On a lovely sunny Wednesday evening, Anne was already waiting outside the sports centre as Adam arrived with a coffee to sharpen his energy levels.

While waiting for the other runners, Anne was talking Adam through the route she was thinking of as she had passed plenty of litter.

It wasn't long before Julie arrived and we had a quick catch up as Kirsty arrived. We decided that we will start with the run and plogging as we can keep Melanie updated with our location as we move along. So from the leisure centre we headed towards Woking park along the stream. Onces we got to the bridge we quickly crossed it only seeing very little litter to pick up. We quickly made it down the path to Elbridge Lane. There were lots of plastic bottles which were thrown over the wired fence making it tricky to get hold of but the GoodGyming persistence paid off and we manned to get most of it.

We then turn to go back into Woking park as we recalled the route being messy in places around the parkrun route. Once in to wooded area there were pieces of litter in little spots to the left and right as we made our way through the wooded area, as the litter became less and less which was a great thing to see something else took our notice!

As we followed the path around to join the stream we quickly noticed some Himalayan balsam along the stream. The first batch we saw was too close to the steam bank to try and tackle and remove it but we quickly came across some more further down. Before a word was said we all dived in and started removing them, and quick stamping then down. It was at this point Melanie joined us feeling a little irritated being late from work. She was very ready to get involved and stomp down on some Himalayan balsam and found hearing the crinkling sounds of crashing the Himalayan balsam rather therapeutic.

Once we noticed we had been crushing the Himalayan balsam for a long time! We decided to get back to plogging on our way back to the lake centre with the two full bags of litter we collected.

Awesome work from Woking GoodGymers 😁

It was a lovely sunny morning run to working park.

It was Working junior parkrun number 317 on a lovely Sunday sunny morning. As Adam arrived with James the course was all setup and waiting for the event to start. Having arrived, Adam and James registered with the run director to find out our positions. Adam was given volunteer position 11, at the top of the hill and James was by the first bridge. Katie and Phil had already arrived and we're ready for scanning and Karen was marshaling in the first half of the course. The run started off well with everyone having a quick start. It wasn't long before the first finishes had completed the first lap, starting the second strongly. The first runner to finish was Oliver coming in at 7:48 followed by Joshua only 2 seconds behind so that must have been a tight finish There were plenty of volunteers helping and the GoodGymers there to support, Adam, James, Katie, Phil and Karen had a great impact. It was a great junior parkrun. Time to sign up for the next task on Wednesday

Woking junior parkrun #315 – Sunday 3rd August 2025

What a glorious morning it was for Woking junior parkrun this Sunday! The sun was shining, the skies were clear, and the park was buzzing with energy and excitement as our young runners gathered for event number 315.

We had some fantastic performances on the course this week. Huge congratulations to Marilyn, our first female finisher, who crossed the line in an impressive 7:26, and to Oliver, the first male finisher, coming in close behind at 7:48. Brilliant running from both!

Of course, none of this would be possible without our amazing volunteers – all 33 of them this week! A special shout-out goes to the fantastic team from GoodGym, who came out in force to support the event.

James and Melanie kept spirits high on the course as marshals

Adam was on barcode scanning duties with a smile

Katie and Phil took charge of timekeeping, making sure every finish time was recorded perfectly

A big thank you to all our volunteers – whether you're clapping, cheering, timing, scanning or tail walking, you make this event the highlight of the week for so many young runners.

See you next Sunday for more fun, fitness and community

After the success of our mission on Sunday with WEAct, Julie organised another GoodGym task along the Hoe Valley. Alys (and her little dog Quinn), Julie, Kirsty, Anne and Wayne, sorry, Adam ran to meet Richard in Mayford.

Richard is well known to GoodGym Woking as we often go and help him set up the railway tracks for the monthly “All Aboard Club” sessions which he runs for SEN children. This time it was Richard’s first GG mission without his “All Aboard” cap. We were all delighted when he let us use all the gardening tools he had brought with him!

Julie and Anne realised that the WEAct team had cleared all the Himalayan balsam in the areas we had planned to work on. But after a few metres of running, we found more to deal with.

Firstly, Julie asked for volunteers to cut back one of the bushes which encroached the path, allowing better access for walkers and runners. Richard and Wayne, oops, Adam did so diligently.

Armed with a long handle tool, Kirsty opened the path. Kirsty had warned everyone to cover their arms and legs to avoid being stung by nettles. Guess who forgot that covering your ankles was just as important? (no other comments). Poor Wayne, sorry again, Adam might not have read Kirsty’s messages. But this did not stop him tackling the nettles with enthusiasm. I wonder how his limbs are feeling this morning.

We pulled out a large patch of the invasive Himalayan balsam while discovering more as we worked up the path. We will return before the plants produce their seeds to try and limit their invasion. Julie will keep the WEAct team of our task.

The group ran back to our meeting point, fighting mosquitoes and calling Alys’s dog “This way”, which he is responding well to, every time he was taking another route.

Adam, we know your name really and apologise for calling you Wayne all evening!

Will you be joining us this coming Sunday to help Woking junior parkrun?

Happy running to you all.