What a fun day! This was a successful starter GoodGym session at Barking Riverside.

The GoodGym runners from the local area and beyond gathered today to transform the green space along the Ripple Greenway, Barking Riverside. We all met at The Participatory City Warehouse on Thames Road, one of the headquarters for Every One Every Day, which was also hosting a wonderful We Make Our City Festival on the day.

Tim and his team were busy managing the festival which was packed with fun activities for the local community.

After meeting and greeting, we warmed up the muscles and got our pulses raised with the help of James. After the warm-up we jogged one kilometre from the Warehouse through a new route called the Ripple Greenway to the green space site. It was such a bright morning and with the sun shining down on us it was a great morning to run.

At the site we were greeted by Simon, James and Jake from the Sustrans team. It was great to arrive to see everything was ready for GoodGym members to get hands on gardening work to help transform the area. Upon arrival to the site, Jake told as a bit about how the local area has undergone a major change, and then James carefully explained the tasks of bulb planting. He then demonstrated how to use the gardening tools and the best way to plant the bulbs which included daffodils, tulips and crocuses - which will hopefully blossom from the early spring and brighten up the area.

James divided the team into two. Team one was in charge of breaking branches and clearing the site, and team two, along with the local residents engaged in some enthusiastic digging and planting of bulbs which will soon make the area flourish for the local residents. There was a very good team spirit and it was really great to see the enthusiasm and great energy of the runners, some of whom have never met each other before. It was truly amazing work from everyone on this frosty but sunny afternoon.

The runners worked tirelessly until it was time to run back. After the bulbsplanting and branch clearing, we then jogged back to the Warehouse, and then cooled down and stretched after the intense exercise using muscles we had forgotten about!

Amazing and wonderful stuff, team Barking GoodGym! Watch this space!

Shout-outs

• Thanks to James for helping to lead the warm-up and being the back-marker to ensure no one is left behind.

• Thanks to Liv for her support, and Alina for the beautiful photos.

• A massive warm welcome to our first time runners, Nikki,  Iram and Aidan. You did AMAZINGLY, and we hope to see you again very, very soon. It was also great to meet Sabina, Matt and Ercole, and we really hope you can join us again!

And lastly, a massive thanks to James, Jake and Simon from Sustrans . Big thanks to Tim and his lovely team from Every One Every Day. Thank you and here's to many more fun activities in the coming year.

What's coming up next?

Barking GoodGym is for everyone. We welcome runners of all abilities and it is often possible to walk to the task if you would prefer. We always have a back-marker so no-one is left behind - we're about achieving something together so you'll always be welcome no matter what your pace is.

Barking GoodGym will be officially launched around January/February 2020. We will have lots of fun amazing activities to help you all get healthier and connected to the local community. Check back soon for more details.

In the meantime have your say and complete this short questionnaire to suggest how you would like the Barking GoodGym to be run.

Until then, have a totally brilliant week!

For a first time being official Run Leader in James' absence there was no time to be nervous how things would go. Within a few minutes of arriving the lovely Rosemary & Lindsay popped in to have their documents checked and chat about the different sides of Goodgym. Unfortunately they couldn't stay but by the time they were done the others started arriving, ready for the group run, including new runner Cedric, who just came round curious what Goodgym was all about.

With Beth checking to see if my welcome speech hit all the right notes we were off for our jog over to the Forest Recycling Project. Chatting away the 2 miles disappeared and we met up with Nilesh, who had just the right amount of things waiting for our team. Maja, Sabina, Matt & Cedric went upstairs to help Sarah-Jane and continue with sorting & cleaning the toys, which apparently included steam cleaning a fluffy pink bunny! The remaining 2 went back down to the familiar painting department, with Beth tackling some doors & myself painting the toilet room floors. All too quickly the clock sped past 8pm, meaning it was time to say our goodbyes and make our way back.

Returning to Wanstead House we stretched some stiff muscles before parting company, tired but happy with a job well done!

Next week we once again will be doing some good around Wanstead with James back in charge, exact details yet to be confirmed. Keep an eye out for more info and sign up here to join in.

Last but definitely not least, thanks for making my first time in charge a nice & smooth running experience!

On a mild winter's night five of Goodgym's finest runners met to do good and ran 5km in the process.

It was a night of regulars and new runners as Peter, James and Kristian were joined by new recruits Sabine and Maya at Wanstead House Community Association to earn their keep and do work around the house. With rooms full of people doing creative writing, street dancing and even astronomy, the team worked tirelessly to clear the winter leaf fall from around house - filling up a massive wheelie bin with leaves in just 40 minutes.

With the task done in double quick time all that was left was a run to get fit and fast on the local Wanstead Streets. This week Trainer James made the run a Fartlek session - the Swedish word for Speedplay. This saw runners use the lamp posts to alternate from fast to slow. It's a great way to mix up training and before they new it everyone was back at the house for a spot of stretching.

Another fun task and plenty of good done in the borough. Check out the events page and join us next week when we head to The Forest Recycling Project for part two in our toy sorting staff. Get involved its a cracker!