An absolutely brilliant day was had in Barking as 8 GoodGymers came down to find out about all things GoodGym ahead of its launch in Barking very soon! GoodGym is coming to Thames Ward is part of the Healthy New Towns programme and we would like to thank Barking Riverside Limited for partnering with us to deliver this initiative.

This special Saturday taster session was put on as part of the We Make Our City Festival which was celebrating the launch of the borough’s public makerspace, The Warehouse on Thames Road.

Getting off to a flying start!

A little different to the traditional GoodGym group run set up where we would normally run to the place we are helping, we started things off by meeting at the festival and getting stuck straight in with our task. First up was filling all the newly built planters with top soil ready for planting trees which was happening later that afternoon at the festival. This was quite a physical task, just what we like at GoodGym, and was made extra challenging in the windy weather! Lining the planters with tarp created a parachute like experience and we were worried we would fly away! Combining that with trying to stay downwind of the soil and avoid dirt in the eyes had us all laughing and working hard as a team to get the job done. The end result 8 very happy GoodGymers and 6 planters lined, filled and ready to receive trees for the urban orchard later that day!

Dropping bombs!

Next up we were relieved to get inside for the last part of our activity where we were making wildflower seed bombs, something we could take away and throw into green spaces on future runs! We all gathered around made a few which consisted of rolling out clay and filling it with compost, seeds and water before rolling them into balls. Everyone came away with muddy hands and smiling faces and we all loved that we can take these out on future runs and remember what we’d been involved with at this amazing warehouse today!

GoodGym running B.A.D!

To finish up, it was time to hit the streets of Barking and Dagenham (B.A.D) for the fitness part of what we do on our GoodGym sessions! We began with a little warm up before running off in file each completing 5 sprints to become the file leader, it’s a really fun way to keep the group running together with everyone putting in bursts of effort at their own pace. At the half way point we stopped to complete a little round of Sally Squats which had everyone laughing, working hard and cursing Sally by the end! A little shake out and recovery jog back to the start and it was time to finish up our session. Such a brilliant way to spend a Saturday morning and lots of us stayed afterwards to see all the other amazing things happening in the warehouse space!

You can find your current nearest GoodGym here and hopefully see lots of you when Barking launches in the near future, watch this space!

A terrific-sized team again

30 runners gathered for this evening's task, always a popular one, as we headed to awesome Oxford House half a mile away in the heart of Bethnal Green, to start The Big Paint Job.

After a quick warm up, Luke stepped in to lead us all down the road to our task, taking in a little detour, to avoid The Longest Traffic LIghts In The World, and to squeeze in a microscopic little more mileage.

It's all in the prep

Sarah, our task owner, was BRILLIANTLY prepared as always: runners had been pre-assigned to two areas, complete with own rollers, brushes and paint trays.

What looked like a large office space upstairs to begin with, soon looked brand new as less-than-white walls were rapidly coated in bright new paint. The runners worked tirelessly in small teams, pausing only to assess their work, or, in Tom's case, to offer extra lighting to show up the faintest of smudges.

And, as always, 30 minutes in, half the team were task-less, having finished so quickly, and were soon tasked with the tricky job of cleaning all the rollers, and helping fellow runners out in the basement. The team work just went on and on.

Hitting the floor for some flexibility work

And then it was after 8 and we gathered in the wonderful theatre area for our Pilates flexibility session. The team were on fire tonight! In a packed theatre, they balanced, and stretched and strengthened - every last rep executed brilliantly, and without a peep. Gold stars all round.

And no sooner had we arrived, it seems, flushed and fresh faced from our run, than we were posing on the ramp for our cheerio pics, to a very appreciative task owner.

Our thank you's - and our shout-out's

A massive warm welcome to Alica and Toto who joined us for the first time, making an immense contribution to this evening’s activity! We hope to see you again very soon.

Thanks from the whole group to our wonderful Task Force, who ran some brilliant activities this weekend, and to Becky G for backmarking this evening too, and to Luke for leading and navigating our run to the task.

...And our new task next week!

Next week, we’re at a brand new task when we’re heading to Victoria Park - yes the Victoria Park - to help the Park Ranger Team spread mulch. And then we’ll be running. This is one not to be missed, so sign up now.