Today was an amazing day for a GoodGym mission! I spent my morning volunteering as a marshal at the Edgbaston Reservoir parkrun. 🏃‍♀️ The weather was perfect—mild with the sun occasionally breaking through the clouds, making the reservoir sparkle. My post was a lively one, standing by a red gate on a narrow path that crisscrossed with a boat launch ramp. With 420 people running, walking, and even dog walking, it was a busy spot! My job, assigned by Liam, was to help everyone navigate the area safely, avoiding any trips, falls, or bumps. It was great to see some familiar faces, too—James, who I worked with last week when I was the funnel manager, and Rajesh, who was on timekeeping and tokens this time around. What made the day even more special was getting my friend Dr. Soman involved! I encouraged him to give volunteering a try, and he did an amazing job as the funnel manager. As I cheered everyone on, I also got to enjoy the beautiful scenery, with a flock of pigeons fluttering by and a few boats gliding peacefully across the water. It was so inspiring to cheer on every single person who passed me and to receive so many grateful thanks in return. Seeing the determination on everyone's faces and being a small part of their journey was an amazing feeling. What a brilliant day to cherish and a fantastic way to start the weekend! #GoodGym #parkrun #volunteering #EdgbastonReservoir

Our wonderful Amy is taking on more responsibility at the Stirchley Community Market and so she led us all in a team building task setting up a market stall to see how many pieces we had!!

Laura and Sofeen had put up the stall before so quickly took to assembling the pieces and showing us what to do. It felt like an escape room or crystal maze puzzle!! With Laura's memory and a sort of helpful photo Amy had - we managed to get it together! Abigail and Chris were excellent organisers, getting the pieces ready and coming up with solutions.

The hardest part of the day was putting the heavy metal pieces back quietly while a class was in session in the community centre! We also kept having the door closed on us. Quite the team building experience.

Srinivas joined us in Stirchley for the first time and did amazingly on our 3k run. Hope to see you again!!

Shout out to Veronika who cycled to the mission and then did a run with us! Duathlon vibes.

I volunteered as a Funnel Manager at Edgbaston Reservoir parkrun. As a Funnel Manager at Edgbaston Reservoir parkrun, I was responsible for the entire finish area, focusing on ensuring participants moved smoothly and swiftly through the funnel. This critical role involved coordinating closely with the timekeeper and token issuer to ensure runners maintained their finishing order, accurately collected their tokens, and that all token numbers precisely matched the timekeeper's log. While this was my first time in the role, I quickly adapted to the fast-paced environment and gained valuable experience in event coordination and maintaining accuracy under pressure. I particularly enjoyed the opportunity to contribute to the efficient delivery of the event and learn new organizational skills.

Another brilliant evening at St. Martin's Church, this time helping sort out the donations cupboard. With lots of generosity in the local community, the shelves, crates and racks benefit from regular organising, so we were glad to be of help!

It was great to welcome Veronika for her first task, waving down Eve on her run past, and finding some lovely storage for Christina's bike! Meanwhile Amy, Veronika and I represented the walkers of Goodgym on this warm night.

We sorted through the donations in a room down the hallway from their cupboard, with all sorts from hats and gloves, lots of socks, plenty of shoes, clothing and toiletries! Also a shoutout to Amy's homeware section, making sure any bedding, blankets etc. were nicely organised!

With some speedy labelling and clever stacking (especially the shoes!), we filled that cupboard back up with donations sorted by themes and sizes. The folding and lifting got our biceps going and the cupboard Tetris kept our brain juices flowing! Super fulfilling task and we are looking forward to next time.

Cannonhill park run volunteer, barcode scanner on a soggy day. Got to see some of my parkrun favourites.

We headed down to Lillian de Lissa Primary School near Edgbaston, with a wonderful outdoor space full of nature! Our focus was weeding along the fencing area & down the main driveway. There were lots of long stems & branches to chop down with our secateurs, then crush down (with feet - like they do with grapes at vineyards!) as we bagged it all up. After trying to dodge any little thorns along the way & making sure each ladybird we spotted stayed safe, we did lots of sweeping with the ample supply of brooms & brushes. Not forgetting Amy’s double-broom sweep expertise, shifting a big weeding pile from the bottom of the driveway! We then stood back & admired what had become a much clearer space in just an hour. Laura from the school was so grateful for our help & we look forward to heading back there in the autumn months!