Pierre of the Transition Ilford Forest Garden team requested GG presence at the Garden so he could appraise us of what is new there and enlist our help. Four of us made our way over to the Garden post parkrun.

Sadly the hot summer and difficulty watering has meant a lot of last years planting didn't go as planned. It is hoped that we might be able to help in future.

In the meantime we were able to assist in taming some of the more robust overgrowth by pulling up some grass and weeds near the fences. James and Katherine cut back a lot of tiny saplings that would stop the existing trees from thriving with Linda piling up the cuttings and Ed built up one of the woven fences.

Pierre sends " thanks for a quick and great job" and is making plans for future tasks.

Time really does seem to fly.... sitting in the evening sunshine awaiting 6.30 and any more people to join us, blink and it is dark!

So it is definitely time to check those head torches, charge them up and/or replace flat batteries.

Kitted out with the usual bits, we set off on our stroll, starting with the WCG planted areas around the station. Usually just a few bits, but this evening quite some rubbish, sadly.

Some of the items not making it into the bags: - sunglasses - reusable drinking cup - baseball cap All left somewhere prominent now so hopefully their owners will retrieve them.

Metal numberplate brought to attention of police, 2x NO2 canister awaiting recycling.

The Goodgym crew were back in full force for the 5th edition of the Camino Ultra London Epping Forest races. We have been lending our help to our fellow runners (over the 25km and 50km distance) since 2021 (the original Lea Valley 50km after lockdown), and we are thrilled to support accessible local grassroots endurance events whenever we can!

https://www.caminoultra.com/

The majority of our team assisted with setting up and managing the Butler's Retreat aid station in Chingford (a few paces away from the Epping Forest tourist information hub). Daz and Simon were up before 6am installing a gazebo, arranging nutrition and food and filling up water canteens for over 500 runners making their way along "The Green Corridor". Half of the runners were running from The Golden Fleece in Wanstead Flats for the classic 50km distance, while the other half were running the equally competitive 25km distance from Epping Cricket Club to Wanstead.

As our first runners reached the aid station, Lorna, Ramón, Emma and James were on hand to help with filling water bottles and providing care for their journeys. Eslam and his lovely family formed a cheer squad near the Butler's Retreat café, and alerted the runners about the upcoming road crossings. It was an absolute blast and a lovely way to catch up with our running friends!

As the day started to draw in, superstars Louise and Sam helped with running the 8.8 miles to Wanstead Flats while removing all of the course markings on route. An essential task (especially for the future of this wonderful race), and left in capable hands. Well done!

Thank you all for your efforts today. Keep your eyes peeled for future tasks at the Camino Ultra London Lea Valley Races on March 2027!