On your Marks, get set, GO!

Last night was my last ever run as leader of the mighty GoodGym Lambeth. It was also a very fun evening full of excellent people - much like every other run I have led over the last three years. What a privilege!

It was just lovely to see runners from all over coming along for the ride - we headed off to help the Remakery, a brilliant space that saves unwanted materials from landfill and also trains people in how to remake / upcycle / create new things from them. They needed help moving loads of bits of wood that are unable to be reused to the back so they can get taken away. Then we moved other things from the front making area to the back storage area. It's always a fun space to visit and we look forward to being back soon!

On arrival back at base, it was time for a party and so off we went to a mystery location, which turned out to be the Effra Social. Everyone ordered food but there were so many of us that they closed the kitchen for 20 minutes but we didn't need to fear as David had got his pastry chef to make us the most delicious chocolate brownie that was basically an arm workout just to cut it! It was DELICIOUS!

Thank you pastry chef!

After that, John H and Steve ran a really excellent quiz, which was mainly about me so of course I enjoyed it! There were some excellent facts and even a round about people wearing red wellies. It was also noted that I use a lot of exclamation marks in my weekly emails!!!!!!!!!!!

They'd also put together a film with lots of people saying Goodbye, which was just great and I think you can watch that here. THEN I got some lovely gifts - and they really are great. A red Welly! A card painted by Tim the artist! Some tiny baby grows with GG on them! Some tiny red New Balance trainers! A whole box full of Shit Prize of the Month 'goodies'! Plus the lovely Frances knitted a wee jumper as well, with wings on the back!

It was all amazing!

What lovely things and how lucky I am. Thanks everyone. It was now time to make it through some kind of speech and I did some rambling but I hope it made sense. Here's some things that I hope I said and if I didn't here they are again:

I started running with GoodGym in January 2014 and have been on a run at least once a month since then. That's a long time and probably the most committed I have ever been to anything (Realisation hit at this point that my best friend and husband were both in the room!) Living in London you have lots of things thrown at you all the time and it's such a freeing thing to have something that you commit to. That you can just turn up week in, week out and say no to everything else. That no matter how you're feeling you can just come along, see some good people, get some exercise in and do something that makes a small contribution to the area that you live. That's what GoodGym has been for me and I feel very lucky and grateful to have found it.

I went to the second ever Lambeth run and Alex and James KB were there too. I married one of them in the end and the other is now a great pal! Beth started coming, then John H and Tom B and Nelly. George Bright joined and Steve and Jay and it just kept rolling on. The more people that joined and stuck around, the bigger and more welcoming Lambeth became. Drunkenly at GoodGym's 5th Birthday Party, Alex told us about this race in Wales where you go up against an old steam train. We committed to going the next year - everything is a great idea when you're drunk! But go we did. 40 of us from all over London plus a healthy Bristol contingent took on that steam train in a weekend in August 2015 - and so the first GoodGym away trip was born.

When former trainer and all round excellent lady Rebecca Cox finished in 2016, she said she thought I should take over as trainer. It was the support of this brilliant group of friends, who gave their backing to that idea, that meant I had the courage to do it. I would never have thought this would be something I could do and it's testament to GoodGym that they allow members of the community to develop in this way. Since then, I've led so many runs and had so many adventures. The best is when runners start who have never really put on trainers before and then they dip their toes into races and before you know it, they're signed up to a marathon and running loads. I love that and I love that GoodGym will back you regardless of your time, your background, your situation. It's just running and if you want to give it a go, then we've got you!

I have to extend the most enormous and heartfelt thank yous to everyone who has been a member of my taskforce and all the run leaders who have kept me going and put up with my weekly waffle. Milly, Sarah KB, Steve, John H, Tom H, Alice, Sarah, David, Issy, George C, George B, Nicky, Vix, Jim, Freyja, Lucy, James KB, Tom B, Beth - I hope that's everyone and if not then I mean you too! You all help every week for free, because you're awesome and I appreciate you and think you are great.

And finally to Mark G - who will be a creative and excellent leader and will be just fine because you will all look after him! Good luck and you will have a blast because you are surrounded by excellence all the time!

LAST thanks to all the community groups that we run to every week. Who do fantastic things with such small resources and genuinely make a difference to Lambeth residents all the time. Often in ways we are not aware of or do not understand. What an honour to be able to help you out from time to time with our legs and our arms and our muscles - sometimes even our brains but mainly the other bits.

To Mona - who I ran to for nearly four years and who didn't quite manage to see me run London but who nevertheless helped me get there.

I can't wait to join you all on runs again in a few months when I shall be A CIVILIAN! Keep being brilliant Lambeth. I love you. Katie ***