In between sporadic rain showers, Area Activator Simon caught up with a top crew of Goodgymmers (a mix of regulars and new starters- welcome Michelle!) outside the Arsenal Community Hub for our weekly group run. After a count-off to introduce each other (and to show off our favourite firework sounds to celebrate Diwali!), we ran approximately 1 mile together towards Elizabeth House Food Hub on Hurlock Street (utilising some hills on route!).

Upon our arrival, we found that Ernestas, Natalie and Natasha were already helping the super busy food bank crew with their half term operations. Elizabeth House Food Hub has been set up to act like a supermarket of donated produce that can be affordably purchased by the immediate community. During the holidays, more families and individuals require additional assistance with deliveries, so Goodgym Islington were asked whether would lend a hand. Half of our runners paired up together to deliver these essential parcels to households across the borough. The rest of our team assisted with cleaning and closing up the tables used for the food bank, and with loading any additional produce back into the kitchen (after some quality control). We finished off the evening with some recycling, and breaking down food boxes for collection.

The Elizabeth House Food Hub core yeam were absolutely thrilled with the amount of work completed within such a short amount of time, and asked is to definitely return in the future! Well done all!

Our final event of the night was the introduction of our monthly "Emirates Stadium Time Trial"- a personal test run with your fellow Goodgymmers to see how quickly we can run the 700m loop of the Emirates Concourse. It was so great to bring back this "Paul Bown" tradition to Goodgym Islington again.

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NEWS

Highbury Quadrant Soil Shifting

On Wednesday 26th November, Area Activator Simon and Ernestas of Highbury Ward will be helping Octopus Community Network with filling up some newly constructed flower planters around the Highbury Quadrant Estate.

Sign up here to get involved:

https://www.goodgym.org/happenings/highbury-quadrant-bonus-shingle-and-soil-shifting

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VI Guide Running at Emirates Stadium with Achilles International

Every Thursday, Achilles International will lead a group run for visually impaired runners and local guides at Paddington Rec Track or The Emirates Stadium. This week, we will be returning to North London for our session. Open to potential guide of all abilities, and for anyone up for a group run!

https://www.goodgym.org/happenings/come-and-guide-run-with-achilles-international-emirates-stadium-session-0f94bb20-d637-4871-ad0b-60f023004982

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Halloween Hampstead Heath Headtorch Group Run

On Friday 28th November, AA Simon will be leading his annual Halloween headtorch run around Hampstead Heath- starting at the Bull and Gate Pub in Kentish Town, and looping around the gorgeous trails of North London. Costumes and trail shoes are advised, but not essential! Social group running pace will be the aim for the evening- please bring your own headtorch if possible.

https://www.goodgym.org/v3/sessions/ghoulgym-halloween-headtorch-run-hampstead-91d1a716-63e8-4785-8a51-376d43bdf009

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Caledonian Park Junior parkrun Half Term Holiday Help

On Sunday 30th November, the lovely event directors of junior parkrun in Caledonian Park have asked if any of our Goodgym crew would be available to help with course marshalling, time keeping, tail walking or barcode scanning for their free weekly timed run for 4-14 year old runners. Volunteer numbers from parents and usual assistants tend to be down due to the half term break, so any help would be awesome!

https://www.goodgym.org/happenings/volunteer-at-caledonian-junior-parkrun-half-term-help-b670c7e2-0349-494a-9129-de06bbc8ca2d

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Penn Road Gardens Volunteer Open Morning

After Junior parkrun, the resident volunteers of Penn Road Gardens will be hosting their monthly open morning for composting, mulching and garden maintenance near Holloway Road. A wonderful way to spend a Sunday morning with a potential Goodgym double task!

https://www.goodgym.org/happenings/penn-road-gardens-open-morning-october