Ten Years of GoodGym Barnet – Back Where It All Began

Ten years ago GoodGym Barnet held its first group run to Long Lane Pasture. Yesterday we went back to where it all began with old friends, new faces and over 30 people joining us to celebrate a decade of doing good in our community.

A big group set off from the Phoenix Cinema after our traditional warm-up but this time we also went around the group remembering some of our favourite GoodGym moments from the last ten years. Gardening, clearing graffiti from the Phoenix, Halloween runs in fancy dress, Tiny Forests, litter picks and countless community missions. It was a lovely reminder of just how varied GoodGym has been.

We ran through the back streets of East Finchley, keeping everyone together with the occasional stop for squats, exercises and a few questionable drop kicks!

At Long Lane Pasture we met Donald, other volunteers, councillors and GoodGymers who had made their own way there. Donald told us a little about this wonderful nature reserve, saved from development and now looked after by volunteers.

After gathering around the Green Flag for a photo, we squeezed in some gentle yoga breathing and mobility before getting down to business , clearing litter from the footpath alongside the reserve.

Then came the important birthday business: cake and beer!

Huge thanks to Donald and everyone at Long Lane Pasture for hosting us and providing plenty of cake, Richard for the vegan cake, Athletic Brewing for the beers and Theo for some additional refreshments with a little more kick!

There was another milestone worth celebrating too: congratulations to Subham on reaching over a 100 good deeds. What better evening to do it.

Most importantly, it was wonderful seeing people who have been part of GoodGym Barnet at different times over the last decade. Some we see every week, others we haven’t seen for years. You’re always welcome back even if it’s only once a year!

One message we received afterwards perhaps summed the evening up best:

“The energy is infectious. You have created a wonderful community, and Barnet is richer for having you in it.”

But GoodGym isn’t really about what we have created. It’s about supporting people like Donald and the volunteers at Long Lane Pasture, and all those people across Barnet who quietly take responsibility for our green spaces, charities and community organisations.

Sometimes a couple of hours of our time gets a job done. Just as importantly, hopefully it reminds those people that they aren’t doing it alone and that what they do is noticed and valued.

And it does something for us too. Getting outside, being active and doing something useful alongside other people is pretty good medicine for life.

We might only make a small difference each time but a small difference is considerably better than no difference at all.

After ten years, we’re still running, walking and cycling into our community, getting our hands dirty and seeing where we can help.

Here’s to the next few years and hopefully plenty more familiar and new faces joining us along the way. ❤️

Happy 10th birthday GoodGym Barnet!

Eleven wonderful GoodGym Barnet members joined us on Tuesday evening for our first group run to Long Lane Pasture this year — and what a lovely return it was.

With longer evenings and kinder weather finally on our side, most of us gathered at the Phoenix Cinema for a warm-up involving kickbacks, knee-ups and a few brisk movements to get the heart rate up before the 1.5-mile run to the nature reserve.

After numbering up, we had a quick chat about famous relatives, unusual jobs and curious family histories. Among the ancestral highlights were general’s, repossession agents, wedding dress designers and several other unexpected occupations. Clearly, GoodGym Barnet has a rich and slightly suspicious gene pool.

Then we headed off, with George kindly back-marking, keeping everyone together as we made our way towards Long Lane Pasture. En route, we paused under the bridge for a group photo — naturally taken with everyone in a squat position, because why simply stand around when you can turn it into a thigh workout?

At the pasture we were welcomed by Donald, and the place looked absolutely magnificent: lush, green, peaceful and full of evening birdsong. We quickly got to work collecting woodchip and loading it into rubble bags, while others helped with litter picking and pruning to keep the paths clear and welcoming.

It really is a beautiful green space. As the sun began to set, we noticed several species of birds singing away, clearly approving of our efforts or possibly telling us to hurry up and leave them in peace.

Before heading back, we finished with a short moment of forest bathing, slowing everything down with some gentle breathing and arm movements. After the running, woodchip hauling, pruning and squatting, it was a lovely way to pause and properly take in the place we had come to help.

Then it was back to the Phoenix Cinema, with a few exercises on the return route to keep everyone together and gently remind our legs that the evening wasn’t quite over yet.

A big thank you to everyone who came along to run, laugh, help out and support this lovely local green space. Long Lane Pasture is looking wonderful — and we were very happy to chip in.

Six sturdy Goodgymmers met at the Phoenix for our regular group session. We welcomed Lucy for the first time, a keen and capable runner, as well as our regular crew, Beattie and Rachel, Anthony and our excellent photographer, Theodore.

Following a quick warm up down the side of the cinema (with thanks to Rachel for the evenings conversational topic: things you thought were bad at the time, but turned out to be good - lots of COVID stories), we crossed the nearby junction then scooted our way through the quieter roads and back alleys to Long Lane Pasture for our evening deeds. There, met by our inimical host Donald, we were handed ploggers, rakes, a pitchfork and barrows and split into two teams.

Team one jogged around the site litter-picking and tidying, while team two began clearing dead brambles to pile into a dead hedge. The second task is making way for a silver birch to be planted near the gates in memory of Wayne, a key figure in the Pasture's founding, who helped the community secure the original lease from Barnet Council. The brambles were piled into a dead hedge that will also stop visitors to the site from crossing through a key 'bee lane', from the apiaries to the nearby flower meadow.

With a solid four barrows of brambles and a sack of rubbish out of the way, we then jogged back to the Cinema, satisfied we'd made our impact on ourselves and for the community.

The Good Gym group tonight had a perfect activity for a balmy summers evening. Moya, Rachel and Beattie set off on a short run to the Long Lane Pasture Nature Reserve, a little paradise hidden in the back streets of East Finchley, and met up with Yesika and George and the crew from the reserve Donald, Maureen and Winston. A shout out for the snacks and water provided! Our first job was to fish out the life-ring which had found its way into the pond, which was a satisfying challenge aided by some maneuvering with a rake in the undergrowth. We then quickly 'snapped up' the shears and got to work snipping back overhanging brambles and branches so that the winding pathways were kept clear, and George with his professional gardening skills worked on clearing piles around the reserve. We could see some blackberries ready for ripening, and greenfinches, song thrushes and a moorhen kept us entertained with a chorus. We also spotted their bee hives at the end. Do visit this little haven if you get the chance.

A magnificent, seven GoodGym members came together to help Long Lane Pasture Nature Reserve. We gathered and chatted at the phoenix cinema. Niki talked about her holiday to Japan, and climbing Mount Fuji. Very movingly she said she couldn’t have done it without the regular fitness sessions with GoodGym! ( some say it even crossed her mind to do a litter pick at the top!) Cloud had her birthday at the weekend give her a shout out! Sisters Beattie and Rachel a watched a film on Ukraine, ... which they highly recommended! This group of five then ran the 2 km to the nature reserve where we met Maureen from the Friends group By this time, Jyothsna and Yesika had joined us. Now we were seven. Maureen let us go for a quick, jog around the reserve. We also stopped to do some lunges, squats and star jumps. We then got down to work with our litter, pickers and bags, removing rubbish from the local footpath. We then headed back to finish and warmed down just outside the Phoenix Cinema. Thanks for coming running and doing some good.

7 GoodGymers made their way to meet Donald at one of my favourite East Finchley local spots, Long Lane Pasture nature reserve, which is managed entirely by volunteers, and open to the public on weekends. This used to actually be a pasture with horses in the past, and was saved from being built on around 20 years ago. Now it is a haven for wildlife (18 butterfly varieties spotted so far this year, some resident foxes, and lots of birdlife), with ponds and wetland, meadow grasses, and brambles with absolutely delicious blackberries. Definitely bringing a tupperware next time to bring some of those home for a crumble! We split into groups, with Beattie and Rachel doing some excellent work on the 'wigloo' willow den; Alefiyah and Yesika getting stuck in with a spade for some intense grass clearing to make way for more meadow seeds, and Lauren, Megan and Moya trimming back shrubbery to keep the paths passable (and eating a few blackberries on the way). This was the first good gym activity for Lauren, Yesika and Megan, and first Barnet based for Alefiyah. Was great to have you with us! We also celebrated the fact that this was Good Gyms 7th anniversary of supporting the nature reserve, and had some delicious vegan courgette cake homemade by Donald. That certainly helped give some energy for the run back!