12 Goodgymers ran 2k and volunteered at the Marcus Garvey Library Garden

Roots Manuva

Shouts out to Avni who made it to her first GGH session (with a nudge from Ollie) and out to Nekane who’s on her way to being a coach runner here in Haringey and should get some good deeds logged soon. Give em a cheer folks

The rain drizzled as we awaited the group but we had a secret weapon.. well lucky charm shall we say. Thanks Sarah the group gelled well with a good chinwag before heading off to the task.

This week we were heading over to the Marcus Garvey Library to continue helping the Friends of Tottenham Green bring the garden back to life. And as time goes on we are definitely doing so. We’ve managed to clear lots of tall weeds, undergrowth, rubbish and other green waste which is starting to reveal whats going to be a lovely place to read once we’re done.

Highlights would be our lucky charm Sarah holding off the rain, the amount of clearing that was done along with some of the huge roots that cam out of the ground and a Darth Vader impression reminiscent of Spaceballs the movie

Oh and shouts out to Louise for baking some tasty ginger biscuits... Mmmm

Fab work guys!!

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Until next time folks - do good, stay fit & look out for the light

24 amazing Greenwich runners ran 3km to clean toys at The Bridge community centre!

A sunny, yet deceptively cold evening last night, but it didn't stop TWENTY FOUR of you lovely lot showing up! We had two people celebrating their first good deed with us, the lovely Yaz, who believe it or not was the person who inspired me to start running a few years ago back in my sedentary office days! So if it wasn't for her, I probably wouldn't be here. Not that I would be dead, I just mean I probably wouldn't be your GoodGym trainer! So I think she deserves a big cheer!!! As does Alex who also made his debut last night!

We welcomed two more new faces to Greenwich, Matthew who came along after doing a few runs with GG Lewisham and aspiring junior Parkrun director and hill lover, Kani who also went to Lewisham on Monday! WELCOME EVERYONE!

PANIC MODE ENGAGED

So as you know by now, every week I do a favourite thing, and I had a REALLY good one for yesterday, and I was so pleased that I actually had one planned for once... and then I forgot it. GOOD ONE. So favourite running shoe it was! New Balance just pipped to the post for everyone's fave, because let's face it, they're the best. We realised no one really knew how to pronounce Saucony... is it Sock-A-Knee, or Sork-Oh-Knee.. who knows. But what we do know is Brin absolutely nailed the pronunciation of Hoka One One! Nice one! Or should I say... nice onay!

We dropped off our stuff and did a warm up comprising of a little jog and some dynamic stretching with a bit of holding hands thrown in, because why not. We set off down the main road heading out of Greenwich and within 10 minutes or so, we had arrived at the East Greenwich Pleasaunce (no Mridula I don't know what a pleasaunce is, nor do I know how to say it!). The Bridge centre is nestled in through a gate and up a little hill in a lovely green area. We were greeted by Ruth & Raeleen and also Raeleen's daughter, Henrietta! Raeleen explained what needed doing which basically involved removing the toys from the container, cleaning them, drying them and putting them back. Plus there was a spot of weeding to be done too so lots to be getting on with!

Feeling the pressure!

"Does anyone have any experience with a pressure washer?". Obviously Nina's hand shot right up! Awesome! So Nina, Ben and Andy went to sort that out, which took a bit of doing and was a lot more complicated than expected. It took a while but they got there in the end and it was up to Nina to live up to the hype. Which she most certainly did!

James and Alex grabbed some brooms and began sweeping in the container. While everyone else grabbed a cloth to clean the toys or headed for the flower beds for some weeding!

Little Henrietta was being extremely helpful and squeezing washing up liquid on people's cloths just to make sure that her toys were getting extra clean! What a cutie pie!

After half an hour, we were pretty much done! The playground was squeaky clean, toys were sparkling and put back into the container, flower beds were weed free. Isabella even went around all the plants and watered them! Great job!

We had some biscuits and squash, took a group photo (sadly minus Ben & Andy who were having an altercation with the hose out back!) and then we set off back to the uni. Except we didn't get very far since the gates had been locked. NOOOO. Vickie kindly went to go and investigate and since we were temporarily trapped I thought we could do some nice hill sprints to keep us warm. But of course, Vickie, being the speedy runner that she is, arrived back in the nick of time with the key thus saving everyone from a sprint! Next time you might not be so lucky!

OK.... GO!

We ran back the way we came and through the uni to the grassy patch for a little ab session to help get that core nice and strong. We did 3 exercises (Russian twists, bicycle crunches & heel taps). 30 seconds each, 2 rounds and those abs were feeling it! Time for a relaxing stretch with arguably the most beautiful GoodGym backdrop and then we called it a night!

London Marathon!

Massive good luck to our favourite set of twins Alex and Steve (yes we all know loads of twins for you to definitely be our favourite!) running the London Marathon on Sunday! And Ben Parkes too if you're reading this, which of course you are. Also best of luck to Helen's other half Paul (if he does still run) who has sadly somehow managed to contract shingles over the last couple of days :( Get well soon Paul!

There will be a group of us cheering on Sunday and I'll post the details about it on our Facebook group later today! GO GET 'EM TEAM GGG!!!

Massive well done last night everyone! You got loads done and I know it was a bit cold but you all did amazing! Hope those abs aren't too sore today! Hopefully see you next week!

Welcome first timers Tim, Alicia and Catherine joining us this evening.

A late cancellation meant that instead of heading back to Ealing Road we went flyering around the streets of Hounslow to let locals know that GoodGym is happening nearby.

Members Andy and Lily ( in brand new red t-shirt) led teams of three for a bit of a leafleting competition. Points were awarded for getting rid of flyers most quickly.

With local streets covered we turned our attention to some fitness and another chance to win some points.

First the step-up challenge. Who can do 40 steps the quickest? Andy gained a point for his team when we led with the right leg but Donna came out on top for Team Lily when it was left leg first.

With the scores at 4-2 to Andy's lot we had a go at a couple of relay races. Team Lily grabbed victory for the first round while Andy's came out on top for round two.

The prize? Andy got to cut Simon's leftover birthday cake back at base.

We had a munch and a bit of a stretch, left some leaflets at reception and headed home.

Great night of getting fit and doing good.

We are definitely at Ealing Road Baptist Church next week. See you there!

Simon

Back and ready for action this week were Simon, Andy and Deepa. And joining them on her first trip to GoodGym was Lily, who'd spotted one of GoodGym's tube ads on the Victoria Line. Welcome, Lily.

Our task this week was aother 2.5k run over to Ealing Road Baptist Church for more clearing. A small and dusty room that was filled with... pretty much evrything you could imagine, had to be cleared out.

We set about the task, removing pots of paint, pumps, tools, shelving brackets, poles, magazines, old books, tool boxes, curtains, clocks, lightbulbs, screws, brick mortar and lots and lots of dust.

Then after shifting a few fold-up tables we were done.

Deepa took us through the "Sun Salutation" yoga moves again, Roger gave us an assortment of food to take home (tuna, Indian sweets, Jaffa Cakes, biscuits, and a pot-noodle-wannabe) and we were off.

En route we conducted a little experiment to work out if health food or junk food was better for running. The test was a four-person relay first using a tin of tuna as the baton, then using a pot noodle as a baton. Tuna time came to 1 minute exactly, whereas pot noodle saw us smash that with 55 seconds.

There you have it. Eat junk and prosper.

Thank you Roger for hosting again.

We are back next week for more of the same.

See you there,
Simon