7km!! of Leafleting Long Roads & Loads of Good: Supporting Citizens Advice Barnet

It was a cool, crisp evening in East Finchley perfect weather for a purposeful GoodGym group run. This week we teamed up with Citizens Advice Barnet, a charity doing vital, often unseen work supporting people across our borough. Many don’t realise that our local CAB is a standalone fundraising charity, completely reliant on grants and donations to keep offering free advice on debt, housing, benefits, employment issues and more. When people hit crisis, CAB is often the first and only safety net so helping them reach more residents felt especially worthwhile.

We met in the foyer of the Phoenix Cinema, where Louise from CAB (and keen runner!) joined us with a quick intro and a giant stack of freshly printed flyers — 1,000 of them to be exact. Our mission: get as many as possible through local letterboxes to spread the word about their current appeal, which also has a match-funding sponsor doubling any donations. If you’ve got a spare few pennies, this is the moment they go twice as far.

Before setting off, we shared the meanings behind our names from Georges to Louises to those of us named after 60s bands which set a relaxed and cheerful tone for the evening. It was also great to welcome Sonya ( meaning wisdom) , joining us for the first time in awhile!

Beattie took back-marking duties as we warmed up with a gentle jog through the cool East Finchley streets, looping past the station and into the long, straight roads around Brim Hill prime leaflet territory with plenty of front gardens, long driveways, and a fair few tempting glimpses into cosy houses on a November night.

We split into two teams of three and got to work. There’s something uniquely satisfying about a leafleting mission: a rhythm develops, steps rack up fast, you admire (or survive!) people’s front paths, and you always spot an impressive number of parcels on doorsteps.

Despite our best efforts, 1,000 leaflets was a tall order but we managed around 450, which was an excellent push for one evening. We’ll look to return for a follow-up mission to complete the rest.

A big thank you to everyone who came, to Sonia for joining us, and to Louise for bringing the materials and the motivation. Great cause, great company, and a great night.

Ever responsive and happy to help, we were asked by Martin Primary to run over and mulch a new path double time, as the school's winter fair is fast approaching. Although we're booked up solidly, we had a short notice cancellation that freed us up for some emergency TLC in the forest school.

Five of us set off promptly after our usual warm up by the side of the Phoenix. Given the holiday season's fast approach, we shared our favourite seasonal films - from Die Hard to Bad Santa, the classic It's a Wonderful Life and The Grinch that Stole Christmas, to some decidedly offbeat Russian film Beattie couldn't remember the name of (but post in the chat if you do). Great to see Gus joining us, looking eager for the exercise and a chance to sniff out foxes.

Then to the pathing - and boy, what a path! At least 50m of it (not that I measured) needed mulching, all along the side of their courts. We rocked up in short time - so early, John the groundskeeper wasn't even ready for us - and rolled up our metaphorical sleeves because it was pretty cold. John went looking for some extra hands to help us, but the school is so busy with music and yoga classes, no one emerged.

With two wheelie bins and two wheelbarrows, we had plenty of ferrying, shovelling and raking to do. Subham, Beattie and Paul shovelled and barrowed with the rest of us taking shifts, while Lucy and George mostly focused on raking. We started at the far end and slowly spread the mulch back toward the gate into the orchard, without thinking how far we'd get. We fillled a couple of deep holes with mulch as well, working by torchlight along the court's fence.

At ten to 8 we looked up and saw the gate in sight. Seeing we'd nearly reached the goal, we went for it, full speed (well, full care as well!) mulching, tipping and raking until, boom, almost bang on 8pm, we were done!

After a good cheer and a bit of a rest on the mulch pile, plus a thank you from John, that was it, and we jogged back up the High Road to the cinema for a warm down. A really satisfying session!

We're out every Tuesday until 16 December, so why not join us? Also, keep an eye out for our winter social on Tuesday 2 December. We'll be leafleting for the Citizens Advice Barnet, then gathering for food and a drink after.

As usual, we gathered at the Phoenix Cinema our GoodGym HQ and kicked things off with a chat about our favourite childhood TV shows. Classics like Blue Peter and Teletubbies got a mention, though one of us admitted to not having a TV at all .. probably the healthiest choice in hindsight!

Tonight’s mission was to visit the Tiny Forest ,always a magnet for litter , and to try our hand at that noble GoodGym art form: plogging (litter-picking while jogging). With the forecast looking grim and darkness closing in, we decided to make it more of an athletic adventure than a scientific one.

Plogging is a fine art part exercise, part medieval jousting (minus the horse, of course. The trick is to stay moving while accurately spearing bits of rubbish at speed, then deftly flicking them into your bag. Add wet leaves, gusty wind and headlamps, and you’ve got yourself a proper GoodGym challenge.

After a lively 3 km run to the Tiny Forest, we introduced Beattie and Lucy to the three new forest plots nearby part of an ongoing citizen-science experiment testing how different soil preparations affect young tree growth. Do go along and have a look; it’s fascinating to see the differences emerging.

A final round of litter-picking and some bonus plogging on the way back brought us full circle to the Phoenix, where we enjoyed a well-earned breather and some light refreshments.

Who knows with a bit more practice, perhaps GoodGym Barnet could enter the World Plogging Championships!

As usual, we gathered at the Phoenix Cinema, our cosy launch point, and the pre-run chat was in full swing. Suddenly, in swept Subham, beaming and slightly out of breath, proudly declaring he’d just raced a stranger on the opposite pavement — an unknowing rival in his spontaneous street sprint. Naturally, Subham won (he even decided where the finish line was!).

We also welcomed Peter for his first ever GoodGym Barnet run! Having already played a heavy session of tennis earlier that day, he bravely laced up for a double workout — serious commitment!

Beattie arrived in high spirits too, buzzing with some great work news to share, adding to the positive start to the evening.

Just as we stepped outside for our warm-up, the skies decided to test our spirits with a light drizzle — a rare event for our usually lucky-weather crew. But by the time we set off through the backstreets behind the High Street, the rain had politely stopped.

Our destination: St Martin’s, where John was waiting with wheelbarrows, shovels, and rakes at the ready. This week’s mission — helping prepare the forest school paths by laying down fresh woodchip so the children can enjoy easier access to the woods.

Everyone got stuck in straight away, with Peter showing no sign of slowing down despite his tennis marathon earlier. Wheelbarrows rolled, woodchips flew, and laughter filled the air — another task well and truly smashed by Team Barnet.

After a satisfying session, we headed back through the quiet streets for a quick warm-down and a well-earned stretch.

Well done everyone — for running, working, and smiling through it all. Until next time… keep racing (and winning) against the rain!