27 energy filled Hackney GoodGymers ran 6k to attempt to help Gillett Square Kids play project. After a Key drama, we turned our attention to getting fit with a top fitness session in De Beauvoir Square.

We started the evening on chip watch as Ros teased us mortals with feats never before seen at GoodGym Hackney. Eating triple fried chips at 6:55 is an unconventional preparation for the session but she backed up the big iron stomach talk by holding the food down and dominating the physical session, fair play!!

We welcomed some amazing new faces to the fold and had a DBS ID check done to get going helping vulnerable and isolated older people in Hackney! If you fancy going on Missions and/or Coach runs bring your ID and proof of address along next week!

We celebrated the achievements of our brilliant runners who had completed Berlin Marathon, Cardiff Half marathon and Hackney Marshes Parkrun in the last couple of weeks! Lots of amazing performances and so inspiring for the rest of us as we dream about our next running challenges!!

So the task didn't go to plan!! We ran the 2k (with slight detour) to Gillett square to begin the task of cleaning the oversized outdoor play equipment but the key holder was nowhere to be found! I can only apologise for this, the session was confirmed on Monday so not sure yet what went wrong. Instead of waddling home with our tail between our legs we decided to go dominate an extended fitness session on our favourite De Beauvoir Square track!! So we ran down there and split into small teams of 3 for a mass continuous relay! 7 minutes of scorching running action saw us run half a lap (150 metres) before tagging our team mate who sped off around the track! The laps tricked but and the pace remained high and serious effort from everyone was put in! As reward we had a 3 minute rest as I am nice like that before smashing out another 7 minute block of continuous relays!

As Peter had maybe gone a little too hard on the sprints we broke the running up with some physical preparation exercises! 4 groups completed minute efforts in Lunges, squats, press ups and plank holds. With our muscles throbbing there was just enough time to finish off the evening with pairs tag race where, in pairs, we ran around the track at 80% when we met our pair we turned and gave it Full Beans to beat them back to the start! Three rotations of this finished off a quality running fitness workout! A 10 minute jog back to base and static stretch-out rounded off a top evening!

Thank you guys for your hard work and huge efforts well done, hope you slept well!

Next week (have already been confirming task) we are off to a new task to create a Well Being Garden in a residential facility for people with mental illness. We have lots to do, so would be great to have you along! Sign up here and if you have one bring a head torch/bike light along with you!

We have a double dose of actities this Thursday! First the start of Fitness 4 All Camden where I will be taking a 4 week block of Running Fitness sessions just behind Kings cross station in Granary Square. Please sign up here. Also on Thursday is the monthly GoodGym social drinks, this month they are in Islington, check out all the info here.

Have a good week and look forward to seeing you all next time.

Smooth circuits

Joel

24 Illuminated Hackney GoodGymers ran 6k to Abney Park Cemetery to clear vegetation and fill graves!!

After a successful weekend of racing for Team Hackney with amazing performances from Rich and Ros in the Richmond Runfest Half marathon the group was on great spirts and couldn't wait to meet some GoodGym newbies!

Knowing that the darkness was descending quickly and that we had one of our longer runs we got going sharpish!! Navigating our way through the back streets towards Stoke Newington we even had the pleasure of a ride by from Paul the Camden trainer (if you are still feeling fresh why not try out Camden tonight? Just make sure you come back to Hackney next week!). Keeping the crew together was made easier than normal with the amazing poor run of luck we had with the lights! I would like to think it was the ghosts of Abney Park Cemetery just making it a bit darker to add a little fear for the grave task ahead!

After a strong 3k run we arrived to meet Tom where we grabbed a wheel barrow donned a head touch (if we had one) and got to work! Great to have the unmistakable Hackney Coach Runner Rep Andreana back in the fold and reminded us all why we had missed her much when she abandoned the wheel barrow after 100m as it was going to slow her down and went for the single shovel of earth sprints method (for a little while anyway) in its place.

We created a few great working pods with shovelers making huge digging dents in the huge pile of woodchip loading up the wheel barrows before the pushers doing a running loop tipping the woodchip into the Sunken graves before looping back around and loading up again! We also had a few runners on vegetation clearing, especially excited were Lucy and Annie who got to clear logs from a grave site while searching for frogs!

After 30 minutes of great work helping one of London's Magnificent 7 cemeteries we had done a top job moving a huge 2 tonnes of wood chip and soil, clearing 50 logs from over grown graves and petted a couple of frogs. This helped to keep the levels of the sunken graves up and ensuring the park remains amazing and beautiful.

After a big thank you from Tom, we set off on our way back to base picking up the pace for the 3k run back. Great running performances from everyone, great to see the fitness improving from our consistent regular runners!

A series our static stretches and a silent round of applause finished off a fun evening!

It was a fond farewell to ** Kevin and Kirsty** who have been great Hackney GoodGymers but Kirsty is moving away to take over the world while Kevin is going to using is volunteering time for a new project. Thank you for all your hard work and enthusiasm, you will both me missed!! Hopefully you will come and see us again soon.

Next week we return to Abney Park for some gravel path creation! Wheelbarrows will be in full force again as we build a path using special gravel which stays firm through the winter months. Please sign up here. If you have one or are thinking of buying one a Head torch would be pretty useful thing to bring.

Until next time

Smooth shovelling

Joel