At Pitshanger Junior parkrun this morning, there were big cheers for one runner who received a grey wristband. What does a grey wristband mean, I hear you ask? It shows that they have run 100 Junior parkruns and to celebrate, they brought everyone a tub of sweets to share 🍬🙌.

There were 5 GoodGymers who were in the park early on a Sunday to help make the event a success. Jacquie, Gaby and Steph were marshaling around the course, making sure that everyone made it round safely. Kash and Sevan were in the funnel area, with Kash taking on her favourite role, barcode scanning and Sevan was timekeeping.

In all, 86 runners completed the course, with many of them dipping their hand into the tub of sugary treats. One of them was hungrier than the others:

"I want 4 sweets" - Runner
"Why do you want 4?" - Barcode Scanner
"Because I like 4" - Runner

Eventually they were negotiated down from 4 packs of sweets to 2, leaving more for the other children and adults to share.

The GoodGym Ealing birthday is coming up soon (9th of August). Tonight's epic session with Ealing Repair Cafe was perfect to make some history and generate new GoodGym Ealing trivia for the next quiz! Read on!

Who was the first man in Ealing to achieve 1000 good deeds?

Sevan was the first man in the area to wear the legendary 1000 Deeds cape created by Milly for the overachievers of West London. The cape received Mary's approval! Sevan was also presented with a (rather rude due to ordering mishap!) trophy. Sevan can now show his fingers to counting good deeds (very naughty in a church!) and say he does good for fun and out of a good heart. He's beyond the milestones now.

How did Mary get such a premium venue?

Wait! Was the workshop held in church? Mary and Lone from Ealing Repair Cafe contributed their services to St Mary's Church in Acton, revamping the curtains and providing draught excluders to keep the church a bit warmer in the winter (you can see Mary proudly presenting them in one of the pictures). The grateful church community allowed Ealing Repair Cafe to use the church as a location for tonight's workshop! How cool is that!

How long is a piece of string?

Madhan was busy making threads for the drawstring t-shirt bags. He made two balls of string (the size, not quantity matters!). You may ask now: how long is a piece of string? Madhan has the answer to that - 140ft! Madhan's feet, to be precise, as he unfolded one thread around the church and then diligently measured it with his feet!

Who's not afraid of sewing machines?

While Kash, Steph and Sevan decided to play it safe and stick to cutting t-shirts and jeans or assembling bunting, Gaby was the first one to have a go at the electric sewing machine. She got stuck into it for the entire session, producing 12 multi-purpose bags that others finished adding scraps of thread as drawstrings. Those kind of bags were in the past donated to the Northfields Community Library and Food Cupboard.

Who's the Great Old Dane?

Nishy and Chris got acquainted with the super sustainable Great Old Dane - a classic, portable Singer sewing machine: no pedals, no electricity, no emissions, free arm workout, and 3 lines of bunting for community groups as a result (the last one kindly finished quickly by Lone)!

What happened to Chris' donation?

At the previous episode of our craft adventures with Ealing Repair Cafe, Chris donated plenty of his old sports clothes and trainers. The GoodGymers sent a big box of those running shoes to JogOn for recycling later that week. But what happened to the clothes Mary from Ealing Repair Cafe agreed to take? The sportswear in good condition was sent to the refugees staying in hotels in Hounslow. And the worn football T-shirts? Those ended up even better! At a repair event that Mary ran in Brentford, she made one of the participants smile, getting them a patch with a Liverpool logo - a rare treat!

Who's GoodGym Ealing's go-to baker?

Nishy gave tonight's session an extra flavour - the chocolate flavour! As a part-time pro-baker, she had brought her homemade chocolate cake for everyone to celebrate Sevan's milestone. Thank you Nishy!

What do GoodGymers drink after a session in Acton?

After a break from post-group run socials, we returned to the tradition of grabbing a pot of chaii after the task in Acton. Sevan gave us finally a good excuse for a toast and to stay a bit longer together for a chat.

Next week, we will be running in the opposite direction to Acton, visiting the William Hobbayne Centre in Hanwell to help clear their backyard. Sign up now!

There were an impressive number of finishers at today's Pitshanger Junior parkrun, taking all of the GoodGymers present by surprise, including Gaby who was handing out the finish tokens. In all, 102 crossed the finish line, which is awesome. Gaby was also surprised to see the red t-shirts of the other GoodGymers as she hadn't known that today was GoodGym Ealing's regular session at the parkrun.

Around the course, Kash, Steph, Harvey and Sevan were marshalling. As usual, the majority of children had a great morning, while a few would rather have been in bed and were dragged around the course by their parents. Sevan caught one very young runner who tried to sneak to the finish line after only completing 1 lap, readily admitting that they still had further to run and who did eventually complete the 2km course.

If you'd like to join in next month, you can sign up here.