It was the day before Star Wars day, so the Force was strong today with the runners - although disappointingly no-one arrived dressed as either Darth Vader or a StormTrooper...to be fair it's a (nearly) fifty year old film, which probably ages me more than today's youthful participants...

Run Director Rue was determined to put a little more structure into today's set up - so we had a specific area for the barcode scanners and then, interestingly, he'd laid out cones in a double rectangle "for the warm up" - which proved successful as long as you paid close attention to the instructions.

Grateful for the "volunteer parents" who stepped in at the last minute to don the high viz, and helped by an increasing number of DoE pupils on finish tokens, timekeeping and barcode scanning duties, we were good to go on the dot - Hilary was at her regular Turn 1 spot, and Nick on timekeeping duty.

8 and a little bit minutes later (the Force was strong with this one), our first placer crossed the line, closely followed three seconds later by our regular visitor from Milton Keynes - and soon a steady stream were sprinting down the sunny finishing straight, with this week's tailwalker, Maria who'd come all the way from West London (thank you) and then set off to walk back to Hounslow, crossing the line to complete another successful week of running at the Fields - 12 PBs were set today, just over a quarter of the field. Great work all round.

Same time next week under the Big Tree, where the Force will continue to be strong...

5 Goodgymers descended upon Andrews Street on a sunny Saturday morning: Chloe walked along the canal, arriving first on the scene, Chris cycled, John,Hilary and Lucinda jogged together after completing Mile End parkrun at varying speeds.

We were greeted by task owner Geraldine, fellow gardener Keith, and chickens (!). Huge excitement at there being chickens. We gradually met the rest of the friendly gardening crew as they arrived one by one. Greening Brownfield community garden sits on old tennis courts and is a green, wildlife oasis in the middle of Poplar. Geraldine pointed out a large urn which is home to great tits, who return year after year. Wrens also nest somewhere in the garden. Magical.

Some of the raised beds had become structurally comprised owing to flimsy bases. The task, therefore, was to shovel the soil out of these beds, saw the legs off, and shovel the soil back in. Bags, spades and forks were helpfully provided to aid us in our mission.

Chris wins the shovelling innovation award for sweeping soil backwards with a spade through a gap in one of the beds, direct into a bag.

Sawing experience was gained by all. The chickens clucked away in approval. There were surprise potatoes (no-one knew who had planted them). This task really had it all.

It was a bright evening along the Greenway as the GoodGym crew headed out to the orchard for a session that turned out to be equal parts gardening, community engagement, and bramble‑based acrobatics.

The orchard team had set us loose on a particularly tangled patch, and the brambles did not intend to go quietly. There were vines looping through branches, weaving into fences, and generally behaving like they’d signed a long‑term tenancy agreement. But the group got stuck in with enthusiasm — and only occasionally got stuck on the brambles. We also had a steady stream of curious passers‑by stopping to ask what we were up to. Several people showed real interest in the Orchard as well as GoodGym and idea of combining fitness with community action. If even a couple of them sign up, that orchard might have more helping hands very soon.

A special shout‑out goes to our visiting GoodGymer, Catherine from Cambridge — it was brilliant having you with us, and we’d love to welcome you back any time you’re in town.

Meanwhile, Adam took on one bramble root system with the determination of someone reenacting an epic battle scene. At one point it wasn't clear whether the root or the gardening fork was going to give way first. But victory was eventually claimed, and the root was defeated with honour.

By the end of the session, the orchard was looking clearer, the brambles were significantly less smug, and the team left with that satisfying post‑task glow that only comes from doing good together. Nice sunset too.