0 Month Streak
0 Month Streak
3 Month Streak
Block or report Patricia Davies
Mon 18th Dec 2023 at 6:45pm
Islington Report written by Simon Fitzmaurice
7 Goodgym Runners from all different Goodgym boroughs (including first time GG group runner Emre- welcome!) joined Area Activator Simon for our final official group run of 2023. We met up at the Arsenal Community Hub first before heading out to the slopes for a dynamic warm up (next to London Heathside juniors doing hill sprints!).
The evening's group run was a slightly different affair to our usual "run to a task" plans. As a personal running project between December and January, AA Simon has proposed to set up a series of group runs and tasks to as many Islington parks and green spaces as possible. According to The Garden Classroom, there are 121 specifically listed public green spaces throughout the Islington borough. These were wonderfully listed and presented by Hackney based illustrator Jane Smith (check our her lovely map in the photos), and we successfully visited 9 different parks during our run!
Our team ran just over 4.7 miles in total (the furthest some of our crew had ever run- well done!), and we visited:
Kinloch Gardens (32)- a lovely little park sat between Hornsey Road and Thane Villas. Previously visited during a community party with the London Festival of Architecture.
Cornwallis Park (17)- Great space with cool children's playground features.
Landseer Gardens (21)- Huge gardens with slopes and hills. Great play facilities, includinga bouldering/traverse wall! Opposite the famous "The Landseer" pub.
Royal Northern Gardens (22)- Sweet little garden space just next to the Age UK HQ.
Salterton Road Gardens (23)- The smallest green space! A resident maintained flower bed near Holloway Road.
Foxham Gardens (20)- Such a cool playground near Tufnell Park! Features a pirate ship climbing frame.
St George's Open Space (26)- Tiny garden space opposite, next to St George's Church.
Whittington Park, Church Cottage (15)- A glorious, well lit park off Holloway Road. Features football pitches and playing courts. And lots of "cat related" mosiac patterns and topiary artwork!
Biddestone Park (31)- Cool little park near Holloway Road underground station, recently opened up for 24 hour access.
A really wonderful run with the team, on a cool, dry Winter's night. Afterwards, we picked up our bags from Arsenal Community Hub, and we enjoyed our post run social at Non Vietnamese restaurant for noodles, steamed buns and pho!
Goodgym Islington News
The Garden Classroom- Weekly Volunteer Mornings in Islington Parks!
Various parks and gardens on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday mornings.
The Garden Classroom has started multiple weekly open garden mornings in Newington Green, Market Road and Hillside Park (near Caxton House). Set up by trained horticulture specialists and open to all!
Newington Green Next Wednesday (20th December) 10am - midday
Hillside Gardens, Caxton House Next Thursday (21st December) 10am - midday
Market Road Gardens Next Friday (22nd December) 10am - midday
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Achilles International VI Guide Running Sessions- Emirates Stadium
Thursday 21st December, 6pm, Arsenal Underground station
Every Thursday, the all abilities sports charity Achilles International holds a group run session at a London location. This week, we will be meeting up at Arsenal tube station, ready to run around the Emirates Stadium concourse. Open to runners and guides of all abilities! Follow the link to find out more:
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Finsbury parkrun Christmas Day meet up and volunteering!
Monday 25th December, 8.45am, Finsbury Park Café
Our local free weekly timed 5km running event, operated entirely by volunteers, will be returning on Christmas Day!
Open to runners, walkers and participants of all ages and abilities. Sign up here for more information:
https://www.goodgym.org/happenings/finsbury-parkrun-christmas-spectacular-volunteering
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First group run of 2024- Hilldrop House Gardens
Wednesday 3rd January, 6.45pm, Arsenal Community Hub
St Mungo's on Hilldrop Road is a homeless care hub off Camden Road, that offer resources and essential information for unhoused residents in the area. They also have a lovely green space for their visitors.
Expect some greenery clipping, bramble pulling and weed shifting!
https://www.goodgym.org/v3/sessions/group-run-st-mungo-s-hilldrop-house-wednesday-starter-session
Goodgym Race Team Cross Country Hill Session- Camden
Friday 5th January, 6.30pm, Pembroke Castle, Chalk Farm
Goodgym Cross Country is back! We will be returning to the Met League in 2023 and 2024!
If you have never tried cross country, it is amazing muddy fun. A definite challenge, but accessible to all who want to give it a go, and are part of a UKA affiliated team (like the Goodgym Race Team).
To coincide with the events, Area Activator Simon Fitzmaurice (who is a UK Athletics Coach in Running Fitness or CiRF for short) will be hosting a series of hill interval training sessions at Primrose Hill over the Autumn and Winter months.
Sign up here!
https://www.goodgym.org/v3/sessions/gg-race-team-met-league-hill-training-session-january
January London Social- Market Halls Canary Wharf (hosted by AA Simon)
Friday 12th January, 6.30pm, Market Halls Canary Wharf
Area Activator Simon will be hosting the monthly London social in January (first of 2024!). An amazing food halls and bar set up across the new Elizabeth Line plaza in Canary Wharf. Good times with Goodgym folks from across the entirety of London and beyond! Sign up here:
https://www.goodgym.org/v3/sessions/goodgym-london-january-social
Mon 18th Dec 2023 at 6:45pm
For our final run of 2023, we will enjoy a trip around the green spaces of Islington!
Read moreMonday 4th December 2023
Patricia Davies completed 5 good deeds with GoodGym.
Patricia is a now a pretty committed GoodGym runner. They've just run to do good for the fifth time
Mon 4th Dec 2023 at 6:45pm
Islington Report written by Simon Fitzmaurice
On Monday evening, Area Activator Simon caught up with 7 other Goodgym runners from Islington, Hackney and Harringey over at the Emirates Stadium (avoiding a day of sporadic showers). Many of us had started our advent calendars on the run up to Christmas (in Caitlin's case, she had started 5 advent calendars, along with her housemates!), and are glad to be out for another Goodgym group run before the Christmas break (mark down our Xmas post-run social in your calendar! More details below!). Together, we engaged in a quality warm up on the Emirates slopes, before heading up and over Whistler Street and through Highbury Fields.
We arrived at The Rose Bowl Youth Club in ample time and met with Dawn, the resident coordinator for the centre, who was thrilled to see us. The team at the youth club were busy with Xmas parties and football games in the playground, but were very happy to have a Goodgym trip in for the evening!
Our main task was to clear up tonnes of leaves from the surrounding paths and the entrance ways of the centre, using wheelbarrows, rakes and leaf grabbing claws. Between us, we filled an entire building merchant sack full of leaves (after compacting the foliage down by tramping it all under foot), and dropped any excess leaves in the designated composting point. Five of us successfully dragged this very heavy bag back to the green refuse point at the entrance of the centre- a job that would have been very tough for the regular volunteer team. Smashing work, everyone!
Together, we made our way back across the borough (a 5km round trip), and enjoyed the long slopes back to the Emirates Stadium. Top job all!
Goodgym Islington News
The Garden Classroom- Weekly Volunteer Mornings in Islington Parks!
Various parks and gardens on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday mornings.
The Garden Classroom has started multiple weekly open garden mornings in Newington Green, Market Road and Hillside Park (near Caxton House). Set up by trained horticulture specialists and open to all!
Newington Green Next Wednesday- 10am - midday
Hillside Gardens, Caxton House Next Thursday- 10am - midday https://www.goodgym.org/v3/sessions/the-garden-classroom-hillside-park-volunteer-morning-28df9ad4-5f3d-4b50-8a57-ce5ef93327ec
Market Road Gardens Next Friday- 10am - midday
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Achilles International VI Guide Running Sessions- Emirates Stadium
Thursday 7th December, 6pm, Arsenal Underground station
Every Thursday, the all abilities sports charity Achilles International holds a group run session at a London location. This week, we will be meeting up at Arsenal tube station, ready to run around the Emirates Stadium concourse. Open to runners and guides of all abilities! Follow the link to find out more:
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GoodGym London - Christmas Social Celebrate the festive season with other GoodGymers
Thursday 14th December, 18.30 onwards, The Rocket, Euston
It's the festive edition of monthly drinks in London. Come and meet other GoodGymers and toast each others achievements.
https://www.goodgym.org/happenings/goodgym-london-christmas-social?legacy=true
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Friends of Canonbury Square- Volunteer Morning (December Xmas Special!)
Saturday 16th December, 10am, Canonbury Square Gardens
Lending a hand with this beautiful neighbourhood maintained garden in Islington, a perfect post-parkrun task! This will be the December Xmas special too, so come and enjoy some festivities!
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Goodgym Islington’s Final Group Run and Social of 2024!
Monday 18th December, 6.45pm, Arsenal Community Hub
On the last group run of the year, Area Activator Simon will be leading a festive run to just a few of Islington's 121 green spaces (as listed by The Garden Classroom). Our objective is to try and record a visit to each one by the end of the January challenge!
And afterwards, we are going to enjoy a social visit to Non Vietnamese, Holloway Road for delicious soup, noodles and refreshments!
https://www.goodgym.org/v3/sessions/group-run-christmas-tour-of-islington
https://www.goodgym.org/v3/sessions/post-group-run-social-december-non-vietnamese-islington
Mon 4th Dec 2023 at 6:45pm
A run together to The Rose Bowl Youth Centre near Canonbury!
Read moreMon 13th Nov 2023 at 6:45pm
Islington Report written by Simon Fitzmaurice
Area Activator Simon met up with a bumper team of 11 Goodgymmers at Arsenal Community Hub last night (including first timers Daniel and Maggie- welcome to you both!). After a full dynamic warm up on the Emirates Stadium slopes, we ran together (with Adam following us on his bike) over to the wonderful Thornhill Square Gardens (about 1.4 miles total, along Mackenzie Road).
After distributing head torches and gardening gloves, we met up with Anna, one of the residential gardening champions of Thornhill Square. Our task for the evening was to dig up an abundance of holes within the rose bushes of this public green space with forks, spades and hand trowels. Once an 8 inch hole had been dug, we would fill the holes with about10 new narcissus bulbs each.
Daniel and Louise took it in turns to bring wood chip to to spread across these newly cultivated beds, to keep these little bulbs safe from wandering dogs and hungry birds over the Winter months. Sarah and Patricia did a smashing job of preparing their own gardening spot, around a dead head fence created during one of our previous Goodgym Islington group runs earlier this year!
After about 40 minutes of digging, planting, wheel barrowing and bark spreading, we packed up out tools back in the community shed in the centre of the park, and bode Anna farewell until next time. Hopefully we can return to see our bulbs growing in Spring! We completed our session with a trip to The Swimmer, at The Grafton Arms for our November social, enjoying refreshments and delicious food on a gorgeous autumnal evening. Well done everyone!
Goodgym Islington News
Crouch End Open Space (CREOS)- November 2023
Sunday 19th November, 11-1pm, Hanley Tennis Club Car Park
Our monthly woodland regeneration session with the CREOS volunteering team. Forest path building followed by a smashing picnic with Crouch End locals!
https://www.goodgym.org/happenings/crouch-end-open-space-creos-volunteering-day-november-2023
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Achilles International VI Guide Running Sessions- Emirates Stadium
Thursday 23rd November, 6pm, Arsenal Underground station
Every Thursday, the all abilities sports charity Achilles International holds a group run session at a London location. This week, we will be meeting up at Arsenal tube station, ready to run around the Emirates Stadium concourse. Open to runners and guides of all abilities! Follow the link to find out more:
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GG Race Team- Met League Hill Training Session! - November
Friday 24th November, 6.30pm, Pembroke Castle, Camden
A monthly hill training group run session led by Goodgymmer and CIRF Simon. All abilities Kenyan Hills running over at Primrose Hill, in preparation for our next cross country fitness at Uxbridge!
https://www.goodgym.org/happenings/gg-race-team-met-league-hill-training-session-november
Simon's 200th parkrun (& 100th volunteer shift!) @ Mile End parkrun
Saturday 25th November, 8.45am, Mile End stadium
Join Area Activator Simon for his 200th parkrun at Mile End, and his 100th volunteer shift! We will head to the lovely Yurt Café in Limehouse afterwards for breakfast, hot drinks and good times!
https://www.goodgym.org/happenings/simon-s-200th-parkrun-100th-volunteer-shift-mile-end-parkrun
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Penn Road Gardens Volunteer Open Day- November 2023
Sunday 26th November, 10-midday, Penn Road Gardens
Every last Sunday of the month, the residents of Penn Road invite keen volunteers to help with maintaining this lovely community spot just off Holloway Road.
https://www.goodgym.org/v3/sessions/penn-road-gardens-open-morning-november
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Met League Cross Country - Uxbridge
Saturday 2nd December, 12 midday, Hillingdon Athletics Stadium
Run with GoodGym for some cross country racing- the 3rd fixture of the amazing Met League season. Approximately 7-8 km of muddy fun, open to all!
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Freightliner's Farm Sunday Special- December
Sunday 3rd December, 11.30-1pm, Sheringham Road, Islington
We are so happy to be invited back to the wonderful Freightliner's Farm just off Paradise Park for our first regular weekend volunteering day!
The team will be on hand to offer some animal friendly tasks around the site.
Sign up here:
https://www.goodgym.org/happenings/freightliner-s-farm-sunday-special
Mon 13th Nov 2023 at 6:45pm
Joining the lovely resident gardeners at Thornhill Square Gardens for an evening of composting, watering and maintenance
Read moreMon 6th Nov 2023 at 6:45pm
Islington Report written by Simon Fitzmaurice
Area Activator Simon, Kim and Patricia met up at the Arsenal Community Hub on a brisk Monday evening this week. Together, our plan was to visit the Foodcycle Finsbury Park site on the Andover Estate (about 0.6 miles from our start point) to distribute flyers to households in the neighbourhood. Foodcycle offer warm places, social opportunities, essential supplies and often hot food for anyone in need (no questions asked!), so we were thrilled to be assisting this excellent cause.
Between us, we made a very efficient system for flyering housing blocks- ensuring that we didn't flyer a single house twice accidentally. Each runner would post at the first, second or third block of flats, and return to the group for the next location. Kept us on our feet (we covered over 1.6 miles total distance dropping off leaflets!). Excellent job everyone!
Next week we will be visiting Thornhill Square Gardens, followed by a smashing November social over at The Swimmer N4.
Sign up here for Thornhill Square Gardens:
And sign up here for The Swimmer N4 social:
https://www.goodgym.org/happenings/post-group-run-social-november-the-swimmer
Goodgym Islington News
Achilles International VI Guide Running Sessions- Emirates Stadium
Thursday 9th November, 6pm, Arsenal Underground station
Every Thursday, the all abilities sports charity Achilles International holds a group run session at a London location. This week, we will be meeting up at Arsenal tube station, ready to run around the Emirates Stadium concourse. Open to runners and guides of all abilities! Follow the link to find out more:
The Green Classroom Morning Gardening Sessions
Wednesday 8th November, 10am - midday, Newington Green
An open invitation to attend a wonderful gardening session hosted by Lizzy and Decibel of The Green Classroom, a wild cultivation space in Newington Green.
Sessions are available on the following dates:
Wednesday 8th November https://www.goodgym.org/happenings/the-garden-classroom-newington-green-volunteer-morning-dd4a2a57-faca-4d7e-a0f4-623f517a832d
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Met League Cross Country - Wormwood Scrubs
Saturday 11th November, 12:45pm - 3:45pm, Claybury Park
Met League Cross Country is a set of five 7-8km races organised by London race clubs. They are held in parks and forests around London with the routes including a mixture of grass, gravel and a fair bit of mud (it is XC after all!)
Cross Country is for everyone! Wonderful fun- sign up here for more information!
Crouch End Open Space (CREOS)- November 2023
Sunday 19th November, 11-1pm, Hanley Tennis Club Car Park
Our monthly woodland regeneration session with the CREOS volunteering team. Forest path building followed by a smashing picnic with Crouch End locals!
https://www.goodgym.org/happenings/crouch-end-open-space-creos-volunteering-day-november-2023
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GG Race Team- Met League Hill Training Sessions!
Thursday 24th November, 6.30pm, The Pembroke Castle, Camden
Goodgym Cross Country is back! We will be returning to the Met League in 2023 and 2024!
If you have never tried cross country, it is amazing muddy fun. A definite challenge, but accessible to all who want to give it a go, and are part of a UKA affiliated team (Goodgym Race Team).
To coincide with the events, Area Activator Simon Fitzmaurice (who is a UK Athletics Coach in Running Fitness or CiRF for short) will be hosting a series of hill interval training sessions at Primrose Hill over the Autumn and Winter months.
The Pembroke Castle, 150 Gloucester Ave., London NW1 8JA, and we will run to Primrose Hill together to start our session.
November 24th https://www.goodgym.org/happenings/gg-race-team-met-league-hill-training-session-november
January 5th https://www.goodgym.org/happenings/gg-race-team-met-league-hill-training-session-january
January 26th (aka February fixture session) https://www.goodgym.org/happenings/gg-race-team-met-league-hill-training-session-february
Penn Road Gardens Volunteer Open Day- November 2023
Sunday 26th November, 10-midday, Penn Road Gardens
Every last Sunday of the month, the residents of Penn Road invite keen volunteers to help with maintaining this lovely community spot just off Holloway Road.
https://www.goodgym.org/v3/sessions/penn-road-gardens-open-morning-november
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Freightliner's Farm Sunday Special- December
Sunday 3rd December, 11.30-1pm, Sheringham Road, Islington
We are so happy to be invited back to the wonderful Freightliner's Farm just off Paradise Park for our first regular weekend volunteering day!
The team will be on hand to offer some animal friendly tasks around the site.
Sign up here:
https://www.goodgym.org/happenings/freightliner-s-farm-sunday-special
Mon 6th Nov 2023 at 6:45pm
Noticing the local neighbourhood on Andover Estate about this essential community food hub!
Read moreMon 30th Oct 2023 at 6:45pm
A new project for Goodgym Islington! Building garden structures in Finsbury Park!
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