Unfortunately, no one showed up at 11, so whilst waiting I did a little bit of litter picking for 15mins (forgot to take a photo!) and then left to explore the William Morris gallery. I saw that I missed a text from Helen (11.09:)) but we managed to get together later for a catch-up! Helen then did more litter picking!

On days like these, it's easy to succumb to the lethargy that sets in when our body has to work hard to stop us overheating as we go about our day. After a sweltering commute, the temptation to loll around on the sofa, garden chair or even the pub can be overwhelming. Fortunately, ten brave runners thought better of that and met me at Mirth Marvel and Maud for some running and gardening tonight.

Happily, I think everyone made the right choice. Lloyd Park in July is more than a match for any sofa or beer garden I have ever seen. As usual, it was a delight to see everyone tonight, special mention to Bryony who joined us for the first time since our launch party back in April 2018. Welcome back Bryony, don't be a stranger😊

There to meet us tonight were two people who have made a significant contribution to making Lloyd Park such a beautiful and tranquil spot for the good people of Waltham Forest, Cathy and Ian. After a briefing from Cathy, we were equipped and ready to go. The team got stuck in, and we spruced the pergola at the front of the park. They rid the beds of weeds and the path of used Perfect Fried Chicken cartons.

Afterwards, with the sun beginning to set and the searing heat giving way to a slightly cooler evening, we went for a lovely lap of the park and finished off with some running drills. It was speed work tonight with some mighty strides and some great form on show from everyone.

After a gentle plod back to base and about a litre of iced water, it was time to go.

Top tasking and top running folks, well done. See you next week for some more green-fingered action. Sign up here for St Mary's Churchyard

☮️

William Morris (1843-1896) once advised to "Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful". If his ghost still occupies his former family home of Water House in Lloyd Park, I like to think he would look out onto the stunning flower beds in the park with an approving nod at the at their undeniable beauty.

Last night seven industrious runners set off on a short jog to the park to help maintain one of those beautiful beds. We were met at the task by Cathy and Ian, who take much of the credit for helping to make this park as magnificent as it is. It was great to have Cathy there to explain the purpose of the task and what the results would be. Primarily, we were deadheading flowers so that more flowers would grow in their place. Cathy's knowledge of flora and fauna in the park was lovely to hear but the prize for the GoodGym botanist of the day goes to new runner Helen, who certainly knows her French Marigolds from the English variety. Talking of new joiners, we were fortunate to welcome two first-timers yesterday. In addition to Helen, we were joined by Chicago Marathon veteran, Kevin. If you are reading this Kevin, I hope it is with a pain-free foot after last nights exertions.

After lopping off plenty of heads, we set up a time trial lap of the park. Runners predicted their time for the one mile+ lap of the park and off they went, here are the results guys:

Name	Estimate	Watch time	Run time
Ercole	06:30	11:10	06:40
Kirsty	09:00	10:15	08:15
Kevin	08:00	11:15	08:15
Ruthiran	06:00	11:56	06:56
Carmen	09:00	11:35	09:35
Helen	09:00	10:45	08:45
Ramon	11:00	09:40	09:40

Apologies if there is an element of approximation/rounding but a couple came up and started talking to me as everyone was rolling in, which was a bit distracting!

Well done to everyone who showed up last night, great deadheading and great running one and all. In fact Cathy contacted me today to say how delighted she was with what we did. You are now all registered to volunteer as Lloyd Park gardeners so if you are ever free on a Thursday between 10.00am to 1.00pm do join one of their regular volunteer gardening sessions.

Next week's run to local rehabilitation charity, Change, Grow, Live will be led by the GoodGym legend Damian. It will be a great task led by a great guy. I am sure he will get a massive Waltham Forest Welcome. Sign-up here

One more thing after the run next week, Saj and George from Waltham Forest Council will be running an informal focus group in Mirth, Marvel and Maud and they want to talk to GoodGymers about community engagement. Word is there is a small refreshment budget for anyone who would like to participate! It would also be great to have some GG representation in this critical survey.

☮️