Six delightful GoodGymmers hit the streets of Hounslow last night to run and continue clearing up at Ealing Baptist Church. The Church does lots of good work including serving as a homeless shelter during winter months.

We had Simon and Graham from Islington, Alex from Ealing, and Hounslow regulars Andy, Olivia and Leanne.

After a 2.5k jog we arrived at the church to see work had been in full flow and Roger, the minister, had lashings of Ginger Beer to keep us hydrated while working.

We started by shifting a pile of bags and mattresses upstairs. Then we moved stacks of chairs around (carefully positioned so they would not be spied by the congregation), before finally checking out the basement and removing some debris, including the world's heaviest mini pool table, and having a bit of a sweep up.

Post-task, Roger had a special treat for us. He had gone to the trouble of preparing four chicken and rice dishes to take home for dinner. Roger was previously a chef and it was delicious. There was talk of goat curry for next visit in two weeks' time.....

On the journey home we stopped for a relay time trial. 1 minute 39 was the time. Hmmm, not bad. But how can we improve? Some great suggestions including stretching things out a bit with "open the gate", warming up a bit with high knees and star jumps and practising our standing starts. The second time trial proved beyond a doubt that it's worth preparing because we set a new record of 1:28. There you go.

Great work everybody. It's a trip to Bridgelink Centre next week. It's a long one, so bring your oyster card!

See you there,
Simon

13 Goodgymers run to St Johns Green for 2 tasks

Happy New Year! There was a bustle of excitement in the entrance of Leisure World on Wednesday night, as after a 2 week hiatus, Goodgym was back.

Yay!

We were especially honoured to have Gillian join us from London and she talked about getting mission verified, Coach running, and showed us a map where the waiting coaches live to encourage someone nearby to sign up to coach running.

And, Michelle returned. Congratulations to her on her house move and exams.

In expectation of the new year rush, I had 2 tasks prepared for us this evening.

#1 Planting Bulbs for Colchester in Bloom #2 Delivering Letters for CoHoC

As its so cold, having a task outdoors is a bit of a challenge, so those who didn’t want to get too cold opted to deliver posters, and Naomi, Tav and Chris got loads delivered all around St John’s Green.

The rest of us were planting bulbs and clearing rubbish and leaves from two ‘garden’ sections at the St John’s Green entrance of the underpass beneath Southway. We had LOADs of bulbs that had been donated by Colchester Castle Park.

25 minutes later and we regrouped having planted lots of bulbs, that we really hoped weren’t garlic, and delivered at least 150 posters.

We made sure to show all the joys of Colchester to Gillian, so a brisk run past the top of the High Street Elephants for some hill reps on North hill. Just 3 reps to ease us into new year before making our way back to Leisure World.

Thanks to Rosie for coming up with the bloomin' marvellous title

Our next Group run is a parkrun and Goodgym this Saturday, where we will be litter picking for RiverCare in and around Castle park. Please meet me by the bandstand to register your attendance from 9:30 - If you think you won’t have finished parkrun by 9:45, please show up early to parkrun so you can sign in before running. And sign up HERE

12 Goodgymmers run 5km to Emmaus Colchester to sort their clothing display

Colchester GoodGym Gang gathered on a mild but drizzly evening which was to lead to a satisfying mission at the Emmaus Warehouse. This evening we were joined by Kirstie for her maiden GoodGym adventure. Angela welcomed and briefed the group on the running order for our session and after our warm up routine, the ‘Tremendous Twelve’ headed out on our way through Kings Meadow.

The rain which arrived late afternoon made for a slippery run through the paths coated in Autumn leaves and dodging the puddles in the dark added to the fun. We made our way up North Hill, re-grouping by the elephants at the top, then continuing on towards Emmaus. John and Paul who both work at Emmaus during the week explained the layout of the warehouse, leading us through an Aladin’s Cave of furniture, books, pictures and more. To say it was like a scene from Cash in the Attic is an understatement and it would have been no surprise to have had David Dickenson pop up!

We climbed the stairs to the upper floor where all the clothing, shoes and accessories are stored. Our prime aim was to help create a semblance of order which would result in a clothing section which looked appealing and inviting for customers to shop. We had our work cut out when faced with many piles of items and bags of mixed clothing which needed sorting into Gents, Ladies, Kids as well as those pieces which were never ‘gonna cut the cloth’ and would be destined for the reject pile.

To tackle our mission we worked in two groups, one group doing the initial screening, the other tidying and sorting the existing hanging rails. A few of the group couldn’t resist modelling some pieces, Tav taking a shine to a blue dress and Steve was drawn to a floral shirt. Helen did well in getting a hold on the footwear area. Together we made an impact, agreeing that a return mission would be beneficial.

The return leg to Leisure World included a ‘Hump Day hill drill’ workout. Angela gave the group tips on the best technique to tackle this and Tommy and Tav enjoyed a competitive race to the top. All in all this was a thoroughly enjoyable mix of running and retail medicine. What’s not to like? We covered a 5k distance overall but knowing we’d made a difference together, sent us on our way home smiling that we’d done well. Same time, same place next week GoodGymers to blitz the leaves at St Leonards. Sign up here

Run Report by Sue Foley