0 Month Streak
21 Month Streak
Block or report Caitlin Rollison
Mon 22nd May at 6:45pm
Islington Report written by Simon Fitzmaurice
Area Activator Simon was joined by first time Goodgymmers Matt and Katherine at the Arsenal Community Hub last night, ready for top group run over to one of our favourite task locations. After some dynamic warm ups on the Emirates Stadium slope, we ran together along Mackenzie Road and past Cally Park towards Thornhill Square Gardens (approx 1.6 miles distance).
Upon our arrival we caught up with our fellow Goodgym runners and cyclists (Caitlin, Emily, Katie and Benedict) along with resident gardening expert Anna. Thornhill Square Gardens has become a wonderful curated spot for wildflowers and plants in one of Islington's largest green community spaces. However, over the last few weeks of sunshine and rain, some persistent fast growing weeds have shown their heads in the beds!
We were separated into two groups to tackle the task. Group 1 sought to pull out as much "sticky weed" or as many "clingers" as possible within our 45 minutes of physical volunteering activity. Group 2 helped with removing long sheafs on grass and buds from the eastern flower beds.
Between us, we had to made multiple wheelbarrow trips over to the nearest composting station! Very satisfying and successful work completed by all.
Our running crew set off together towards Upper Street as a variation of our return trip to The Emirates Stadium. On route, we set off on our separate paths back home after a job well done.
We will be back again next week on Bank Holiday Monday at our alternative start location (The Gym Group, Caledonian Road) for a session of flyering for Islington Food Cycle. Sign up here!
https://www.goodgym.org/happenings/group-run-foodcycle-finsbury-park-flyer-squad
NEWS
100 Days of Action- Running Kit Swap Shop @ The Running Works! (RESCHEDULED!) - Keep your kit out of the landfill, and offer some spare runners to your fellow Goodgym crew!
Friday 26th May, 6.30pm, The Running Works, Aldgate
https://www.goodgym.org/happenings/100-days-of-action-running-kit-swap-shop-the-running-works
Volunteer at Caledonian junior parkrun (Half Term Helpers!) - Encourage a new generation of parkrunners with Goodgym positivity!
Sunday 28th May, 8.45am, Caledonian Park
https://www.goodgym.org/happenings/volunteer-at-caledonian-junior-parkrun-half-term-helpers
Penn Road Gardens Open Morning (May) - An invitation to help this lovely community garden space prepare for the winter months
Sunday 28th May, 10am, Penn Road Gardens
Eye Matter Sports Taster Day and Social (with Metro Blind Sports and Illuminate Freedom) - A free opportunity to try all abilities sport in Camden and Islington! Looking for guides, stewards and assistants!
Saturday 3rd June, 10am - 3pm, Islington Tennis Centre and Gym, Market Road
Mon 22nd May at 6:45pm
Joining the lovely resident gardeners at Thornhill Square Gardens for an evening of composting, watering and maintenance
Read moreSat 13th May at 10:30am
Sat 13th May at 10:30am
Classic Goodgym weekend community mission with Frannie and the Octopus Community Network team!
Read moreMon 1st May at 6:45pm
Islington Report written by Simon Fitzmaurice
We apologise for this simplified version of the run report today- the GG website is having some issues
On our first of 3 Bank Holiday Mondays of May, Area Activator Simon met with 7 other keen Goodgym runners and cyclists from many London boroughs at our alternative meet-up location, The Gym Group on Caledonian Road. This proved to be a wise choice, as a football match was on at the Emirates Stadium down the road (our usual start point)!
Our crew jogged together up Market Road, and met with Miriam, head volunteer for the Friends of Caledonian Park (and frequent event director for Caledonian Park junior parkrun). Together, we rolled a collection of wheelbarrows over to the park (borrowed from The Lumpy Hill Adventure Playground). Upon our arrival at the famous Caledonian Park Clock Tower, we were met with 9 tonnes of compacted soil and woodchip, delivered over the weekend. Our objective for the evening was to move as much fresh soil as possible over to some newly refreshed flower beds and the glorious wildflower pond space to the west side of the park. From here, local volunteers (usually retired helpers who live on the estate) will continue to make the area look incredible!
Within 50 minutes, we had successfully moved a full 1 tonne bag of soil, and almost the entirety of a second bag- which is super impressive! Well done!
We ended our session with the first attempt at the “Cally Park Time Trial”- a 600m run around the perimeter of the park itself from clock tower to clock tower. The same route is used for junior parkrun every Sunday at 9am, so it was great to give it a go as a social run together!
Find out more about the history of the Caledonian Road Clock Tower and original market place here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caledonian_Park_Clock_Tower
NEWS
Track Attack goes to Victoria Dock! Sunday 7th May, 11am, The Good Hotel, Victoria Dock
Our monthly Sunday morning time trial will be hosted at the awesome Victoria Dock (by the Excel Centre). 5km and/or 1 mile distances will be available to run as part of our social timed running event. Runners of all abilities and paces welcome! We always finish with coffee and breakfast too!
https://www.goodgym.org/v3/sessions/track-attack-coronation-weekend-workout-at-victoria-dock
GROUP RUN- The ARC Centre Foodbank Flyering Monday 8th May, 6.45pm, The Gym Group Caledonian Road
Another Bank Holiday group run, this time joining our friends at The ARC Centre near De Beauvoir. We will be distributing flyers regarding news about the foodbank project within the Packington Estate.
Sign up here for more information: https://www.goodgym.org/v3/sessions/group-run-the-arc-centre-foodbank-flyering
Octopus Community Network- Post parkrun digging and weeding at St Mary's Church, Hornsey Rise Saturday 13th May, 10.30am, St Mary’s Church
An awesome digging, lifting and shifting (and light weeding) task with the lovely folks from Octopus Community Network- a short run from Finsbury Park or Highbury Fields for those enjoying a parkrun!
GROUP RUN- Rose Bowl Youth Club Monday 15th May, 6.45pm, The Arsenal Community Hub
Goodgym Islington will be returning to the wonderful Rose Bowl Youth Club, with Dawn and the team. We will be preparing the playground and the upper roof garden event space ready for Summer Time activities in the local community!
Sign up here:
POST GROUP RUN SOCIAL MAY- The Swimmer N7 Monday 15th May, 8.45pm, The Swimmer
Following our group run to The Rose Bowl Youth Club, we will be visiting The Swimmer N7, a wonderful local pub just up the road from The Emirates Stadium. A great opportunity to catch up with our fellow Goodgymmers after the Bank Holiday!
https://www.goodgym.org/v3/sessions/post-group-run-social-may-the-swimmer
Crouch End Open Space- Forest Path Building Sunday 21st May- 11am to 1pm- Crouch End
On Sunday, we will be returning to one of our favourite local community missions- CREOS aka Crouch End Open Space- a forest path building and maintenance session with the Friends of CREOS and The Conservation Volunteers. We will be looking after the beautiful woodland walk way between Highgate and Muswell Hill. Often combined with a picnic provided by Crouch End residents!
Night of the 10,000m PBs- The highlight of the UK Athletics calendar year- here in London!!!! Saturday 20th May, 2-10pm, Parliament Hill Track
The most incredible event in UK track racing returns to Parliament Hill for 2023- hosted by Ben Pochee and Highgate Harriers.
The absolute elite of UK and European 10,000m endurance distance racing will be competing live for places on the Commonwealth Games roster and other incredible opportunities. It will be a free party for anyone interested in the running scene (and most importantly an introduction for non-runners too!). Check it out here, you won't regret it!!! https://www.goodgym.org/v3/sessions/night-of-the-10-000m-pbs-saturday-show-time-volunteers!
Mon 1st May at 6:45pm
The Friends of Caledonian Park have a collection of vegetable beds ready to be filled with soil and fresh food!
Read moreWed 26th Apr at 6:45pm
Wed 26th Apr at 6:45pm
Help ping out to improve the green spaces around the Story Garden
Read moreMon 17th Apr at 6:45pm
Islington Report written by Simon Fitzmaurice
Area Activator Simon met with 10 Goodgym folks from all across the boroughs last night for a sunny "plogging" run around a collection of Islington parks. After a short warm up on the slopes of the Emirates Stadium, we together along MacKenzie Road and Caledonian Road to the lovely Penn Road Gardens.
Penn Road Gardens is one of our long running community mission locations- Goodgym Islington have been helping the local resident gardening team with composting, green space maintenance and planting on the last Sunday of every month- our next visit will be on 30th April (https://www.goodgym.org/v3/sessions/penn-road-gardens-open-morning-april). This time, we scheduled a one-off litter picking task using sturdy gloves and folding litter pickers to scour the area within and around the park. This little green spot is surrounded by residential housing, busy roads and food outlets, which means that the hedgerows and flower beds are accustomed to being covered with debris from the street. This became particularly clear when we helped with a composting task last month, and all of the freshly mulched fertiliser was full of plastic wrappers and bottle caps. A 30 minute sweep of the park can make a huge difference!
Our next intended location was due to be Biddestone Gardens, down Holloway Road, a newly opened park with intended 24 hour access (also susceptible to littering). However, we found that a lock had been put onto all access gates! So we decided to continue our run down to St Mary's Church Grounds, just across the road from Freightliner's Farm for a final 15 minute blast of plogging! We focused in on clearing the areas surrounding public seating and picnic areas to maximise our impact towards the end of the evening- we could be litter picking for hours otherwise.
Upon our completion of the task, we had successfully collected 6-7 half full bags of rubbish within 45 minutes! From here, our group split off, and 5 runners returned to the Arsenal Community Hub to participate in our monthly "Emirates Stadium Time Trial"- a 700m sprint around the Emirates Stadium!
To finish off the evening, most of our runners made a trip to the wonderful Zia Lucia Italian restaurant on Holloway Road for delicious pizza and good times! Well done everyone!
NEWS
Goodgym Islington Finsbury parkrun Volunteer Takeover
Saturday 22nd April, 8.30am, Finsbury Park
Area Activator Simon and the parkrun event team will be collaborating on Saturday morning to host their free weekly timed 5km running event- a special catch up before London Marathon tomorrow! Always on the lookout for:
Course Marshals Barcode Scanners Time Keepers Funnel Managers Token Collectors and many more vital roles!
We will be visiting the lovely Blighty Café on Blackstock Road for breakfast afterwards!
https://www.goodgym.org/happenings/finsbury-park-parkrun-volunteering-pre-london-marathon-party
Caledonian Road junior parkrun - looking for volunteers!
Sunday 23rd April, 8.45am, Caledonian Park
The junior parkrun team (a free weekly timed 2km running event for youngsters aged 4-14 years old) at Caledonian Park are seeking volunteers for marshalling, timekeeping, barcode scanning and generally supporting on Sunday!
Sign up here to get involved:
Goodgym Ofiicial London Marathon Cheer Station!
Sunday 23rd April, Somerset House, Embankment
It's back again! Come and support our incredible Goodgym runners out on the London Marathon course at Mile 24 for inspiration and an unparalleled atmosphere!
https://www.goodgym.org/happenings/gg-cheer-at-the-london-marathon
Penn Road Gardens Open Morning
Sunday 30th April, 10am, Penn Road Gardens, Caledonian Road
Our friends from Penn Road Gardens will be out in force again for more wonderful green space maintenance tasks and cups of coffee! Always a pleasure!
Sign up here:
https://www.goodgym.org/v3/sessions/penn-road-gardens-open-morning-april
Track Attack- Victoria Dock- Coronation Weekend Special
Sunday 7th May, 11am, The Good Hotel, Victoria Dock, Newham
Our monthly social time trial event returns to its special Summer spot- the glorious pancake flat stretch of Victoria Dock and the Excel Centre!
1 mile and/or 5km distances available. All abilities and paces welcome and encouraged!
Followed by coffee and breakfast at The Good Hotel, or a really nice vegan breakfast place called Beans and Bubbles towards Canning Town!
https://www.goodgym.org/happenings/track-attack-coronation-weekend-workout-at-victoria-dock
100 Days of Action- Goodgym Islington x The Running Works Kit Swap
Friday 12th May, 6pm, The Running Works, Aldgate
Area Activator Simon will be opening The Running Works (London's largest independent running shop) for a special evening of sport kit swapping and recycling!
Bring your own under utilised kit and check out the options available for your next running, walking, gym, sports or Goodgym session!
More info can be seen here:
https://www.goodgym.org/happenings/100-days-of-action-running-kit-swap-shop-the-running-works
Night of the 10,000m PBs- Course marshalling team!
Saturday 20th May, 2pm-10pm (approx), Parliament Hill Track
Come and join us for one of the most exciting and important fixtures in the UK athletics calendar- The Highgate Harriers Night of the 10,000m PBs.
The brainchild of Ben Pochee, this event has been created to make endurance distance track running accessible and exciting for the whole world! Top runners from across the country and afar will be competing for places in the Commonwealth Games and national tournaments, and we will be holding an incredible party to let this happen!
Sign up here for more information:
https://www.goodgym.org/happenings/night-of-the-10-000m-pbs-saturday-show-time-volunteers
Tue 18th Apr at 9:39am
Very nice report. To sign up for marathon cheering go to .https://www.goodgym.org/v3/areas/hammersmith-and-fulham/sessions
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