22 awesome runners ran 4k to help clear leaves at Ballast Quay Garden!

What a fabulous turn out last night! And we had a whopping SIX new runners join us! So big warm welcome to James, Chloe, Natasha, Jennifer, Paul and Sean! We also had the lovely Jane all the way over from GoodGym Kingston! Nice to have you all with us last night!

After a bit of a shaky start with various run ins with the university security, we managed to do a brief uninterrupted warm up before getting on our way!

Within a few minutes we had arrived and were greeted by the lovely Diane and her dog Tom! Diane has looked after the garden since 1962 and I'm sure you'll agree it's a fab little spot with the most spectacular views over the river. During the winter when all the leaves come off the trees, they tend to make their way onto the flower beds and can inhibit their growth. Obviously it requires a fair bit of bending down to clear them so that's where we come in!

Diane had various brushes and brooms at the ready, everyone got stuck in and began to explore all corners of the garden! A pile of leaves began to form, which we then bagged up and emptied over the wall into the river. This felt a bit wrong but Diane assures me she has been told by Greenwich Council that it's fine as it will all decompose.. fair enough!

After about half an hour, almost every single leaf had been plucked from the garden, nice work!! We took a lovely group photo and then set off again on our run. We did a little loop around the area and stopped for a fitness session which this week was a little leg circuit. Spending even just a few minutes on some strength and conditioning work each week will not only make you a stronger runner with better running efficiency, it will also help prevent injury so it's super important that we all do it! And I'll be the first to admit I don't do enough of it, I would much rather just spend that time on another run instead but take the time to do it, your body will thank you for it!

Anyway enough of my lecture... we did 2 rounds of 3 exercises. Step ups (single leg exercises are great if you have any imbalances), reverse lunges with a knee drive (help with balance and strengthens glutes/quads) and squat jumps (for explosive power)... after 2 rounds, plus the fact that it had started to drizzle meant it was probably time to head back! We had a quick little stretch and called it a night!

Useful links and things I mentioned yesterday...

Facebook Group - to those who are new, we have a GoodGym Greenwich Facebook Group where people often post about races or other running related stuff going on nearby!

Community mission in Charlton - here is the mission for Crisis UK I was talking about. Limited to 10 runners, no need to be DBS checked!

Great work last night everyone! Diane was so pleased with all that you achieved, you've really helped her out so well done! See you next week

19 awesome runners ran 4km to help at the Deborah Ubee Trust!

Group run number two of the year and it's so great to see so many of you braving the cold and getting your good deed and run done! It's always a lot easier in a group though eh!

This week, we headed to the Deborah Ubee Trust to help out with some cleaning duties around the office. It is a wonderful charity which supports the emotional health and well-being of people in the area and provides counselling and therapies irrespective of ability to pay.

Thankfully the rain had cleared but it was still pretty cold so we headed off for a quick little warm up, getting dizzy running circles. After a few minutes, we set off through the uni and up by the park. Who else can't wait for summer when the park is open again?!?!? After a quick pic we continued our run and arrived at the DUT in no time at all!

It's oh so quiet.... shhhhh

Since there were various counselling sessions taking place, we had to be extra quiet so as not to disturb the neighbouring rooms. We headed through to the main room where there were loads of cleaning products laid out, everyone grabbed a cloth and a spray and found something to clean! Carpets, skirting boards, windows, doors, desks, tables, chairs, door handles, microwaves, sinks, mirrors... you name it, we cleaned it! Alex and Steve even braved the outside taking one for the team to do the weeding... nice one fellas!

After just 10 minutes, the place was looking completely spotless! We tidied everything away, emptied the bins and headed back to the uni a slightly longer way round.

We took a detour which led us to the creek where we stopped for part one of the fitness session.. STRIDES! These are quick bursts of 100-120 metres or 20 seconds of 90-95% effort. It's a really good thing to add in at the end of an easy run, perhaps 6 to 8 repetitions, or you can sprinkle them in during your run, one every km for example. It helps increase stride length and promotes good form, which if done often enough can translate into your normal running as well! Try getting some in if you go for a run at the weekend and let me know how you get on!

After a few minutes, we ran back to the uni for a quick little core burst of 3 exercises. Again, so important to get your core work in, even if it's just 10 minutes a couple of times a week. Do it while watching TV or at the gym, maybe the next time you go for a run finish the run 10 minutes earlier than you were planning and get 10 mins of core work in instead! And strengthening your core isn't just about doing horrible abdominal exercises, it's about your glutes, hamstrings and lower back too so don't leave them out!

2 rounds and then we had a nice stretch and called it a night!

Great work last night! This now puts us up to 46 good deeds and 1851km for the January Challenge! See you next week!

14 awesome runners ran 3km to plant bulbs at Maze Hill station!

We are usually blessed with perfect weather on Wednesday evenings in Greenwich but last night was a bit on the soggy side! Good job you lot aren't fair weather runners eh!

We had two new runners join us on our wet and wild adventure! Welcome Emma and Stewart!! Hope you both enjoyed the run despite the conditions!

After a little mishap with our room and non existent security guard, everyone got a bunch of squats in to finish off the monthly challenge, we were a bit short of time so we skipped the warm up and jogged straight to the task. You were all warm from the squats anyway!

A few minutes later we arrived at Maze Hill and were greeted by the whole crew whom you may have recognised from previous tasks! The gardens at Maze Hill are all managed and looked after by volunteers. When Helena first started looking after it she had a group of 30 volunteers and now it is just a small handful so all the work that was done last night was hugely appreciated!

There were lots of jobs to do and everyone got stuck in! We had one group clearing an area for hundreds of bulbs to be planted. Andy was on litter picking duty and boy did he have his work cut out! There was SOOOOO much stuff. SO many cans, it was truly awful! But after a few minutes it was all under control and two bin bags were full! We also had another group at the other end of the station clearing an area for some shrubs and herbs from Helena's garden to be planted. There was a lovely smelling rosemary bush and also a curry plant and my hands as I'm writing this STILL smell of curry! And yes I have washed them before you ask!

After half an hour the place was looking fab! Thankfully the rain held off for the duration of the task meaning we got loads done! AMAZING!

We cleared up and said our goodbyes to head off for some hill repeats up Maze Hill to finish off the session. Hills are things that we as runners often avoid because they are painful and unpleasant BUT they benefit your running so much! Running hills strengthens the legs, improves running form and efficiency as well as your general aerobic fitness so don't shy away from them! And we are so lucky having Greenwich Park near us which is full of 'em! So get your hill repeats in people!

After a few times up and down, we headed back to the uni for a stretch and called it a night!

Great work everyone! You got so much done and Helena and the team were so impressed with all your hard work! See you next week!