34 people ran 5.5k, cleared out 3 animal pens, took down 2 fences and spread 2 tons of mulch across a field

I heard about GoodGym around a year ago through my work with charity Contact the Elderly, and I thought the idea was absolutely genius. Needless to say I'm embarrassed that it took me this long to sign up for a run.

An hour before we met at the Arch Gallery, it had been raining hard with a brief downpour of hailstones, so I didn't know how many people to expect. But it turns out there are a lot of people who want to do good and get fit in Tower Hamlets!

To The Farm

After signing in and some warm up stretches, me and thirty other GoodGym-ers headed out of the gallery and towards Spitalfields City Farm. There was just enough time for a few hellos and introductions before we arrived and were met by Andrew.

The big group was then divided into three, and between us all we took on the jobs of shifting hay, dismantling fences and spreading wood chip. We worked on our assigned tasks for around 30 minutes - a good days work for Andrew alone - and then did a quick recount before saying goodbye to the farm.

Canal Running

Our return route took us over Hackney Road where we joined the canal, and then past broadway market - a nice 5.5 km round trip. We were very lucky not to get rained on, and despite the cold weather we were all pretty warm from the work out. We did some more stretches and had the chance to chat some more, before heading home feeling very content.

I'm so glad I joined the run, and have already recruited my housemate to come along next week. Not only do I feel warm and fuzzy for doing good, I met some lovely people and burned off that second helping of pudding from Sunday!

Isabel Inman