The path less travelled

7 Runners, 3 of whom were running with the GoodGym pack for the first time descended upon East Ham Nature Reserve for a Sunday outing.

After a rocky start to the morning's weather the showers faded and the sun emerged victorious just in time for us to head to the site. Tucked away at the opposite end of Newham it proved a little tricky to locate, but everyone made it in the end ready to work.

Rayne, our advisor for the day led us straight in to the Nature Reserve which is merged peacefully with a churchyard. As we pushed deeper into the greenery we began to see just how big the site was.

Our task for the afternoon was to hack through the vegetation in a bid to open up 6ft pathways so visitors can cruise through the site with ease.

One rule: if it's in the way, get rid of it.

Armed with our gardening tools we got to work; as the group mentioned it made a huge difference being able to demolish everything that stood in our way, as opposed to our usual weeding around delicate plants and flowers. It meant everyone was able to make quick progress uprooting nettles and brambles that stood at head height.

Nestled along the path we were clearing were large tombstones and graves that had almost been lost to nature. 30mins in and they were back on show.

After an hour of work it was time to get ready for a run. Navigating back through the reserve put mine and Andy's orienteering skills to the test....'Lets just say we made it out' not quite where the rest of the group emerged, but we made it out nonetheless.

The run session took us underneath the A13 and into Beckton Park for some drills and Fartlek work, which had the group turning it up to 80% pace. Great work from everyone.

See you all soon,

Kirsty