There was quite a lot to celebrate at GoodGym Tower Hamlets this week: a couple of our better runners had achieved some great positions in their recent competitive runs, and we also had two runners passing the x30 and x40 run marks for GoodGym respectively. On top of that, we had two new runners joining us for the first time and a new GoodGym trainer along for the ride to see how it’s done, so it was a great way to kick off the evening’s tasks.

We had two tasks on our hands. One group peeled off to see our regular host Margaret at Hollybush Estate so that they could help her prepare the community gardens for the upcoming London in Bloom competition. The rest of the group ran just over 1 mile to a new project which we were visiting for the first time - The Arbour Youth Centre in Stepney Green, which provides youth services in the local community. Although a little light on tools and equipment for the whole group, we didn’t let that stop us and quickly got stuck in so that we could make as much of a difference as possible in the time we had - weeding the flower beds, removing leaf piles, and cutting back the overgrowth on the fences and stuffing it all into bags for a satisfying sense of a job well done.

It certainly geared us up for some challenging hill sprints on the way back through Mile End Park on our way back – cheered on by the locals in the park as usual!