GoodGym Cambridge was back at SIN Cru this week, once again combining a group run with a community mission 💪

Scott, Christopher, Kate, Beth, Catherine and I met at Parkside Pools to lock up our bikes and set off on the 3.6 km jog to our destination (at least my watch recorded the whole distance! 😛). Along the way, we chatted about recent holidays, restaurant visits, parkrun tourism/obsession and how much we need some rain in Cambridge. Little did we know...

Sandra and Alan were waiting for us at SIN Cru, with Sandra ready to capture our majestic "Baywatch" moment after being too in awe to do so last time. Following the obligatory dog-petting, we got to work in the garden space. Today, Alan and Chris quickly got a handle on some very active shovel action, clearing rather compacted soil and leveling the ground ready for a patio space which Kate and Beth gathered bricks for. Sandra and Catherine cleared an impressive amount of ivy from a wall, whilst Scott and I enjoyed the more sedate task of dead-heading the plants. Once we'd filled the compost area (and scritched the dogs some more), we gave the refreshed plants a much needed watering with some collected rainwater. Oh, how naive we were...

Then, we were off: it was party time! Sandra and Alan led the way by bike, meeting Ilse at Jesus Green for our July social. Beth and Kate joined on foot, while the rest of us legged it back to collect our bikes and grab more party food. Only mildly questioning the dark clouds, we gathered for a picnic. Amongst the MANY tasty treats were some homemade pastry wheels, courtesy of Ilse - a firm favourite amongst the snacks! We look forward to sampling your future recipe experimentation 🤤

It turns out I really do like piña coladas and getting caught in the rain: not long after we'd sat down and set up the picnic, the sky opened and gave us ALL the rain we'd been missing these past few weeks! We stood our ground until we feared for the structural integrity of the snacks, eventually taking shelter and laughing at how unfortunate our timing was. A key moment of the night was celebrating Beth's 10 deed milestone - congratulations!! Sorry we temporarily blinded you, but hope the Colin made up for it 📸

Once the rain had eased up enough, we escaped to a nearby pub to warm up and dry out for the rest of our social. We didn't let a bit of water spoil our fun, but fingers crossed next month's is a little drier! 🤞

A welcome return to Milton Country parkrun today, which was looking a little dry in the heat. Christopher and I were part of a 31 strong volunteer team helping the event happen.

I was marshalling at one of my favourite spots at the back of the park, enjoying the peace and watching the birds (including a very large swan family 🦢), before all the runners came through! It was extra special cheering on GoodGymers Chris and Alex, who were running today 📢

There is not a lot more uplifting than cheering runners and walkers round the course, and there was even time for a few chats with people out walking dogs this morning, so I was feeling doubly cheery by the end.

Just as the tail walker came past, I spotted a flash of red through the trees and it was Chris doing his extra loop as part of his pack-down role. He was wielding a walking pole (don't run with poles, kids) which turned out to be for cone carrying, very clever.

Congratulations to all 417 finishers today 🙌

As well as representation in Milton, Harriet was running at Fulbourn, and Caroline took on the beach at Great Yarmouth. Fantastic efforts all!

This week saw our return to Fox Den Community Allotment for the first visit of 2026! Scott, Christopher, Catherine and Caroline slapped on some sunscreen and our gardening gloves and got stuck in. Chris and Catherine were busy shoveling, barrowing and laying woodchip to protect the ground. Meanwhile, Scott and I watered some very thirsty plants, admiring the tomatoes and potatoes and comparing to our own efforts 🍅

Working up quite a sweat, it was time to head to this month's social! While Scott set off on foot, Catherine, Chris and I grabbed our bikes and took the scenic route, enjoying a riverside cycle. Heading to Engineers House, we met Ilsa and refreshed ourselves with some drinks and pizza 🍕🍻

On top of it all, we also celebrated Catherine's birthday! How lucky to have another fantastic GoodGym activity AND social on the big day 🎂