16 Hackney GoodGymers ran 4.5k to help St Luke’s Church continue their epic refurb by clearing 25 bags of leaves and delivering 250 leaflets.

Great to have you all along this evening!! Perfect GoodGyming weather on show for us to add a little extra shine on the evening.

With a uneven run planned with such a close task we headed to a former Hackney favourite in the Town Hall offices which provided an amazing exercise playground to get us moving!! Leg swings, Balance drills, playground skipping and a strength blast got the blood pumping very nicely!!

As reward a short 1k run to the task followed where we met Norman and John from St Luke’s. With a mountain of leaves the main task was self explanatory so most of the squad dived in and got bagging!! Stuffing the bags to the brim and tying them up and a great rate we managed to cram 25 bags full of leaves, few nettles and the odd bottle. The garden was looking great all clear in preparation for a group of volunteers to come along on Thursday to plant a range of winter wild flowers to brighten up the Church garden!!

The special delivery unit ran around the houses literally climbing a huge number of stairs to deliver 250 leaflets for an upcoming event in the Church. The 8 story tower block was no match for these energetic GoodGymers!

With all the task complete we had a sneaky peak at the amazing refurbished Church which was completed over the summer!

With a Spring in our step we ran the longer way back to base with 3k loop bringing up back in perfect time!!

Hope to see you next week for our session in Abney/Clissold Park!!

Smooth Running

Joel

14 Hackney GoodGymers ran 5k to Victoria Park Community Garden to shovel and shift a tonne of mushroom compost then carry 7 huge wooden planters.

A new task awaited us tonight! Taking a nostalgic route down my memory lane we found out where St Agnes gate was in Victoria park after a 2k run through Hackney.

Meeting Christine from the Victoria Park Community Garden which miraculously hides itself in plain sight with all the buzz and human traffic in and around Victoria Park.

Splitting up into 2 groups we were in a semi race against light! The hands team got stuck in carrying 4 huge wooden planters a short distance into the garden to be stacked and put to bed for the winter. With some expert lifting with straight backs and using our strong legs to power through!

In the distance we gazed to see the magic triangles about a 200 metre trek from the garden. The magic triangles were actually 3 big wooden planters full of mushroom compost which needed relocating back to the community garden. Tooled up with shovels, 2 wheel barrows and a great big builders bag we got shifting! Moving the tonnne of compost the 200 metres back into the garden then filling up the existing flower beds with the compost before the long tough carry of the 3 very heavy wooden planters the 200 metres back to the garden!

With a very physical task in the bag we headed off on a slightly longer park inspired 3k route back to the Bakehouse!!

Stretched out and ready for home after a top GoodGym evening!!

See you next week for a Hackney Parks Session!!

Smooth Running

Joel