22 Goodgymers ran 5km to help Alara and Cecil Sharp House

Welcome along to Hristo whose first time it was last night!

In the news this week:

1. Come along to our 5th birthday party tonight at the Skip Garden - please sign up asap!
2. Join Frances and Graham for a long run and pizza on Saturday on the April Long Run.
3. The GG Olympics has been announced for Saturday 30th June - come along and represent Camden.

After a quick dynamic warm up we headed to some of our favourite tasks for our birthday week.

Cecil Sharp Report by FP:

10 of us went to Cecil Sharp House for our regular mission to help Susannah with the garden. This week she was looking to get the lawn looking green and healthy ready for summer weddings.

Forking around!

Our task was to use forks to create rows of holes in the lawn, which Susannah would then rake over and add seeds and fertiliser. It was a tough job but we just about covered the lawn in holes before heading off.

Alara Report by PB:

After only a 1km run we were at Alara Wholefoods to help look after the garden and Kings Cross Orchard Project.

Our tasks were as follows:

1. Pulling and shovelling a huge compost pile away from the wall as it's making the building damp.
2. Weeding and clearing the orchards around the back.
3. Clearing 7 huge plant pots of ivy and weeds. Plus litter picking the area!
4. Planting pumpkin and bean seeds in little pots.
5. Cutting back a tree and collected up the branches to be put on a fire.

Well done all great work. As a reward Alex gave us each some muesli - yum! On our way to the canal we witnessed a bike thief being chased by the police - was a bit crazy! There was a lot of chat after this of how we could become crime fighters and call ourselves the muesli squad haha

Muesli Squad

After a 2km run on the canal we did our monthly time trial around Granary Square - speedy peeps!

Sign up for next week when we'll be leafleting for the farm and helping Groundwork!

PB out

37 Goodgymers ran 7km and helped Grounded Ecotherapy at the Southbank Centre

Spring has sprung and last night was set to be a task to remember, our second visit to the Southbank Centre this month!

Welcome along to newbies Simeon and Alysson - lovely to have you along.

In the news this week:

1. Next Wednesday we are meeting at the Somers Town Coffee House instead of the Living Centre as it's closed for Easter.
2. The date for the GoodGym Olympics has been announced - 30th June. Camden won last year and we'll be looking to retain the trophy - get signed up!
3. Don't forget we are having our 5th birthday party at Skip Garden on 12th April - pizza, bake off and BYOB. Sign up ASAP please :)

Onto to what we actually did last night, after a quick warm up we headed south - through Russell Square, Holborn, passed Somerset House and across Waterloo Bridge to the Southbank Centre. The Thames looked beautiful as the sun was setting over it.

We were helping the fantastic charity Grounded Ecotherapy who say this about themselves: We offer recovery for people and places. We create thriving green spaces from neglected urban environments. Our members have extensive knowledge and skills in horticulture. Joining Grounded Ecotherapy helps members who have suffered mental health, substance misuse issues or experience of homelessness, to get back on their feet.

Once we'd all arrived, we climbed the yellow stairs of the Southbank Centre and got the task going, splitting into groups we covered the following:

• Moved a big and small spikey ball!
• We laid top soil over the ground where turf will be rolled out later this week.
• A team of four raked the laid out soil - smoothing it over
• Pickers collected up rocks, sticks and debris from the laid soil.
• Over the other side of the rooftop a team laid a base of pebbles and covering in some planters before filling them with soil

Tough Mudder

As the sun set our paced quickened and we got tons done. Finishing off with a rush to fill the planters all hands were on it!

After a group picture and a thanks to the Grounded Ecotherapy team we headed into the night back home. Check out Grounded's thank you message for last night's work to us here

Sign up for next week here when we'll be off to help Scope Charity Shop in Camden for a NEW TASK!

PB out.

27 GoodGymers ran between 4-6km to help three tasks in Camden - Cecil Sharp House, C4WS & American International Church!

Welcome along to Linda, Lizzy and Kara whose first time it was last night - lovely to have you join us!

In the news this week:

1. Well done to Sarah Rajabalee whose 50th Good Deed it was last night, she's been coming to GoodGym Camden since March 2016, has ran half marathons and contributed massively to Camden being a better place!
2. On 12th April we are going to Skip Garden for our 5th Birthday Party - see details here - gonna be fun!
3. So you know how last week was the biggest task of the year, well BIGGEST TASK OF THE YEAR Part Two will be on Wednesday 28th March lifting the turf for Southbank Rooftop - sign up here - need 50 people please!

Right last night we had three amazing tasks, helping three amazing charities:

1. Cecil Sharp House - monthly gardening trip
2. C4WS - making beds for the homeless
3. Skip Garden - moving logs for this amazing organisation

Cecil Sharp Report by Katherine:

Frances led a group of 8 to our monthly task at Cecil Sharp. The group headed into the walled garden to work on the patio, trim a bush and tidy the lawn. Unfortunately the wind meant the lawn had to be done a second time due to the leaves being blown everywhere...”did we not get all the leaves in the Autumn?”.

ALPS

The group then headed up to Primrose Hill to take on the ALPS (Arms, Legs, Posture and “Surprise, you’re going up the hill a fourth time”). After a quick stop at the top for the view, the group headed back with their improved running technique.

C4WS limerick by taskforce (led by Kat):

There once were 8 runners from Camden

They ran in pairs, not tandem

They made beds at speed

To get their good deed

8 runners, all women from Camden

Skip Garden Report by PB:

A group of 10 of us headed to Skip Garden to help Global Generation with a people power task, meeting Gwen between the fairy lights we split into three teams to move a ton of logs - movers, draggers and stackers.

Armed with good will, trollies and wheelbarrows we got the task done in no time! Imagine how long that would have taken one person!

Band Work!

Saying our goodbyes to Gwen we did a lap of Granary Square before doing some conditioning, including - step ups, tri-dips, squats, jump-squats, single-leg squats, resistance band work, planks and mountain climbers.

Once Rosie's group has joined us we did a quick fitness session of x3 90 seconds, accelerating your speed with 30 seconds to go! Boom!

Next week we are helping Sheltered Housing, leafleting for the Farm and making beds for the last time this year!

PB out.

What a night in Hounslow. Not only are we growing (hurrah, more of you to run with), but we had our first social thanks to the lovely Waterman's Art Centre who gave us some tickets after we did some tasks for them, and the lovely Jo, who organised it. Thanks both! Welcome to the group Rafal and Gosia and welcome back Giacomo!

After some chocolate biscuits and a chat about our racing weeks, we made our way outside to warm up. During some dynamic exercises which tested our reflexes both mental and physical, we discussed what we would send to room 101, never to be seen again. From moths, wasps and spiders, to large umbrellas, buggies, drizzle, and overcrowding, it was perhaps Adam who summed it up for all of us, when he said he would banish foolishness. Excellent idea.

In a decidedly unfoolish fashion, we set off for our task tonight at Strand on the Green primary school.It was a very nippy run down because we only had to go a short distance, so in no time at all we arrived at the school and were faced with electric gates and the code we had been given. In what was like an episode of the Crystal Maze, we got the code right, and as the gates creaked open we found a pile of tools and gloves waiting for us. Our job tonight was to clear a very overgrown conservation area and tidy up a lot of clippings, moving the whole lot to the compost heap across the field. Wasting no time, we hopped to it, accompanied by some tunes to keep us motivated.

Back and forth went the trailer carrying pile after pile of weeds and branches, Remy's secateurs were given the test of their life, and Jo found the world's largest slug. Before long the areas were looking much clearer and tidier - check out the before and after photos (and thanks for the reminders, team!).

With the school field to ourselves we decided to take advantage and do our fitness session there. After a few rounds of games including Clusters, British Bulldog and knee fencing, we set off on our first sprint around the playground. But where did Adam go? Then we smashed out some strengthening drills including squat holds and planks, before attempting to beat our times on the sprint the second time around. There was some excellent running from the gang, who all beat their first times.

While the advance party set off for Waterman's, the rest of us took a speedy run back to the starting point and finished off the night with some stretches, before some of us took ourselves off for Hounslow's first social. Same again soon please!

A great night of doing some real good and getting some proper fit! Way to go, Hounslow, you are all fantastic. Sign up [here[ (https://www.goodgym.org/happenings/friends-of-cathja) to take the slow out of Hounslow. Or something.