23 GoodGymers have supported parkrun - Walthamstow parkrun with 2 tasks.
Saturday 18th January
Written by Helen Farebrother-Naylor
Is this a bit tardy in its publication? YES. Would Raymond ordinarily have already sent me a reminder and a gentle ribbing? TOO RIGHT.
So many of us came together last Saturday morning at Walthamstow Parkrun for a GoodGym takeover, to celebrate and remember Raymond/Ramon/Ray as he was variously known, who we lost so sadly and suddenly just before Christmas, on 18th December.
There was a huge turnout, despite the freezing 🥶 weather, reflective of how much he was loved, with close family and friends from all areas of his life coming together. Ably run-directed by the lovely Louise, and I have no doubt that Raymond would have loved seeing his son start the runners off, which he did with aplomb.
And SO many Goodgymers! Thank-you Ruby for organising, and Saj, and many more. A full complement of GG marshals, time keepers, barcode scanners. Not just from GG Waltham Forest, oh no. You see, not only was Ramon an active member of GGWF (let’s be honest, Raymond WAS GGWF!), he did so many GG tasks for other branches too. Particularly solo missions for isolated people in all of Waltham Forest, Redbridge, Hackney, Harringey, Tower Hamlets, Islington, and probably more. He wasn’t flashy, he just got on with it, including what he was able to do during COVID. Like it says on his GG Page “Just me…No Dramas”.
He was a friend to many, enormously perceptive and kind, being quietly or completely not quietly (😊) supportive when required! He had a wicked sense of fun, and he never turned down a challenge to construct the most outlandish random outfits while rummaging through and organising charity donations 🦸🏾♂️.
Thanks to GG Ivofor coming (always a pleasure), Latoyafrom @GoodGymHaringey , and so many others who were lucky enough to have known Ramon, and had the opportunity to “do good” alongside him.
It was truly wonderful meeting some special people in Ramon’s life, and having a good chin wag while being the Tail Walker and sharing memories of him.
It wouldn’t have been Walthamstow Parkrun without some cake 🍰 at the end, and then off to the local greasy spoon, as I am sure Ramon would agree, was only right and proper.
Farewell lovely Raymond. Please consider making a donation in his name to one of the 3 excellent charities on the flyer. Thank-you.
Saturday 18th January 2020
Written by Ant Withstandley
This morning nine intrepid GoodGym volunteers helped out at Walthamstow Parkrun. After meeting and debriefing outside Greenleaf Road Baptist Church at sunrise, we headed off to our destination.
Along with a clutch of regular runners were delighted to be joined by Dr. Helen for the first time. Helen has wanted to join us on a Wednesday run for some time but has been too busy saving lives in a local hospital! It was also good to see Lawrence, yet another hardworking local who has joined us once previously, but the demands of work have made it difficult for him to schedule a return engagement.
Of course, all of our volunteers today deserve enormous thanks for getting up early on a cold Saturday morning to help 135 people participate in a 5km run.
Anyhoo, back to the day's events. After a 1-mile run to Parkrun, we arrived warm and ready to go. We met with Ellis the day's Run Director and, after setting up, we were allocated various roles for the event. With plenty of mud on the course, marshals played a key role in helping to make sure people didn't arrive at the finish line looking like a Tough Mudder competitor. In addition to our marshalls, we had race timers and token scanners. Our Parkrun crew of volunteers were bolstered by a pair of splendidly kitted out tail-walkers, replete with a couple of tremendous tails too.
No sooner than we were all in place than all the runners arrived at the startline and Ellis got things going. With a challenging course choice of footwear was essential for the runners and sure enough, spike wearing East London Runner, Patrick Brown crossed the line in 19:56, the fastest time of the day. The day's fastest women was Ellie Hallsworth who bagged a PB with 24:56.
After these swift runners crossed the line runners came in thick and fast and our timers and scanners beavered away to ensure that all participants had their times clocked and barcodes scanned.
After one hour and twenty-three minutes of action, the final participant crossed the line and our smiling, but numb toed, volunteers packed away and headed for a well-deserved breakfast.
Great work, everyone. If you want to join for the next session, we will be painting a nice warm, dry room in Walthamstow Village, sign-up here
To find out and participate in Walthamstow Parkrun look here
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