It was a joy to join the Achilles International UK crew for a special Monday evening group run at Emirates Stadium. Since Christmas Day and New Years Day both settled on Thursdays in 2025, Area Activator Simon suggested a collaboration for the Goodgym Islington "Betwixtmas" task.

8 VI athletes (and 1 lovely guide dog) ran loops of the Emirates Stadium concourse with new, returning and experienced guide runners and walkers. An awesome get together during the festive period. We were super motivated to hear about future training objectives and races planned for next year!

Our next session with Achilles International UK will be at Paddington Rec Track (meeting at Maida Vale underground station) on Thursday 8th January, 6pm

https://www.goodgym.org/v3/sessions/come-and-guide-run-with-achilles-international-paddington-rec-track-3535fe44-723c-45f2-a53f-b5479917cd00

Thursday evening Achilles UK session at the Emirates(Arsenal) and roughly nearly 20 people turned up to run, walk, support or look after the bags but also to chat and get treats at the end. We won't forget our 4 legged friend who also enjoyed the treats. After a great session we were treated to warm mince pies and some home baked ginger bread cakes with different shapes including Xmas trees. Well done all.

Thursday evening : Guide runners and runners met at Maida Vale Underground station to head off in a group to Paddington Rec Track. As the clocks changed time recently, the evenings are dark so ain't no sunshine and it started to drizzle. This did not stop anyone from running and chatting. Veronika guided Janice, Lucy guided Mark and I, Steph Ducat guided the other Mark. Different paces and mileage based on the runners requirements. Janice and Mark ran roughly 35 - 45 minutes with Lucy and Veronika. I ran with Mark who wanted to come back strong as was off a few weeks,. We completed over 10km on the track with Mark. We were all soaked at the end of the session as the rain just kept coming down and the drizzle of the start disappeared. Great session with a good turn up despite the rain.

The Goodgym guide runners were out in force this Thursday, joining the wonderful Achilles International UK community for a group run in Stratford Olympic Park.

Many of our athletes were opting for recovery runs after some PB attempts at the Battersea Chase the Sun races the night before (congratulations to Imran Khan and Chris Blackabee for excellent times!). The weather was absolutely perform for laps of the West Ham Stadium concourse and longer runs along the Lea Valley navigation and Waterden Park.

A special shout out to bag watch regular and guide dog walking expert Kim for celebrating her 100th Goodgym deed this evening, and bringing delicious home baked vegan brownies to share. Well done!

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Next Achilles International UK session

Thursday 23rd October, 6pm Maida Vale Underground (heading to Paddington Rec Track)

https://www.goodgym.org/v3/sessions/come-and-guide-run-with-achilles-international-paddington-rec-track-66e4c4cb-2d0d-4eb8-8f02-20ef5f999096

We had a bumper turn out for guide runners, VI athletes and guide dogs for our final Achilles International session in Hyde Park for 2025. We were treated to beautiful sunshine and excellent running conditions. Welcome to our new guides and runners too!

We will be at Stratford Olympic Park for our next group run session with Achilles International on Thursday 28th September:

https://www.goodgym.org/happenings/come-and-guide-run-with-achilles-international-olympic-park-stratford-route-f1e7bda3-ccf3-4506-96bc-b1d6c90cdf61?legacy=true

The workshop with Achilles International was a powerful and eye-opening experience (literally!). We were blindfolded to simulate what it’s like to run without sight, which really helped us understand the level of trust and communication needed between a guide and a visually impaired runner.

We then took turns guiding and being guided during short runs, learning the ropes—quite literally! The team also walked us through different types of visual impairments and how to tailor our support depending on the individual's needs.

It was informative, inspiring, and left all of us with a deeper appreciation for accessible running and the strength of the Achilles community. Huge thanks to the organisers and participants!