Ten GoodGym members gathered at Stephen’s house and gardens to help the bothy gardeners. We gathered in a socially distant circle to number up and chat about our favourite celebrity encounter. These ranged from dinner with the Beckhams, passing the salt to Jude Law, chatting with David Attenborough, and strange encounters with Hugh Laurie. (So much more to find out for next time!) After we had finished the celebrity gossip Alison took us to the Bothy garden and split us into three teams. One team swept the paths, another swept the sand back in to the sandpit (that’s kids for you) and the last group gathered wood in the compound for chipping. We Just had a little time left to do some gentle warm down stretches on the Bothy lawn. A magical quiet spot within the gardens and Bothy walls. Thanks for coming and doing some good. Shout out for Judith on her first visit and for Rachel getting over the maagical 50 good deeds.

Paul

Fifteen keen goodgym runners gathered at the Phoenix cinema to help The Bothy Garden and Terapia. We numbered up and debated our favourite ice cream. (Mint chocolate won!) We said hello to new runner Sophie and congratulated Sarah for 50 good deeds and Fay with 100. Phenomenal! We warmed up with a gentle jog, lead out by Damian through the back streets of east Finchley and back marked by Laura. On route we gathered for some paired exercises and a sprint up a short incline to develop speed and endurance. Eventually we met up with Alison in the park who explained our various tasks. We split into groups for litter picking, chair stacking and most importantly raking the wood chip in the children’s play ground. Over the years the wood chip had got compacted and was proving to be a less effective surface for cushioning falls off the apparatus. By doing this we would help mitigate injuries. When we had finished we headed down to the front lawn for a quick game of stuck in the mud. (fitness version) We then ran up another small incline in the park before doing some now traditional yogic breathing. The rain held off and we got back for some stretches and Barnet treats from Sarah…Thank you!

Thank you all for coming doing good ….and doing good! Hope to see you for our third birthday next week.

Fifteen fabulous GoodGymmers ran 6km to spread woodchip at Stephen's House and Gardens.

Meeting at the Phoenix, we welcomed Valentina for her first GoodGym run! She was recruited by Rob, Rupesh and Abi at a community mission at Clitterhouse Farm over the weekend. Good work!

We nervously watched the sky after being hailed on as we arrived at the Phoenix. Fortunately it stopped just as I finished our intro and the sun came out ☀

After a quick warm up we set off with Sally back marking. It's just under 3k so we took it at an easy pace and used the opportunity for a half way wall sit and a fast bit of hill running.

On arrival we met Alison and Warwick who explained we would be spreading woodchip in a seated area that will be used for children's forest lessons over Easter. We split into teams: shoveling, transporting using wheelbarrows, raking, and weeding.

The team cracked on with it and made fast progress. In 20 mins we had covered over a muddy space with woodchip and made it usable. Brilliant work. We also had time to drag a heavy bag of salt (for the paths over winter) to a new home: many hands making it light work.

We tidied up and teamed up for a team photo 📸

We couldn't leave without a quick fitness session: dividing into twos and threes we used the hilly path for light runs down then hard runs uphill 🗻

From there it was a nice relaxed run down East End Road to the Phoenix for stretches and high fives.

Great work everyone - looking forward to next week already.

D

Eleven dedicated goodgym runners gathered at the Phoenix cinema to help the gardeners at the Bothy. We chatted about our favourite podcast and warmed up with a gentle jog. We ran to the Bothy through the streets of East finchley led by Graham and back marked by Sally.(Thanks also for the biscuits at the end Sally!) It was a relatively mild evening.(In comparison to previous outings!) and we stopped a few times for paired exercises.(just an excuse to have a chat!) The charity Terapia uses the Bothy garden and buildings in education and therapy and is valued by the students and teachers alike. Previously the Bothy functioned as a nursery to supply other parks within Finchley until 1964, when it became the private garden of the Park Keeper of Avenue House. The Bothy is located within a heavily landscaped setting to the eastern end of the existing grounds of Avenue House but it was originally the ‘middle’ of the Estate. The land to the East (Great Tapes Field) was subsequently given over to recreational use for a private school.The walled garden was taken over by a group of dedicated volunteers who began to rescue it and return it to recreational use which continues to this day. The garden walls were repaired in 1999 with the assistance of a grant from the Rose Foundation. (forgive the history lesson but GGB is not just about health and fitness.. !) More here Alison and Warwick (Bothy gardeners volunteers) asked us to split into two teams. One to move bricks and another smaller team of three to cut hedges on the fence line. Check out the photos and the human chain to move the bricks. (although it does look like a scene from the Italian Job!) Both teams did fantastically well and managed to get the job done! Thank you! It didn’t leave much time but we had a quick run to the lawned area of the park, for some aerobic exercises, followed by some yogic breathing. It was a long run home to the Phoenix but well worth the effort. Well done all!

Keep on running and thanks for doing good!

Eighteen toned Goodgym runners ran to help the Bothy Gardens which are used by the children’s charity Terapia .The Bothy and it’s garden was constructed in 1879-81, to H.C Stephens’ design and looks like a miniature castle in the grounds of Stephens House and Garden .The garden is used as a quiet space for the students and children during the week and is also open to the public on Sunday afternoons. Go and see it in the day light its lovely. It’s in bedded in the park which has a great cafe We gathered in the warmth of the Phoenix , numbered up and chatted about our Christmas highlights.
We then headed off to the gardens ,1.6 miles away, through the black back streets of East Finchley. We met Alison, the head volunteer gardener, at one of the Park gates and were shown into the Bothy garden. Alison explained what we had to do. The bulk of the GGB team used shovels to load wheel barrows with leaf compost and then unload the wheel barrows onto tarpaulin near to the flower beds. Additional lighting to help us created weird shadows on the Bothy walls. After completing our tasks we had time for a HIT session. Working in pairs, with music, we alternately held a squat or a knee lift sprint. Before leaving, as is now traditional, we did some yogic breathing to re-energise before the run back. Well done everyone we did a great task. Thanks for coming and doing good!

January Challenge …Barnet needs you to run more and do more good (if you can) Currently 47/ 105 good deeds and 722km of 1300km target ( Don’t forget to log on to strava, link to goodgym and edit your run to public) Give a shout out to Simon Jackson on his first run with us but a regular coach runner. (weekly run to meet with an isolated elderly person)..also Laura on a six month mission streak and anybody else..? (to give someone a cheer click on the above name you can also support them in general)

keep running!

Fourteen glorious Goodgym runners ran to help the Bothy Gardens which are used by the children’s charity Terapia .The Bothy and it’s garden was constructed in 1879-81, to H.C Stephens’ design and looks like a miniature castle in the grounds of Stephens House and Garden .The garden is used as a quiet space for the students and children during the week and is also open to the public on Sunday afternoons. (Go and see it in the day light its lovely) Terapia link We warmed up before the run and stated our favourite colours- I think turquoise won but otherwise quite an eclectic mix! We then headed off to the gardens ,1.6 miles away, through the black back streets of East Finchley. We met Alison, the head volunteer gardener, at the one of the Park gates and were shown into the Bothy garden. Alison explained what we had to do. The bulk of the GGB team used shovels to load wheel barrows with leaf compost and then unload the wheel barrows onto tarpaulin adjacent to the flower beds. Another group used folks to turnover the soil. Really good fun! ( I don’t take a survey it helps me with my task pun title) After completing our tasks we had time for a small jog and a couple of sprints up a hill path in the park. It was a lovely moonlit night and a unique privilege to have the park to ourselves. Before leaving we did some yogic breathing to re-energise for the run back. The group were so enthusiastic about this last exercise that they insisted on doing at again while the gates were unlocked to let us run home.

Thanks again for your efforts.. you did good!…& keep running!( and don’t forget the core exercises)

Also… Congratulations to Shawn who’s reached 50 good deeds and will be getting his ‘ninja’ black shirt! Lois and Vicki have been awarded full Mission status Lois has also been Coach verified… good luck with your first mission and coach run. Give them a shout out!