Three was definitely the magic number in Bromley tonight, as we ran just over 7km, cleared two flower beds at Downham Community Centre and tackled some hills into the bargain.

Is it getting a little warmer? Maybe. Hoorah!

A big thank you to Tom for this week's title pun, good work. It seems Tom likes a pun and starts thinking about it at the beginning of the run. That's impressive, I usually leave it right until the end of the run report, when I'm really tired.

All set to take on a slightly longer run this week, we warmed up our bodies and raised our heart rates with some drills over in the little park across the road - it's good to fire up those muscles and loosen the limbs before heading out on the road. Clutching my scrawled directions (yes, all very high-tech), we ran out along Kentish Way and took a left, back towards the High Street. I know, I know, we should have gone right, but we soon realised and turned to run in the opposite direction (that's the 'and a bit' in the '7 and a bit km'). It's always a treat to have a longer run, where you have a chance to catch up (lots of talk about parkrun, goals and the 'Breaking 2' event last weekend - we all agreed it's incredible to see what the body can achieve and how far we can push ourselves under the right circumstances).

Our outward run wasn't exactly the scenic route, but it did the job and we were soon crossing the road towards Downham Community Centre, which was a-buzz with energy, with lots of different activities going on, including a Taekwondo class, full of children looking very focused and determined. Have a look at the list of activities that happen here, such a great hub for the local community!

How to hoe happily

Our job for the evening was to clear the rear garden of weeds, with Shane handing us some tools, gloves and bags and showing us where to focus our attention. Tom was given some hedge clippers, while I ineptly attempted to demonstrate how to use the hoe that Stania had been given. No, no, no! It seems I've been wrongly judging the usefulness of a hoe until now, as Tom informed us that he grew up with a very large garden and a very particular Dad. Cue an impressively skillful wielding of a very handy tool. We decided to exchange tools and get stuck in. It didn't take long to reveal a flowerbed, which had been hidden beneath brambles, bindweed and goose-grass (thank goodness we all had our long sleeves on, that stuff is evil!).

Once we had cleared this area, we realised, if we were quick, we might just get another area cleared. Quick sticks! With some concerted tugging, chopping and bashing, we had this area taken back to its roots, as it were and it was time to tidy up and hand back our tools.

Having enjoyed a downward pull on our way here, we gritted out teeth to take on Bromley Hill (and yes, it is hilly). How fortuitous to spot a handy borough sign to include in our group selfie (sorry, it's upside-down again), just about halfway up! Time to get our breath back and take a well-earned break :) We had indeed crossed borders on this run, with the boroughs of Lewisham and Bromley merging, but we were now back in Bromley and nearing our start point. Here Stania and I said a brief farewell to Tom , as he stretched his legs on a sprint finish.

A quick stretch and a chat about next week, when I will be leading the run again. Why not sign up and join us?

Four fast-footed fartlek fans ran swiftly through Bromley, covering 3km, delivering food to the collection point and fearlessly tackling a high intensity fitness session.

I went on tour to Bromley tonight, to catch up with how it's all going over there. I was met by regulars Sarah and Stania and we welcomed Jacqui along for her first ever GoodGym group run.

First things first, we had to load up our bags in the little office where we store our belongings. Simon had been given some surplus food by a foodbank in another area (yes, sometimes a foodbank will have a glut of items that they don't want to go to waste) and we were planning on ferrying this over to our nearest collection point, at the big Tesco down the road. Of course, the kind of items people donate to foodbanks are non-perishables, so this meant lots of tins (of spaghetti, lots of spaghetti!), bags of rice, that kind of thing, you know, the heavy stuff.

Loads of fun

So, bags packed, we headed outside to warm up a bit. We're still on the look-out for a bit of sunshine and warmth if anyone knows where we can find some...We paired up and raised our heart rates (and some laughs, this always seems to make people giggle) with a quick game of shin/knee-tag. I was with Stania, who turns out to be pretty stealthy with the moves. Finding a post or railing, we then fired up our muscles with some dynamic stretches, always good to do before a run (legs swings, hip openers, arm swings).

(make) Time to run

As soon as we set off, we realised just how heavy our bags were AND HOW NOISY! Any pedestrians in our path quickly stepped aside to let the clunky-clanky runners through. We enjoyed the lovely gardens en route, met a few cats (it was clearly post-cat-dinner-time in Bromley) and chatted parkrun and running goals - Stania had been to her first ever parkrun at the weekend and really loved it.

We only got a few funny looks, traipsing into Tesco to find the donations basket. Out came the tins and boxes and up went our shoulders in relief! We felt like we had wings! I don't know how those army folks do all that running with great big packs. For our return run, we were playing around with a bit of speed-play (or fartlek, as it's amusingly known). I led the way, choosing a lamp post to run to, then everyone took it in turns to set the pace and choose the goal, there were some very speedy legs out there tonight!

Just across from our start point at the Civic Centre is a lovely little park, so we headed in for a bit of HiiT. Our breathless runners listened carefully, as I explained the exercises and then set to with 30 second rounds of squats, push-ups (using the bench, knees or going all-out for a full push-up - well done Stania!), walking lunges, tricep dips and planks. Pity the couple on a nearby bench who turned to see this lot stalking towards them in a walking lunge!

Aaaaaaand streeeetch

Plenty of time now for a really good stretch - our shoulders were definitely in need of it after lugging all those tins around. On our return to the centre, we realised we had left one tin of spaghetti, maybe a little treat for Simon to look forward to when he comes back. I will be leading the group run next week and the week after, so sign up and join us for some running goodness.

The Long and Winding Road

Oooooooooh, it was a long one last night to Scadbury Park. 5.5k each way! Would we make it? Who knew? But no messing around: no prolonged briefings or warm ups or any such business, we had to start running.

The Fool On The Hill

Who put this hill here? Who decided it should go on for about a mile?

Norwegian Wood

Norwegian Woods are notoriously dense and difficult to navigate, much like Scadbury Park. OK, it wasn't that difficult because task owner Andrew had given us directions. Across the boardwalk, follow the stream. After a couple of false alarms we found our task.

Trees Trees Me/Log Log Me Do

There was a massive pile of branches, logs and bigger logs to shift. Luckily we are all super strong. BUT some of them were a bit prickly and rough. What could we do....?

All You Need is Gloves

Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha.

With A Little Help From My Friends

Despite there only being four of us and only having twenty minutes to work we made a significant impact.

Get Back

On the way back (where we got to enjoy going down that hill) we discussed Pun of the Month, and how we should engineer a future task and activities to allow us to win it. Get your thinking caps on, Bromley.

A Hard Day's Night

We were also all so hungry from running and shifting so much that we decided on the very first Bromley Social. Taking place next week post-run at Byron Burger. Yum.

(Hello) Goodbye,
Simon