The eight of us stood there with high hopes, possibly some anxiety over what thefuture entailed, and a bit of happiness in our hearts that we were about to embark upon something that would be good for the community and the soul.

Our fierce leader Tom reminded me of my ambitious and excited Orientation counselor on my first day at University. Eager to share his talents, his knowledge and show us a remarkable time to ensure we came back for more. Well, TOM, kudos to you, because I think all of us overcame our fear of being able to complete a running club exercise; we met awesome like-minded people; and had fun cleaning up the Hollybush Garden. The 90 mins went by so fast, I think we would all agree. And with each passing moment, I definitely was selling myself more and more on the idea of becoming an official member of GoodGym. I was also secretly slapping myself in the face for fearing my abilities and not joining sooner.

Tom made a great elevator pitch about GoodGym before we stepped out into the cold for a brisk warm-up to a nearby park to do some active stretching drills. Then he led us back to Hollybush Garden to help us clear some plants that the Community Centre was trying to rejuvenate, as well as organize some of the lovely garden ornaments (including our new friend: The Clown). We were soon running buddies, laughing over common nervousness about the last bit of the night. As this was a taster session the community service portion was shortened, but I definitely could see the simplicity yet magnitude of GoodGym’s efforts. The smile on Margaret’s face, the centre’s representative, over the small bit of work we did, was enough to keep me going the rest of the evening (e.g. literally I walked almost another 2miles home after). The night rounded out with some interval drills with our chosen partner, which most definitely brought the competitive nature out in the group ;-). It was then I decided to write this blog, for a myriad of reasons, but mainly, I wanted to share my perspective, and somehow by committing to do this blog, I was committing myself to come back to GoodGym. It also seemed like a great way ensure I achieved my goal for the 2015 year of: completing a triathlon. At minimum: I still need to check out the social post-run drinks with the rest of the Tower Hamlet crew. I think I deserve that :)

Miranda