Multi-tasking it

A good sized group of runners gathered on the hotel steps this evening to head to Oxford House, the large community arts centre around the corner, to help task owner Sarah prep-and-paint, shift furniture, scrub, and remove signs!

After a short warm up in the glorious April sunshine, the large team headed through congested Bethnal Green streets, cheerfully dodging commuters, and made their way to the vast community centre where Sarah met us, quickly assigning runners to tasks.

4 teams were soon dispatched to all areas of the building: the prep-and-paint team wasted no time getting stuck in with masking tape, brushes and rollers while a second team were dispatched to the basement for some heavy lifting of desks, painting and, er, statues. A further team hit the stairwells and corridors for sign removal (tougher than it sounds), while a fourth team headed to the upstairs dance studio landing for some industrial scrubbing. The runners worked tirelessly getting through three rolls of masking tape before the first half hour was up; completing the furniture removal way ahead of time, and racing up and down stairs looking for mops and hoovers to complete the upstairs scrubbing. Their efforts put every prime time TV makeover to shame and it wasn’t long before the stairwells were littered with forlorn looking runners desperate for new tasks (nothing a GoodGymer hates more than to be taskless). And so people were reassigned to fetch Henry Hoovers from the basement; assist in Project Pristine on the upstairs landing, and empty paint trays in sinks.

Interesting inversions

And then it was 8.05pm before we knew it and we gathered in the theatre for Christina’s Vibrant Vinyasa session. What a treat. The runners started by lying on the floor, catching their breath for the day, under the watchful eye of this highly experienced teacher we’re lucky enough to have in our team! 25 minutes later and the runners had all stretched, flexed and eased out every last little knot for the night, all to the most beautiful background music.

Runner recognition

And we finished a really unforgettable night with a cheerio from Sarah, who explained how much we’ve helped fill a renovation gap withour decorating efforts – the perfect end to a thoroughly lovely Monday evening.

Big shout out’s tonight

A big warm welcome to tonight’s new runners – what a treat! Hello and welcome to Ellen, Joanna, Cristina and Shelley whose first run it was, and to Frances and Rosie, absolutely not new to GG but new to Tower Hamlets. It was just wonderful to have you all on board, and we hope to see you very soon.

Thank you to task force member Lieke for lovely steady backmarking this evening, and the biggest thanks of the night goes to our very own Christina, for planning and delivering the most wonderful yoga session.

But you’re all amazing - our task owner confirmed tonight what we all really know anyway: that you’re absolutely brilliant, for showing up on a Monday evening, getting stuck in and really making a difference in our borough. It’s quite something.

Easter Monday means TWO great tasks to choose from!

Next week, it’s our Easter Monday fun run! Yes, we’re lucky enough to be housed at two tasks: choose from litter-picking around the lakes in Victoria Park, or heading to the Glasshouse Community Centre, by the park, for a spot of gardening and filling some big planters. And then we’re all going to meet for an EGGcellent (see what I did there) fitness session in the park. You can check it all out, and get yourself signed up, here.

Until then, have a great week: enjoy the sun, squeeze in a run AND HAVE SOME FUN!

We were two-tasking it again this evening, and really putting the ‘earth’ into Earth Hour on both our tasks.

A secondary SOS task to Cranbrook Community Food Garden

In an eleventh hour addition to our planned activity, task force member Becky J headed up a splinter group of four to one of our longest standing, favourite tasks, Cranbrook Community Food Garden. Writes Becky, “Just a mini detour en route to Cranbrook this evening, as fellow Task Force member Bryon challenged me to attempt navigating our route without assistance (always a challenge...). This added just one small loop to the run, but I'm all in favour of a little extra (accidental) mileage.

On arrival at the garden, we witnessed Storm Gareth had indeed left a trail of destruction in his wake, felling a tree and damaging fencing in the process. Bryon and Eimear set to work removing twigs from a boundary fence, while Tom and I began the tricky task of untangling climbing plants from a now broken trellis, before pulling down the arch.

Having successfully achieved this, (and, btw, saving a tree we feared may have to be pulled up in the process), we were then presented with a flat pack replacement arch (turns out flat pack instructions are easier in daylight, with a mug of strong coffee, than in a dark garden, deciphered under torchlight alone).

But Bryon and Eimear joined us and together we got the arch standing, just in time to pose for a couple of pics alongside our evening’s handiwork.”

Team Tower Hamlets to the rescue indeed.

Potting at Parkview

Meanwhile, I headed up the Parkview crew who were Glasshouse-bound to this most wonderful community hall on the Parkview Estate. Task owner Catherine met us with two tasks – potting bee-friendly plants and leafleting for the upcoming Spring Fayre - leaving no preparation stone unturned as she presented a proposed plant production line of such efficiency, the likes of which I’ve never seen before; ditto leafleting instructions (think hand drawn maps of the estate).

Two leaflet teams were dispatched onto the estate's many blocks, while the plant-potters, headed up by Luke, and initially Dave (who was then demoted to deputy by young Connie, who joined from the Parkview residents team to instruct on best plant-handling practice) grouped in two different areas of the hall.

It was a race to the finish, but by the time we left all 800 plants had been potted, and the area swept and scrubbed down. Wow.

Tempo run and tree pose

And so we headed to Victoria Park, led by Steve, for some fabulous speedwork headed up by both Tom and Steve, and finishing with a couple of resistance exercises.

And then it was back to our beautiful hotel base, where we were lucky enough to have Christina, a regular runner and qualified yoga teacher, lead us through some fabulous yoga stretches to finish.

Another totally neat night. More missions awesomely accomplished. More thoroughly relieved and appreciative task owners. Well. Done. You.

Monday shout-out’s

A very big shout out to tonight's first time runners, Ridwan, Anais and Eirini – thanks for making such a huge contribution on your first run, and we hope to see you really soon.

And thank you to Becky, for enabling the second task to happen, and for kind of saving the day and for taking some great pics, and writing the report.

Now, don’t forget, we’re doing it all again on Saturday when task force member Bryon leads up a brand new gardening task in E3 – yes, we’re putting the ‘earth’ back into Earth Hour for the second time this week. More details and sign up are here.

Have a brilliant week, won't you all, and hope to see you very soon.

27 runners shifted 200kg of mulch a minute this evening, in our very own Vicky Park.

A big operation...

You'd think it was a straightforward task, shifting 20 tonnes of mulch on a February evening in a locked park (or would you, actually, when you put it like that?) but no, much planning was involved in this evening's operation...

Tom , our brilliant task owner, and Head Gardener at the one and only glorious Victoria Park, was well prepared, dividing us into two groups on Monday afternoon, hours before the task, so come 7pm, 26 runners were able to quickly form two teams, knowing exactly what was what.

A lock-in like no other

No sooner had we arrived at the beautiful Bonner Gate than Tom was ushering us into the park,locking the gates behind us , before cheerfully informing us that the mulch had now doubled in weight thanks to the earlier rain. We listened to our health and safety briefing under tonight's full moon, watching the sky do magical things before our very eyes, as we made our way into the huge, dark park...

And so our second bit of running for the night took place, following Tom's truck to the Pagoda area where the runners dispersed into teams: one team shovelling mulch into wheelbarrows, then wheeling and spreading it around the Pagoda garden, with the other team also wheeling, and spreading and digging too, in faraway play areas of the park.

It was quite the operation, with all runners kitted out in hi-vis jackets; floodlights strategically positioned around the mulch, and Yours Truly getting her first experience of a walkie-talkie, "Press to talk, release to listen. Got it (I feel like Jason Bourne)."

Too mulch of a good thing

Usual GoodGymer productivity took over and I was having to prise forks and bins away from the runners by 8.15pm, and we made our way back to the truck to pack up and say our cheerios. Tom cheerfully informed us that, of the 20 tonnes of mulch, the runners, in under an hour, had shifted and spread around half of the 20 tonnes - so, 10 tonnes of mulch. That's around 200kg a minute. Way. To. Go.

"Let's squeeze in a little more mileage"

And so with a beautiful traffic-free stretch of the park still open, task force member Dave led a brilliant little speed session with Tom, with runners expending every last bit of energy in 30 second sprints. Unbelievable.

OM message

And despite running just a few minutes late tonight, we couldn't call it a wrap without cooling down with a stretch, and, as luck would have it, tonight we were lucky enough to be joined by Christina, our yoga teacher runner! Christina agreed to lead our stretching back at base, much to the runners' delight. What an evening. What energy. What a delight for all involved.

Huge, huge shout-out's tonight

So, first off, a big warm welcome to our first time runners, Charlotte, Steve, Nick and Anastasia - what a task for you to have joined. Thank you for wheeling, shovelling and running so hard, and for making such a huge effort all round on your first run.

Thanks to Tom, for, in the absence of a whistle, having the best holler a runner could ask for, and co-leading our fitness session. Thanks to Dave, for planning, inventing and leading our speedwork, and to Becky G for back marking, and again to Becky and Dave, our task force members on the ground tonight, who really do help to run your night so it goes pretty seamlessly (Task Force are involved with all sorts of behind-the-scenes decision making and support, in advance of the run, which allows trainer and task owners to focus on other stuff).

And thank you to Christina, for our lovely flexibility session, for planning and leading at the very last minute!

And tonight, a big thank you to you all: for that energy we all commented on, for finding a locked, dark park bizarrely fun; for being game for anything, for being fearless, and hardworking, and for making such a huge difference to a small team at your local park. You are all amazing, you know.

Moving on to next week

Next week, we’re so excited to be joining the first day of Tower Hamlets’ #BigCleanUp – you can check out the event listing and sign up here.

…And next Sunday, 3rd March, we’re heading to The Coborn on Sunday evening for some pub quiz-ing with our friends at Mile End parkrun. Details of that are here.

Until then, have a glorious week.