Hoes at the ready

Last night, Hackney's first GoodGym run (a gentle 6km in total) started from Coffee Is My Cup of Tea to Rectory Road community allotments.

It was a grand start on a grand evening. One by one the GoodGym team gathered. A few familiar faces and a lot of new ones popped their heads through the cafe door to be warmly welcomed by Ade, the run leader and new Hackney branch coordinator. Spirits and banter were lively, with people making their own introductions, chatting about their day, weekend and running adventures. So with the sun still in the sky we ran to our mission.

We weaved our way along a gem of a green route - through London Fields, alongside St John at Hackney Church gardens, through Clapton Square and Hackney Downs. We arrived, still nattering away, to Barnabie (an allotment holder and local resident) and a fine line of hoes and gloves.

Our brief was given, and we got straight into it. We were tasked with weeding the long access path for the allotments. So armed with our tools, in pairs, we went to work.

Barnabie peppered the session with sound bites about the history of the allotment and the different types of veg grown by local residents. Fine baby carrots, strong spinach and chard, plenty potatoes and juicy small tomatoes. He highlighted how their veg tasted way better than the veg from supermarkets!

As dusk descended we carried on - digging, wedding and collecting and removing the debris. Before leaving Barnabie thanked us, and he spoke about the importance of our work at the allotment. He talked about GoodGym's involvement and help clearing the heavily overgrown plots over a year ago. He told us that our continuing support was important to help encourage new residents to join in and start growing their own.

Satisfied with the clear path, we packed up and did a series of dynamic back and leg stretches before the run back to base. As we trotted along it was good to hear people still chatting. Back at Coffee Is My Cup of Tea we celebrated our first completed task with a decent round of well deserved stretches.