Saturday 5th July
SESSION ORGANISER
Find out about GoodGym TaskForce
Report written by Windsor and Maidenhead runner
Six GoodGymers set their alarm clocks for first light, and made their way to Ray Mill Island for one of our favourite events of the year. About 160 athletes were braving a swim down the Thames, and the organisers needed some help ensuring that everyone set off safely and that their belongings got to the correct locations. Sara, Sophie, Richard and Sheila collected in the swimmers' flip-flops, making sure that they were in the correct bag according to which distance they were swimming so they could be dropped at the point where they would exit the water. David was in charge of car key drop-off, putting them in labelled envelopes so they could retrieve them at the end. Claire and Sophie were helping distribute string to tie flip flops together Then after the safety briefing, they were ready for the off. Each swimmer's number was logged as they entered the water. GoodGymers Amy and Amanda were taking part in the swim so it was lovely to be able to see them off. Once the 1.4 and 2.8 km swimmers had left, it was over to the other side of the lock to help the Heritage 5km route swimmers who were exiting the water, running over to the island and entering the water for the second half of their swim. Again there were some familiar faces - well done to Jen and Alain for taking on this epic challenge. Claire and Sara did a great job of ensuring they all followed the right route. Once the last of the swimmers had been dispatched we helped tidy up and walked to the rowing club where swimmers could collect their Tshirts and belongings. David, Sophie and Claire helped swimmers exit the water while Sara enjoyed the task of hosing down the swimmers' feet. One participant declared the experience to be 'bordering on the orgasmic'! We think he may have swallowed too much of the Thames water! Everyone was grateful for the clean-up and left happy. We had certainly enjoyed it too. We left the site just as the rest of Maidenhead was just waking up! Well done to David on his first GoodGym community mission - do come and join us again.
Windsor and Maidenhead
Help at this festival of inclusivity featuring a variety of fully accessible challenge events for all ages and abilities.