What a weekend this was. The budding enthusiasts that were willing to take on this course were in for a surprise. We had 9 volunteers come down to take part in the 13 k and 6 k obstacle course. While some people turned up on Friday, the rest came on Saturday and Conroy just drove down both days. Conroy being a veteran at assault courses said that Spartan is good one to do. The camping was a Bear Grylls moment with the weather but Marta, Amy and Marjorie came prepared with a stove and food to cook for a filling night. Day one started with us volunteering on different areas of the course at around 9am. This gave some of us a chance to have a look at the elite runners and what cuts and bruises they came back with. The barbwire crawl seemed to be one of the most interesting parts of the course. It was about a 30 meters stretch. Some people crawled and some people rolled it. At the end, a lot of shirts were ripped, people were dizzy and hair were caught on the wire. We had some other GoodGym volunteer in the afternoon who watched the morning volunteer have their race. Dave, myself, Conroy, Jon and Sara geared ourselves up for the 13 k but I think nothing could of prepared us for the weather that we was about to endure. It was like Vivaldi was playing his 4 seasons on us. We were running in hail, rain, snow and strong gust of wind. And that was not even the hard part, it was the hills that seem to feel like we were climbing Mount Snowdon. Most of us walked at this stage due to a mental break needed to comprehend the longevity of the course. Dave powered on with no fear only pausing to do the punishing burpees on failures of some of the obstacles. The good thing is that we all finished the course and had fun doing it with Jon and Sara crossing the line with a stylish dab. Kate and Rob joined us and gave us a mighty to cheer but could not stay any longer due to weather being so unpredictable and challenging.

The next day had me and Conroy contemplating life and weather she should run it again. T was a big no from Jon and Sara due to them running in Sofia the following week. We all volunteered and decided to run after our shift. Marta, Marjorie, Amy and Kapil use their free place to run on Sunday at an earlier time. As Kapil shot off like a bullet, the 3 girls decided to stay together with the massive smiles on their face. Kapil seems like he was ready for the another run with the amount of energy he finished with. The rest of them were a true team and felt good after the finishing the course. Me and Conroy went with the last wave and was thankful we did not have to see the many K steep path again. The Volunteers said they enjoyed themselves and are looking forward to the next one now that have the feel for it.

It was with remarkable energy and enthusiasm that a crew of indefatigable goodgymers from a variety of London Boroughs congregated in Bethnal Green following a gruelling (sorry, 'challenging'!) workout courtesy of the legendary Chi, to help our friends at Friends of Meath Gardens with a variety of tasks. First up, were the bulb planters, who set to, planting around 400 hyacinth bulbs (hence the pun - in case anyone missed that!) which we hope to see brighten up the garden in a mix of pink, white and blue in the springtime. A highlight was noticing we were being watched by three green parakeets in the trees - photo attached! Meanwhile, others got to work sawing fallen branches to which they then applied their creative juices to build warm habitats for the minibeasts and small mammals of Meath to see them through the cold winter. Glutes and upper bodies all received a good further workout and lots was achieved. A great afternoon's work with a great team. As one of the bulb planters remarked as she stood back and admired the work, 'we are amazing!'. I think we'll take that!

It was a little bit of HiIT and a little bit of Hang

After rolling into Meath Gardens, the sight looks looked like a dream spot for outdoor fitness. Monkey bars, pull-up bars, soft grass, paved paths and dipping bars. Who needs a gym! The enthusiatic group looked a bit chilly, so we started with a a few warm -up exercises and a medium paced jog, After that, we did some drills which involved quite a bit of leg work.

Circuit Breaker

The next session of the day involved challenging circuits that had 5 stations. 1. Dips 2. Elevated Press-ups 3. Sprints 4. Squats 5. Mountain Climbers 6. Plank

The determination on their faces looked like they had a goal that they wanted to reach and no amount of dips will stop them from reaching it.

Raising the bar

This is where the fun part begins. We had a mini assault course greet us at the other side of the the park. The group were divided up and walked over to the interesting obstacles. They stayed a minute on each station which seemed to be enough for them to get comfortable and find their own technique to tackle the challenges. The monkey bars seemed to of triggered a few childhood memories for some of the participants.

Abs a go

We finished off with the core exercises to make sure our whole body felt like it has been tested today. The group did really well and worked very hard. I can see with the determination i saw today. They will reach their goals faster than they think.

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