GoodGym Ealing already cemented their position as speedy and resourceful engineers when they replaced a row of rotting wooden posts with new bollards within a short group run task at the Hanwell School of Boxing last year. Impressed by the concrete evidence of solid delivery, Linda, the task owner for both the boxing club and Blondin Park, rehired them for another construction-type task. This time, the job was to erect two new boot scrubbers in front of the Blondin Pavilion and lay woodchip on a muddy area serving as an overflow car park for the pavilion.

On a chilly Tuesday night, one walker, one cyclist, four runners, and one late runner landed on Blondin Park’s tarmac path, famously lit like a runway. In front of the pavilion stood a wheelbarrow with spades and shovels prepared by Linda. It was time for everyone to choose the tasks. Our close neighbour from GoodGym Hounslow, Breda, for her first Ealing group run, decided on the shovel+wheelbarrow action, accompanied by Sevan. James, Conor, Harvey, Steph Ducat and Kash were more in the mood for DIY and opted for the unique boot scrubbers installation experience.

Linda, experienced with larger construction projects, knew that for quick jobs involving securing fences or posts, there was nothing better than GoodGymers and Postcrete. We all know how GoodGymers work - but what’s postcrete, you may ask. It’s a rapid-setting cement solution that requires only the addition of water, and no mixing, making it ideal for occasions when you’re short on time.

The five GoodGym builders first dug four narrow and knee-deep holes, then tried the boot scrubbers on them, testing their evenness with a spirit level. The levels turned out to be perfect, and the GoodGym spirits were pretty high, so the team enthusiastically poured generous amounts of postcrete and water into the holes. And waited. And waited. To be frank, the mixture was set within 10-15 minutes, which may seem like no time in the grand scheme of things. On the other hand, seeing Sevan and Breda still racing their wheelbarrows and raking like there was no tomorrow, made the builders' team feel pretty idle.

With the scrubbers literally set in concrete, there was not much else to do on the night than claim the delicious refreshment Linda prepared: sweet and dense hot chocolate! After warming up in the pavilion with a hot beverage, the runners set off for the run back to Ealing Broadway, which was the location of our following week’s group run: a gardening session in Walpole Park.