Totally worth the bramble!

16 GoodGymers travelled 5km in seek of their fairytale ending with the brambles at Gunnersbury Park

Back in the faraway land of Chiswick, while Senior Supervisor Ana was away sleeping, the evil stepmother Beth took control of 16 GoodGymers wearing matching red and black shirts, with a GG logo that had an uncanny resemblance to a mirrored recycling symbol. They got through the warm-up unscathed, despite the dastardly number exercise challenge. You could feel the tension in the air before they set off as the poisonous Corona cloud was hanging over everyone’s head. After a few elbow pumps and the recommended hand wash it was time to go.

The next challenge facing the intrepid GoodGymers was the battle of the level crossing barriers – while they might be GoodGym colours (red and white), that’s where the friendliness stops. Forced to wait until the crossing was clear, we got a few strange looks with our wall-sits, until the moment the barriers lifted and we were able to sprint off in a shot, heading in the direction of Gunnersbury Park.

Towards the end of our journey we made a brief stop at the front of Acton Town Underground station to treat the commuters to the sight of our fierce squats, as ordered by Beth. Once everyone had caught up, we sped up through the home stretch and arrived at the mighty gates of Gunnersbury Park, which were unlocked by the trusty padlocksman, Andy. We made our way down the dark moody lanes to the Haunted Shed of tools, wheelbarrows (including one with a perturbing squeak) and headtorches coming on one-by-one.

Once we’d selected our tools (weapons) of choice, we entered the gates of the bramble kingdom where Beth and her fellow thorn stars had to contend with their challenging foe once again. It has been a battle that has seemed to be never ending, so I’ll try not to bramble on any longer.

Cast as the not-so-evil woodcutter/huntsman, David’s sheer hard work created a deep man cave – was he in search of Aladdin’s lamp? Alas, just the remains of a brick wall with a door to nowhere. Andy and Matt played tug-of-war with some particularly fierce competition as poor Remy got caught in the crossfire.

If you go down in the woods today, you're sure of a big surprise, if you go down in the woods today, you'd better not go alone, the brambles are overgrown but they’re being overthrown! Jen lumberjacked-up and went on a rampage using her secateurs like an axe, chopping up lots of wood like Jamie Vardy scores goals (boo hiss Villa!).

Despite the hive of activity in the dark and eerie park they managed to avoid raking up any wild beasts as they chopped it like’s it hot!

But our work was cut short by evil stepmother Beth who wouldn’t allow us to stay in the brambles all night. We had to leave before turning into pumpkins! With a big heave ho we got on the four heavy bramble-filled bags out of the bramble kingdom and padlocksman, Andy locked up the gates until our next adventure.

The bramble elves began their speedy run back, dreaming of the pub and Thai food, only to be rudely interrupted by the level crossing barriers which managed to split the group in half.

We’d been Brave tonight…we didn’t fly but we chased the wind and touched the sky! We finished our fairytale session by embracing our inner Cinderella, Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, Belle, Rapunzel, Pochahontas, Ariel, Merida, Moana and all of the Spice Girls (#girlpower) to celebrate International Women’s Day.

And as they always do on a Wednesday evening, they all lived happily ever after....in the pub. The end.

Shoutouts 📣

Big well done to Matt and Eloise for completing the Cambridge Half, with a few bonus miles thrown in at the beginning! And to Jon for completing the Hertfordshire & Middlesex Cross Country at the weekend.

Have I got news for you...

1. International Women's Day #IWD 🙋 - This week (not next! 🙈) GoodGym are celebrating International Women's Day and encouraging all groups to strike the #EachforEqual pose.

2. Coronavirus (COVID-19) - Please read GoodGym's current guidelines here 🦠📝. At the moment, all GoodGym activities are carrying on as normal but will be updated as the situation progresses. REMEMBER...Catch it. Bin it. Kill it! 🗑️

3. Race volunteers needed 🏁 - Volunteer at adidas City Runs: 1 hour - Sunday 5th April and Hackney Half Aid Station Volunteering - Sunday 17th May.

Next week, your amazing and lovely trainer, Ana will be back! She'll be leading you ("you will be leading her") to an exciting NEW TASK at a local school where you will be building raised beds, please sign up here. Thanks for tonight team! 🙌 Have a lovely rest of your week and weekend 😊.