The warm-but-not-too-warm weather in Richmond drew a bumper crowd of 18 GoodGymers to gather outside Wholefoods, including Cathy and Isabelle for their first run (and perhaps already last run in the case of France-based Isabelle!), second-timers Mena and Kate, and Sara back for her first Richmond run in a while, and very welcome too.

First order of business was to congratulate Jenny and hand over the hallowed sash to commemorate her 50 good deeds milestone – well done Jen and here’s to the next 50!

After an update on the GoodGym Olympics being held on Parliament Hill this Saturday and a thorough briefing from Mark on the double task ahead of us – gardening work at St. Christopher’s and some leafleting left over from last week – we convened on the Green for our traditional warm up, this evening’s exercise innovation being imaginary hurdles…

We set off for St. Christopher’s via the A316 and Duck’s Walk and arrived to find a very tidy looking vegetable patch in the corner of the garden (big smiles all round), but large areas of scrub which needed clearing. Many hands make light work as they say, so we gloved up and got going.

We divided into two groups to tackle two sides of the garden – digging, forking, shearing and raking our way through the brambles and weeds to get to the ground beneath. A few others grabbed the brooms and swept up the leaf litter outside the centre to make it look neat and tidy for visitors.

When our allotted time was almost up, and we had at least made a dent on the brambles, 3 groups of runners headed off to the nearby roads to deliver the remaining leaflets for the Richmond Museum while the rest cleared up at St. Christopher’s. Job done and we headed back for our customary photo before setting Stravas and running back to Wholefoods and a cool down.

Big Richmond GG welcomes again go to Cathy and Isabelle and also welcome back to Mena and Kate – we hope to see you all on a regular basis (Isabelle – always welcome if you visit from France!). Don’t forget GG Olympics on Saturday, and next week’s social in the Tap Tavern after the run.... and the submarine!! (check the run listing for that one!)