We ran 10k to Ha Ha Road in Charlton last night. In the wind and rain to tidy a dirty stretch of road side

The power of Twitter

We didn't have a job this week so in an effort to find something beneficial to do for our Greenwich brethren I put a tweet out asking if anyone knew of any areas that could use a 'GoodGym flash mob clear up'.

We got a response from TheOnlyWayisWoolwich who told us "the Ha Ha on Ha Ha Road is always in need of a litter pick". So we did it...running 5k out and 5k back to give it a bash.

chicken and crisps....a fabulous ditch

The Ha Ha is a former river running alongside the road and though it could do with a clear out, it was leaves rather than rubbish that need shifting. As the rain came down we decided our time on this visit was best used in tidying an equally messy area of the road just up the street. This spot (opposite the hospital) was an eyesore- full of cans, crisp packets and chicken shop paraphernalia. So we quickly bagged it up and found a bin to chuck it in.

We'll head back and attack the Ha Ha in future- when we have more bags, bins and leaf raking equipment!

5k home

We set off home on leg 2 of our 10k run- back to Greenwich Uni. Back was much easier than out, mainly because we ran down rather than up Greenwich hill. We got home by 8.30pm for a quick stretch out of the way of the Warner Bros film crews who had ensconsed themselves on campus. Hopefully a GoodGymer will have secretly strayed in shot!

Wow, an amazing 31 Goodgymers met on a cold February evening to tackle two tasks and run 5km.

Good news all around, well done Jess Cowan for her 1hr 44 Richmond Half Marathon at the weekend and Francis Powrie for heading 50 good deeds!

After an active and well observed warm up we headed to our tasks.

Alara Run Report:

Group 1 led by Paul and backmarked by Frances headed to Alara which is a wholefoods project which makes lovely products, including muesli and granola! They also manage and maintain Kings Cross Orchard Project. Our tasks were simply splitting into three groups and weeding around the various orchards to keep them protected, we filled 10 buckets full of weeds.

Mmmmm Yacon!

Due to our hard work we were very happy to collect a box of Yacon Granola each. Yacon is a species of perennial daisy traditionally grown in the northern and central Andes from Colombia to northern Argentina for its crisp, sweet-tasting, tuberous roots. Alara grows the only Yacon plants in the UK - wow! With our boxes in hand we headed off to meet Becky's group.

Skip Garden Run Report written by Emily Morrissey (first time at GoodGym):

Group 2 led by Becky, and supported by Meredith and Jess headed on a short and steady run to the Skip Garden (which is a community garden with a twist - it's moveable... This sustainable urban garden really is a charming oasis with wild flowers, vegetables and herbs, beehives and chicken coops.)

Wood x Fire = Pizza

We were welcomed, shown around and introduced to all the fantastic work that takes place there. The team was then presented with a huge amount of freshly cut firewood (used for the pizza oven, fire pit and the tipi stove!) which needed moving to a more convenient location. Two groups loaded and pushed the trolleys and one group re-stacked the wood, lasting about 20 minutes.

Progressive Running

After smashing both tasks we met at Granary Square to do some progressive running. Splitting into two groups the aim was to progressively get faster on each corner of the square, this training is regularly used by Kenyan Runners to develop their pacing.

Lucia (LG) Gobbi looked very involved - just look at her face - see photo above.

Just look at that face!

Everyone did 2 laps and 6 more brave soles did a 3rd lap - corrrrrr nice one!

We all jogged back to Somers Town together and had a nice stretch before heading to the pub and/or home.

Next Saturday we are off to Kentish Town City Farm, it's a starter session but everyone is welcome.

In April we are heading to Regents Park 10k - join us!

See you next week.