Mulch to do, but we did it in 40 minutes!

That's two weeks in a row, we had a newbie. This time, Sam greeted Oliver as he claimed his first good deed. He mentioned that he was new in town and wanted to get involved. Kudos on you, Oliver! We welcomed all the other runners as they came in; from Nelly to Gemma and then Daryl until finally, Louise came running from Brockley station. Sam knew he would meet Magda at the task, so he got stuck into delivering his intro GoodGym speech for Oliver before everyone went out to warm-up in the alleyway for the warm-up (although, Sam did promise it would be the first warm-up on the Green...).

Sam had not one, but three ice-breaker questions tonight, he asked: What challenges do you want to do? (after his 106k Ultra over the weekend), Who is your favourite Star Wars character? (as it was going to be Star Wars Day on Thursday) and/or Any well wishes to King Charles III? (since it's his coronation on Saturday)

Louise started us off with asking the King to give up some of his wealth (if not all). This was a sentiment that was echoed by Daryl who went further by saying abolish the monarchy. Nelly likes Princess Leia from Star Wars. Gemma would like to do a skydive as a challenge and Oliver would love to run a marathon someday. Sam finished off the round by answering all three questions: he would like to do another Ultra (100k), but a flat one, he likes Baby Yoda and he wishes the King not to have any controversies.

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Daryl and Magda at the wheel

Our uphill 3k run from Old Spike to Elmington Estate took us 20 minutes as Daryl back marked to ensure no one got left behind. We arrived just as Magda was looking for us. After a few minutes and Instagram messages, Peter showed up with wheelbarrows and shovels. There were two big tasks for the team.

Peter showed Sam where the two tasks were as the team filled up the first two wheelbarrows.

Once Sam had a sense of the tasks, he split the group into two. Daryl, Louise and Magda were "team mulch" as they went back and forth to the woodchip pile to get mulch and distribute it over two beds that we helped plant last summer.

The second team were "team weeding" and this consist of Gemma, Nelly and Oliver as they went to a third bed on Southampton Row to pull part the weeds and leave the tulips and other precious flowers.

Sam ran in-between these groups to get photos and to check up on everyone, but once "team mulch" were done with their mulching on bed 1 and 2, they took two wheelbarrows worth for "team weeding".

That was all that could be done as we had reached 20:00! So, we just brought back the tools before running back to Old Spike.

Since it was the first Wednesday of the month, everyone apart from Magda and Oliver went to "The Montpellier" for a drink and food!

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Thank You to all the GG-ers

A personal thanks from me to all those who came out tonight! It was well coordinated as we split the group in half and I hope everyone had enough to do and more importantly, that is was enjoyable. We will be back as there's more beds dotted around the estate that need similar treatment, but this will be done next month. A warm welcome again to Oliver. You were very friendly and I hope we were accommodating. Hope to see you again soon!

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Thank You Peter

GoodGym is all about getting fit and doing good! We praise the runners/cyclists/walkers who come to get fit and help out, but we often forget about our task owner. I would like to take this opportunity to thank Peter who came out and welcomed us with wheelbarrows and shovels as we were meant to meet Zulieka, who had to take care of her twins. We'll be back in June to help out again!