By George, Thistle Make all the Difference to Wanstead

On a warm and pleasant summer's evening, 15 Goodgym Heroes got involved in the Great Get Together and removed grass seed heads and removed rubbish with Wanstead Community Gardeners and ran 6km in the process.

It was a joyous occasion at GG Redbridge last night with a number of runners joining the regular group from other areas (thanks Dharmesh) and Momoko doing her first 'proper' run after join the Fun to Do Good run two weeks ago. Soooo great to have big numbers like this and welcome everyone.

With the briefing done and a reminder about the Goodgym Olympics from Captain Dharmesh, the group soon made the short trip to the 'Apple Pie Bed' to meet with Marian, the wonderful woman who organises Wanstead Community Gardeners and is largely responsible for the amazing flower beds that make Wanstead High Street look so spectacular at this time of year.

We've been working with Marian on the 'Apple Pie Bed' next to the George Pub for the past few years planting bulbs and removing litter. However, a request has been put in to the council to dig up the entire bed so it can be properly planted as it is somewhat overrun with weeds. While plans are afoot the issue is that if the grass seeds are allowed to shed then it will be impossible to get on top of the new grass growth post the Council's work. Step in Goodgym Redbridge.

Armed with secateurs, gloves and strong arms, half the group began clipping grass while the other half removed litter from the flower beds around the station. If that wasn't enough, Vicky and Jenny also worked on a small patch to remove seed heads and give it a spruce up.

45 minutes of hard work and the job was done, Marian was beaming and the group were off down the road to warm up before a high five fartlek session. This has become a winter staple for the group but with extra numbers is was great to work together to build aerobic endurance and work on pacing during a tough 25 minute session.

With the tasks done, 6km in the bag and some easy stretching it was time for a rare trip to The George for a celebratory pint. Well done to all that rocked up and got involved. If you fancy joining us next week, click on the link on the right of this report!