Marathon week had arrived and the buzz was in the air from the very start — excitement, some nerves, and plenty of discussion about Sunday’s big event. If you’re around, come join us to cheer — it’s one of the best days of the year!

Last night we headed out in both walk and run groups towards the allotments in Chiswick, where our friends at Wild Chiswick had plenty lined up for us. We had a great turnout, so with all hands on deck and no shortage of jobs, we got stuck in.

There was watering to be done, a leaky pipe system to wrestle with, raised beds that needed weeding (carefully avoiding the fragrant mint plants), trees to be planted, and even the construction of a dead hedge. Everyone found a task and got moving quickly all set in beautiful surroundings. We even had a very friendly duck who was there to oversee our activities (hope there were no anatidaephobics there last night...).

Despite the season, it was surprisingly chilly — though the good news is that there are perfect conditions expected for those gearing up for the weekend’s races.

Good luck to all our marathoners taking on Sunday, to Florian heading to Hamburg for the half marathon, and of course to everyone getting their parkrun fix. A proper weekend of racing lies ahead, built on the back of a great evening of doing good together.

Same time next week — we’ll be back at Chiswick House!

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. 🍕