GoodGym Ealing's first group run to the Polygon, linked to St Mary's church, took each of the runners back to their childhood. Waiting outside, they wondered what they'd find inside and thought about memories from when they were little.

"[The toys] will probably be sticky" - Freya

They were welcomed by task owner Wei Hei, who introduced them to the jobs for this evening. There were tiny chairs to clean, there were small kitchen toys to be washed and there were big puzzles to be solved. Each big kid chose the task that they would enjoy the most.

Harvey and Freya took the tiny chairs outside into the sun to scrub them down and let them dry. They were careful to not use too little, nor too much detergent as they were warned. Too much would lead to an explosion of bubbles that couldn't be rinsed away, but the pair got it just right.

Conor and Jo went into the adult sized kitchen to wash the play kitchen equipment, cleaning plates, toasters and slices of pizza. By the time they were done, the plastic food was ready to be chewed on again by the children.

The final group was bigger. Maria and Chris, who made achieving his 💯th good deed look like child's play, were preparing play bags to give out during church services. They were filled with fun toys that were also quiet toys, which would keep children entertained while the adults were busy. Each bag contained a toy, a puzzle, a book and a jigsaw. Next to them, Kash and Sevan were sorting through a jumble of toys that had already been played with, getting them ready for Maria and Chris to pack, ready for another child to enjoy.

The team blitzed through all of the tasks, having a lot of fun along the way. They left Wei Hei very grateful for what they'd achieved.

"You've done more that I could have imagined."
"Thank you!" - Wei Hei

As they did such a great job, a return visit may be on the cards when the plastic pizza slices feel a bit sticky again. 🍕

A week after the Walpole Park tree whips mulching, we were back to... Walpole Park for more tree whips mulching! Sounds repetitive? Sometimes the tasks may feel similar. You may be on the 9874th shovelful of woodchip in your GoodGymming career. Or doing the 79th wheelbarrow run this year. But you show up. There will be a different set of GoodGymers, different chats, different weather, and different challenges. You find freedom in the routine. You know that that session is a part of your week, fortnight, or month, and you will feel better than if you'd stayed at home.

Who knows that better than tonight's hero, Harvey, who has just reached the amazing 1000 good deeds? In fact, 1003 good deeds, as Harvey wouldn't stop just because he hit the highest official milestone at GoodGym! In the last 8 or 9 years, Harvey had been consistently present at group runs and community missions, not only in Ealing but across the whole of London. As a GoodGym run leader, he's been leading social runs and epic warm-ups at flagship Ealing races, connecting us with the local running community and encouraging new generations of runners through volunteering at junior parkruns and the Ealing Mile. Congratulations on your impressive milestone, Harvey!

Chris, James, Sevan, Steph Ducat and Kash were at Walpole Park to celebrate Harvey's achievement and, of course, do some woodchipping. With experience from the week before and an extra pair of hands on the team, they finished the mulching task more quickly and completed the entire section of planted whips along the southeast path of the park. Top quality work, everyone! No more woodchipping needed ahead. Well, until our session in Lammas Enclosure in two weeks! Sign up now!

Walpole Park has been a frequent GoodGymming spot throughout December and January due to its seemingly endless supply of matter that needs shifting from place A to place B! The February session was no different, with an objective to mulch the newly planted tree whips along the park’s easternmost path.

Five Ealing GoodGymers, who met at the Tuesday group run, enjoyed the first evening of the year, which felt as if spring was just around the corner. No freezing fingers, no wind, no rain - well, if you don’t count the puddles remaining after the filming in Walpole Park earlier in the day. The film shoot involved pipes hung from the trees along the main alley to make fake rain, quite ironically, on the second rainless day of 2026 in London.

Chris, Freya, Sevan, Steph and Kash used their superhuman senses (and head torches) to locate the whips planted around an imposing plane tree in the dark. The stems were thinner than a little finger and easy to miss. The team had to be extra careful when wheelbarrowing mulch from a nearby woodchip pile to the end of the path, and not stomp on the whips. Survival of the fittest is not GoodGym’s motto after all. Buckets came in handy when carrying woodchip to the furthest areas to mulch.

The park was quiet and peaceful, apart from lively chats about travels and shrieks of foxes having fun in the bushes. The team covered the section of planted whips leading to the plane tree and around it. A few other nearby planted areas remained woodchip-free, but we’re keen to give it another try next week!

It was another busy day at Pitshanger Junior parkrun, with plenty of runners, volunteers and 7 GoodGymers in total. It was great to see Chris back at one of our tasks after a bit of a break and she was marshalling along with Maria. Chris is not be confused with Chris who was one of many funnel managers.

The first of the 119 finishers was timed at a hair over 7 minutes by Sevan, which is rather speedy. There was more drama to come at the other end of the field as the last runner (let's call her Joan for the sake of the pun) collected an army of hi-vis clad troops in her wake. They included many Duke of Edinburgh marshals and tailwalkers Kash, Steph and Angela, who got up early to attend her first GoodGym session. Welcome Angela! 🥳👏🙌

Joan's poorly camouflaged army marched towards the funnel and stopped just short. There was a stand off, with everyone in the funnel wanting Joan to peacefully cross the line and Joan being a bit grumpy and threatening at the gates. Eventually, Joan's army was dispersed and her mum convinced her to complete the 2km and collect the last finish token. Disaster averted for another week.