Helen

What happened yesterday morning? Parkrun usually sets Ella and I up for a good Saturday. A nice little buzz, a mildly competitive run and a coffee & cake.

But yesterday shone in a way only Goodgym can! I have been to Sofia, Bucharest, Wandsworth, Ironbridge Coalbrookdale and errmm Chelmsford...and yesterday was equally lovely.

Andy lost his Parkrun virginity with a sub-30 (29.35) effort, Vanessa got a smashing PB of 26.59 showing her running talent at many distances, Frazer and Louise did their first MarksHall Estate Parkrun, Ella got a course PB of 21.23, Stu and Helen concentrated hard in their vital volunteer roles, oh and I ran the wrong way! (lol)

I do not get nervous about running or many things but here is a secret...I was nervous whether people would like the cake I baked. But the chatter, laughter and messing around with a football helped! MarksHall emptied after parkrun and we enjoyed a peaceful picnic with a Woodpecker and House Martins in the sky.

Super morning and a a Great Get Together tribute to Jo Cox for sure.

PS. The report title refers to us, to running the wrong and an awfully ugly pug on the course.

Night of the 10,000m PBs- A volunteer powered annual celebration of 25 lap racing!

After a two year break, the Highgate Harriers Night of the 10,000m PBs is back for 2022!

The event is an annual full day of endurance distance racing with the most competitive runners on the scene. These races have been listed as part of the European 10,000m qualification criteria, so some incredible running will be on show!

The unique element of this event is the overall accessibility for spectators, fellow runners and supporters to come and cheer on our local athletes. The event is completely free, and anyone can come down to watch and be inspired!

Talks, interviews and activities will be scheduled throughout the day and night, with a fully stocked bar and food outlets on offer too. The whole event is a fantastic party for grassroots running!

This is the sign up page for Saturday 14th May, any time between 2pm to closedown at 10pm.

The Highgate Harriers team would be looking for volunteers to assist with moving spectator barriers throughout the races (after the first set of laps, the barriers move to lane 3, so the supporters can be in close proximity to the runners). You will have the best view in the house!

Update- 8th May 2022

The schedule for Night of the 10,000m PBs has been finalised.

Please can you add your availability for volunteering on this spreadsheet:

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1lA69HDfxZOXMQ6qO4mTOT8FbX00f5vZ2xVeD5oVBK5o/edit?usp=drivesdk

It was a beautiful still evening in Castle Park, where we helped dig up all the bedding plants and bulbs, ready for the next lot. Working steadily along the curved bed, we pulled up all the weeds too, giving the soil a tickle as we did so, leaving it in fine condition for the park gardeners. Louise, Phil, Frazer, Stu, Andy, Helen, Pam and Tim did a fantastic job. Colchester in Bloom are continuing the job tomorrow, so do join them if you can!

This morning 7 GoodGymers turned up to support 83 youngsters run 2 km around the Old Heath Rec alongside a number of regular volunteers.

We were really impressed with the effort and speed of the children. 10 of them finished in under 10 minutes, and an impressive 27 achieved a personal best, including a fantastic debut by Freddie.

It was really rewarding to see how much they enjoyed the run and valued the support. Our help was also highly valued by the volunteer coordinator who mentioned that it can be a struggle to get enough volunteers during school holidays, so watch this space for another opportunity to help out in the summer.

P.S. please post a creative title suggestion in the comments and I'll replace the existing one!

Four Goodgymers went to Tollgate and cleaned up! Frazer ran 5k, then set to with sweeping, mopping, hoovering and tidying, Stu swept, mopped, organised and sorted out the lights, Louise cycled 5k then polished, wiped, tidied, and cleaned, and Helen took photos whilst sweeping and mopping! It is both impressive to see the scale of the food bank operation at Tollgate, and sad that it needs to exist in this format. However, we know that our contribution has helped the regular volunteers to keep focused on helping the community, and we are proud to play our small part in their efforts. Thank you to everyone for helping out on a chilly, wet Wednesday evening, you are all brilliant!