17 people ran 8.5 and 12 km to weed and mulch trees for Tree Musketeers

I was pretty excited about the prospect of meeting a new group and running a new route through unfamiliar areas of Hackney last night. We ran to help Russell from the Tree Musketeers weed and mulch this year's baby trees in Hackney Downs.

In line with Run Hackney training, we also had 12 km to run. 6 km there and 6 km back. I offered a shorter route back for those not up for the big run.

The route was a cracker, heading east first through the streets of Lower Clapton, along the River Lea, then through Millfields Park. We dropped into Hackney Downs from Rectory Road to meet our task host in 35 minutes.

Russell introduced the Musketeers and their work (a group of volunteers who protect, preserve and care for trees in Hackney with an emphasis on caring and protecting) and quickly set us up with shovels, brooms and wheelbarrows, to shift the mulch, and gardening gloves, to weed around each tree before mulching.

It was a lovely fresh evening, and there was a productiveness on the Downs, with other groups also working out and playing basketball and football. It was nice to hear people recognise us as we wheeled and charged backwards and forwards between the mulch and the trees - 'Oh yeah, they must be the GoodGym!'

We finished the 2 tasks quickly, with a team dedicated to weeding around 12 trees and another running wheelbarrows back and forth with mulch.

With thanks from Russell (and a promise we could return), a small group headed back to base camp using the shorter route, whilst the rest of the team went the same way as they came; clocking up the miles for their training and before the taper.

So it took the 12 kers 65 minutes. Not bad, considering the map reading needed along the way. It was great to meet a new group doing good stuff too in Hackney and great to see runners (not only training for Run Hackney) looking and feeling more confident in their running.

There's a general Run Hackney buzz in the group at the moment with a lot of runners doing the half in two weeks time. GoodGymers going to run it have been training well, and I'm looking forward to being a marshal on the day cheering them through the 13 mile.

Ade Aboaba GoodGym Hackney Coordinator