11 runners, 3km, some killer weeding and huge tree planting.

We welcomed Matt for his first time ever at a GoodGym tonight and Jess and Chris from GoodGym Camden were on a tour to see what we get up to south of the river.

After a quick intro, warm up and a short but sweaty run, we arrived at Cossall Park Community Garden. We were a bit early so used the time wisely...

Stuck in the mud

Who knew how much effort a bit of short sprinting would take?! It kept us warm and ready for some proper gardening action. We split off into 3 groups.

Group one were in a resident's garden clearing it of weeds and turning the soil ready for lots of new planting. We could have stayed all night so watch this space for a mission heading that way.

Group two were working on the main flower and vegetable beds, clearing out weeds and brambles and generally making sure the lettuce, courgettes and cauliflower have enough room to flourish. Last time we were here we cleared the bed completely so it was brilliant to see how many veggies have grown and that are on offer for the residents.

Group three helped a slightly weightier project. An elm and a horse chestnut tree were delivered and carried into the adjacent Kirkwood Nature Reserve to be planted. But first, more clearing of nettles and stones before the final resting place was set. I hear you ask

'How many GoodGymmers does it take to plant a tree?'

The answer is not so clear. But I'd argue at least 2 to dig and plant and another 3 to advise and monitor.

Once we'd all rounded up and had our squash and malted milks, there was time for 1 sports day race.... the timeless wheelbarrow race

We were heckled by the local kids playing footy who couldn't quite believe that adults do this sort of thing and set off. Competitive natures and epic core and shoulder strength came out in full force. Big congrats to our gold medal winners, Michael and Becky.

Warm, tired and a little bit stung, we set off back to Old Spike Roastery with a pink sky for company.

A lovely evening and a(many) job(s) well done.

14 runners crossing a borough (again) to clear hedges & weeds at Surrey Docks Farm.

Finally, the rain cleared and the mugginess came back for us to run across into the shadow of Canary Wharf to the lovely farm. After bobbing and weaving down Rye Lane and waiting for a lot of green men, we eventually, and rather sweatily, made it to meet Gemma. She had already gotten to work with a chain saw on the hedge along the Thames Path and we were to clear it.

Lots of glove matching and hoeing later and we were filling wheelbarrows with green stuff. Zoe took the challenge of jumping on the compost heap to crush it down.

Trampoline time!

After almost no time, we had to pack away. Luckily, we got to walk passed all of the animals we'd seen last time. The tallest goats in the world were hiding. too much height pressure the beautiful calf was looking much more grown up. Esther, the pregnant sow was due to give birth on Monday. We watched with baited breath for her to...

go to the toilet...

No piglets tonight but it was still lovely to see all of the animals and work somewhere so amazing in the shadow of the concrete jungle.

A few press ups, tricep dips and wall sits later and we were back at Old Spike.

A decent crew of us made our way over to The Rye pub for some food and much needed fluids.

Lovely stuff GoodGym Southwark. Until next week.

28 GoodGymers ran 5km, did some fitness drills and shifted 3 tons of soil!

In the news this week we talked about GG monthly drinks next Thursday and had a Race Chat focus with New Forest 10 Miler, Regents Park 10km (August Edition) and Cardiff Half Marathon in October. Well done GG Camden taskforce for leading on these races!

Mr. Horse himself Tom Benson has written the run report this week:

Last night we returned to an old Camden GoodGym stomping ground. My major dilemma before the run was whether to take a jacket or not as the conditions on the ride up were keeping their cards close to their chest, would it be too cold, rainy, I won’t lie I just couldn’t tell. However I took the solid advice of Megan and I’m pleased I ditched the jacket as we had quite a work out.

Major dilemma

Aside from my clothing dilemma, the task in hand was returning after a long absence to James Wiggs GP practice, where we were tasked with the following; we had three one ton bags of soil that needed shifting, small tree roots needed pulling up and a strange grass like weed that had appeared to have embedded in the soil needed putting back in its place (basically needed pulling out). In short we were clearing a space in their garden as they wanted to transform the current space into a sensory garden for the patients to come and use, lovely stuff.

Everybody's shovelling!

Melissa, from Free Space Gallery was there to give us a warm welcome and armed us with spades, forks, gloves and wheelbarrows to get the job done. As there were quite a few bodies we split into two groups one going off with Paul to do some drills while the others got on with the task. In true GoodGym style there was no messing about and straight down to business, and once both teams had completed the drills we still had some soil to shift.

Hats off to newcomers Bernard and Andre who were on shovelling soil duty and kept the soil coming to ensure we got it all shifted, well done everybody. Just before we completed the one and half mile run home, Melissa showed us a space that 2 years ago GoodGym Camden came for a task which we dug up and made ready for planting. In the two years that followed the foundations we laid have allowed the space to turn into a lovely garden for the Practice.

Liv Rowe's Yoga Stretch of the week!

On our return Liv gave us another cracking set of Yoga stretches to help us warm down. Afterwards a gaggle of us found time to sink a jar or two in the local boozer and talk about many things including combining normal potato chips with sweet potato fries for the ultimate pack of frozen chips - McCain's Sweet and Plain* (it’s like a chip version of sweet and salted popcorn, it’s a winner I tell you…..happy trays). *Other frozen potato providers are available

Next week we are painting fences for Kentish Town Tenants Association and helping Skip Garden with various tasks, sign up here!

PB out.

20 runners ran 4km and helped both Alara and Skip Garden

It was a rainy humid day but we ignored the weather and got on with doing good! In the news this week we said well done to the Great Bristol 10km crew and discussed the amazing Night of the PB's this Saturday - come along it's going to be awesome and FAST!

We welcomed three new people to GoodGym Camden; Callum, Sophia and Jessica - lovely to have you on board!

This week we had two of our regular tasks, Alara and Skip Garden, both with really tangible good to be done and a short run each way.

Skip Garden run report written by PB:

After an active warm up we said goodbye to Team Alara and the 12 of us did a fun game involving jogging, high-fiving and sprinting back in a square in pairs. Once our heart rate was raised we headed off to Skip Garden, past Granary Square and the Dishoom queue. We met Gwen from Global Generation and she explained our task for the evening; lay two tons of pebbles over the garden in preparation for summer events, including the chef's wedding on Saturday!

TWO TONS!

We shifted some wooden flooring and tables out of the way and then split into three teams: shovellers, movers and rakers. After around seven minutes work the team coordination and hard work was in full swing, however we had a turn of event... RAIN! It poured but we don't stop for anything, we laughed and powered on. I am pretty sure I heard Liz say "This is exactly what I want to do right now!". Also we found out Frances' waterproof coat isn't very waterproof, news to me!

Waterproof? What's that?

Back to the task; we worked our way from the garden entrance, passed the kitchen and to the skip laying the pebbles. Nice work everyone!

Alara run report written by Steve Lee:

While one team headed to the Skip Garden, another group made their way to the Suma urban orchard. It’s a delightful space unexpectedly nestled amongst warehouses including, very importantly, the one that makes their muesli, which the team gratefully received some freebies of at the end of the task. Speaking of which, there was a big ol’ hole to dig to create a new pond, and some weeds to clear to help the plants thrive. Steve C introduced the less experienced among us to a mattock masterclass.

Mattock Masterclass!

Separated by a mile or so, the two groups were united in seeking cover from a deluge before heading with soggy shoes but sunny dispositions to regroup at Granary Square for some time trials as the sun made a welcome comeback.

Time Trial:

Once collected back as a group we practiced our arm technique with SOCKET TO POCKET before heading to the starting line. The 850 metre time trial around Granary Square is a great way to test our speed each month and this month was no difference with Will coming in at 3:04, Bryon at 3:08 and Chris at 3.15. If you'd like to know your time just contact me and it'll be provided.

After catching our breath back we headed back to Somers Town Community Centre for a stretch and post-rain chat.

Next week we are off to Free Space Gallery to build garden beds, sign up here.

PB