Wowwww, 9 amazing GoodGymmers ran just shy of 8km (or more for those who went for the sprints!) AND spread some love and some soil at the ARC. The ARC is an amazing activity and resource centre supporting people with mental health and learning disabilities ran by Certitude.

It was a mild valentines evening and everyone was ready to show some love to the community! We had another newbie last night, Paula who did an amazing job considering it was her first run for a while! Excellent work Paula and it was so great to meet you.

So we embarked on a medium-longish run up to Perivale! We took the first mile easy and upped the pace slightly when we were good and warmed up! And goodness, we only saw a rival running group!! Even more of a good running vibe seeing others out running the streets of Ealing too (though we could definitely beat them in a race..). I learned a good tip from Alex which is never walk into a lamppost hehe and before we knew it we were there! Or were we...on the exact same street there was another large sensory garden type place which is turned out is supported my mencap! Amazing! However silly me thought we were there and it took us a good while waiting(and some squatting) to realise oopsie...it was the wrong place! Luckily the right place was a mere 0.1 miles down the street and we arrived at the ARC woohoo!

We were given a huge and friendly greeting from Sam who told us all about the ARC and the plans for their garden which look aMaZiNg. We donned some gloves, got ready with some spades and rakes and set to work, emptying some soil beds and spreading it around the garden to leaven out the area. This will soon become a raised platform with a glorious view over the garden which will include sensory areas with lovely smelling herbs, a fire pit and loads of other amazing things. This will all provide a safe and interactive outdoor learning space for the adults who use the centre.

With some truly awesome team work the space was emptied and the wood cleared! We said our goodbyes and sped off into the night! Graham led the way this time and took those who fancied it for some sweet sprints around Cleveland Park, there were some glowing faces after that hehe! A few of us focussed on the run and keeping a good steady pace or a mixture of run-walking to make it back. On the way back I learned that Shona is on track to have visited 50 different countries by June! 46 is this weekend, have a great time! Amazing!

It was yet another great evening and I have to say, on valentines day, I definitely love GoodGym and seeing everyone every week! Best job ever! Thankyou everyone for putting in such amazing week and just generally being such an awesome bunch! And thanks to the ARC for having us! See you all next week, sign up here.