in earlier in the day to wash down the wall which, as you can see, is encrusted in pigeon droppings on places and pretty pongy. Unfortunately, this hadn't happened, so we were instructed to give the pigeon zone a wide berth and work on the rest of the wall with vigour and enthusiasm. Masks, buffs, scarves and pulled up t-shirts were employed in the defence against the dark dust and everyone was quickly finding a spot to attack.

We had imagined that this week we would work on the sanding and next week the painting but, very soon, we realised that it might just be possible to get it all done! Thank you Caireen for the nudge to stay a little longer and complete the task, it is amazing to step back and see a job done. Scrapers were swapped for rollers, a couple of brushes were found to quickly sweep up paint flakes and all areas of black, peeling wall were covered with fresh, new 'sandstone'.

Go ahead jump!

Time to gather up all tools and pass them on to Anne-Marie, who very kindly offered to clean them all at home, as we didn't have access to sinks at the library - you star, AM! It was time now for us to run back towards Glass Mill and to engage some other muscles in a game of Scissors/Paper/Stone. This time, there was an element of collaboration and decision making, with the 'winner' deciding whether their pair should run up and down the path or tackle the various stations, each with instructions in planking, mountain climbing, burpeeing (?!), press-ups and squat throws. Cue runners heading in all directions, jumping, pushing, pressing, holding, oh and breathing, if they remembered.

Once everyone was suitably worked and out of breath, we gathered round to stretch and talk about food. Yay! At this point we're always talking about food - running and doing good makes you really hungry! That was OK though, because this week we were heading over to the lovely local Turkish restaurant, Levante for some post-run refuel and rehydration...and to celebrate my 100th GoodGym good deed. I did wonder why a few of our regulars were rushing off ahead of us, imagining they must be so hungry they couldn't wait. It turns out they were meeting Sean and Steve at the restaurant, blowing up red balloons and taking care of a very special cake, baked by Kim. Thank you so much everyone, you made what was already a fantastic evening even more heartening!

As we ate and chatted, there was a great deal of buzz around the upcoming GoodGym Olympics. Yes, the chance for each borough to compete against each other in a series of events at the Parliament Hill track. We are going to field a very strong team, so if you want to get involved, please let us know (the events range from actual running to egg-and-spoon and welly wanging...). Each area will also make a flag to represent their borough. Of course, we will be going to great lengths to ensure ours reflects all that Lewisham has to offer. Join in!