A magnificent, seven GoodGym members gathered to help a new green space in East Finchley connected with the development of a nearby playground. Some of us gathered at the Phoenix Cinema and we met Jyothsna or Joe on her first GoodGym run. Very bravely she had not been running much, but was happy to try and get involved. On the way to the venue, we did some fartlek training. Using the variable speed technique we ran in a local close. We also did some power, skipping and squats. fantastic effort! After about 10 minutes, we ran on to meet with Shirley our host and the rest of the team already working. Using Mattocks, shovels and rakes, we did a fantastic job clearing the site of weeds. The plan is to cultivate some edible plants for the community and particularly the children. We hope to continue to be involved in developing the site as these things do mattock to us.

Thanks for coming running and doing so good!

also..

Best wishes to Theodore who is now off for a month volunteering in Portugal. We hope to see you in May.

We are looking forward to an accordion recital from Rachel who just purchased the instrument that day. see photo.

Have a great holiday Moya & Antonio

We also wish Kirsten a speedy recovery from her knee injury.

...And it was great! Eight keen GoodGymers took to the streets, full moon lighting our way (and one or two lamp posts). Armed with a sizeable batch of leaflets and brochures for 'Kinoteka', the 21st Polish Film Festival also being hosted by the Phoenix Cinema, Rachel, Kirsten, Cloud, Niki, Emily, Theodore, Moya and Antonio, delivered everything in no time. The session was co-led by Cloud and Antonio and once all was delivered, we made sure to complete a 5K run, stopping along the route to do some stretches and sprinting. And even though we received a weather warning on our phones (sorry, did I mention it?), we soldiered through.

In Greek mythology the Phoenix is often depicted as a self-generated bird, born from its own ashes requiring no assistance in taking flight, in some variations of the myth, the Phoenix is aided by the gods in its ascent to the sky. (thanks Chat GTP!) Today we were the gods!

A few goodGym members came together to help Albert Road recreational space. It’s just outside of Barnet in Hornsey but we decided to help a local borough as its a nice 7km run. Our mission was to meet Emma, chair of the local Friends group, and help her clear the edges of the path of grass and dirt. We met her at the park Café after a 3 km run from the Phoenix Cinema. We collected the necessary tools and set to work. It’s a very satisfying job to reveal the old brick border and thereby widen the path for users. In half an hour, we had managed complete the the designated section of path and was able to enjoy a complimentary drink from the café before running back. thank you!

Feeling good about our exploits, we warmed down with some gentle stretches and headed home.

Thanks for coming running and doing some good!

We set off from the Phoenix Cinema, five of us on a mission! These unsung heroes, Kirsten, Rachel, Beattie, Moya and me Antonio braved the elements and ran all the way to Friary Park, where we met Cloud and Niki. Together, with our head torches, we swept through the park with a fine tooth comb, finding all manner of litter to add to our rubbish bag, sweeping it clean and leaving the park a joy to behold... this will undoubtedly be more noticeable at sunrise. There were even some crocuses peeping out, so we trod carefully with our head torches. All in all a job well done. But the journey was only completed when we ran back to the Phoenix for a reviving hot cup of tea. Well done everyone!

Welcome Theodore and June on their first group run with Goodgym Barnet . This evening we were looking to help Phoenix Cinema by distributing leaflets about their up-and-coming films into local houses. Phoenix cinema is a jewel in the crown of Finchley, having been the oldest purpose-built cinema in continual use in the world! ( please challenge me on that if you dare) We gathered in the foyer of Phoenix for a chat. Then we set off on a warmup jog and a further structured warmup taken by Cloud ( nicely done despite the unusual traffic on a pedestrian footpath, which included two cars doing a drugs deal!) We then went for a further run before starting to deliver the flyers to some local houses. Once complete, we did a warm down and then had some refreshments back at the cinema.

Thanks for coming running and doing some good.

The Phoenix Cinema, Have just told me they would like to offer a 2for 1 tickets for GoodGym members for a special screening of Alice Darling with Q&As on Saturday.

The manager has requested to know if anyone is interested?