40 runners, 40 degrees…

40 runners gathered in a rather warm hotel room tonight, eagerly catching up on news, meeting fellow new runners – and expressing a strong desire to head outside to cooler temperatures. And so we promptly gathered on the steps of the hotel to run through our intros, and to greet tonight’s new runners, and welcome Rob, our new Solihull trainer, who’s very excitingly set to launch GG Solihull in the next few weeks.

Lean, mean cleaning machines

With tonight’s new task being just a short run from base, we soon arrived at Oxford House, a much loved, exceptionally well established community arts centre just by Weavers Fields. Sarah, our wonderful task owner, was well prepped for tonight’s task: a mammoth cleaning operation to prepare the entire centre for phase II, the decorating, of its extensive overhaul. Teams were dispatched all over the building: to the ramps for chewing gum-scraping; to the ramp railings for grime-blitzing; to the bar, gallery and stairwells for sugar-soaping walls and to the stairways for skirting board cleaning.

The work was tough going: cloths were left threadbare, walls were scrubbed (“We feel like we’re not making a difference, Laura”. “But you are, you are – there’s less grime, honest.”) It was a journey: of stoicism, strength - and sugar soap.

A January fitness session…

And then it was a task-wrap as buckets were emptied, cloths rinsed, floors swept and hoovered (thank you, Liam) and we were meeting in the beautiful theatre space for 20 minutes of balance and strength work. The runners’ faces were as usual a picture: the grimaces would make brilliant GIFs, let me tell you, but they got the work done – again. Obliques were obliterated; hamstrings hurt (in a good way); teeth gritted for glute-rinsing, and 2019 cores carved. Way to go.

And so we headed back to the hotel, for a final stretch and a cheerio, and chatting about the exciting things we’ve got coming up in the next couple of weeks...

What. A. Night.

A huge GG Tower Hamlets shout-out to our first time runners and visitors

Tonight we were joined by first time runners, Hannah, Matthew, Claire, Louise, Shweta, Jo, Emma and Rob.

Thanks for helping to make the night such a huge success – for all your hard work, and big smiles, and for getting so stuck in on your first run. We really hope to see you again very soon.

Thank you to Rob, obviously by no means new, just new to us, who was such an asset to last night’s task: for the chatter, the energy, the input, the ferocious guarding of the sign-in sheet and meticulous timekeeping.

And a massive thank you and big appreciation from the group to our utterly wonderful task force again this week. Behind the scenes of an operation like tonight, there’s actually a lot of careful planning, all assisted and supported by our truly wonderful task force, who are on board from the off, with everything from route-planning, backmarking, new-runner greeting - to reassuring a wide-eyed trainer just before the run…

We’re pub-quizzing on Sunday!

Talking of which, our latest task force member, Becky G, is also our new parkrun co-ordinator! Big, big hip hooray. So don’t forget, on Sunday we’ll be joining forces with the brilliant Mile End parkrun pub quizzers, at The Coborn in Bow, from 7pm – the more the merrier, so do sign up here if you fancy swapping trainers for trivia this weekend, and hanging out with some friendly faces.

...And we're doing it all again next Monday

Don’t forget - we’re back at Oxford House next week, when we’re lucky enough to be finishing the task with a Yoga for Runners workshop led by Emma Hopkinson. I’d seriously consider being part of the fun if I were you, so check it out here.

Right, that’s it from me for this week. Have a really great week, everyone - I hope January has started well for you - and we’ll see you very soon.

Making Mile End more tidy

A hefty team of 26 headed out to the final #BigCleanUp of the current campaign organised by Tower Hamlets Council.

As we're joining in England Athletics #RunAndTalk campaign this week, we opted to litter-pick around Mile End Hospital, one of the borough's most valuable services for mental health.

Task owner Richard met us outside the hospital, and, as usual, provided a very thorough health and safety briefing, and ample litter-picking kit. Before we knew it, the entire team had been dispatched to the area in and around the hospital, and proceeded to fill many large bags in just 45 minutes.

Trash collection became a treasure hunt

As usual there was some good Tower Hamlets treasure: Bryon found a pound, Will found a hub cap, Dave found a...cat. All in a good evening's litter-pick. The runners were very good natured and characteristically patient about picking up hundreds of cigarette butts - a fiddly (thankless) task with a litter-picker. But, as always, no moaning or complaining - just lots of full bags.

A choice of fitness

And then it was 8.05pm and we were gathering to deposit rubbish bags and pose for our final pics. And, what a lovely surprise, when TH Run Leader Will stepped forward to offer an alternative to our planned fitness session, for those wanting a longer run over rainbow side planks in the park. We divided into two teams: one headed back on an additional mileage detour with Will; the other headed with me to Carlton Square Gardens for our serotonin-boosting sweat session which kicked off with squat jacks and ended with skipping lunges. Ouch (in a good way).

Back to base for step-stretching and Kit-Kats

We sped back to base, route navigation salvaged by Si , to join the running squad on the hotel steps for the best calf stretch going. We blitzed hip flexors and hamstrings too, before heading inside to wolf down a Kit-Kat or two, leftover from the pre-run snack stash.

Shout-outs galore

Big GG TH shout-outs tonight to first time GG runners Liam, Marta and Caiti, and to first time Tower Hamlets runners, Julie and Dharmesh (sorry your journey was a pain, Dharmesh - thanks for persevering).

And shout-outs for Leanne, Sarah and Becky for backmarking and Will for leading the running fitness session.

Next week: Farmyard fitness at Stepney City Farm

Next week, we're back at Stepney City Farm, so do come and join us for more farmyard-and-fitness fun and games.

And in the meantime, have a thoroughly fantastic week. See you soon!

Two teams headed to two very different tasks tonight in Tower Hamlets.

Painting and gardening at Look Ahead

Writes task force member, Becky: “Fellow task forcer Bryon headed up the team to Look Ahead Care & Support on Commercial Road where task owner Catriona was ready and waiting with the projects for the evening ahead: Bryon and Gabrielle headed to the front of the building to gather leaves; Luke, Jonathan and Katherine were despatched to tidy the garden, while Joel, Steve and I hit some of the indoor walls with the white emulsion. We were such a productive and focused team, before we knew it, it was time to tackle the 1.3-mile run back to base, without time to join the Cranbrook team for their tempo session. Oh well (every cloud, more like). We got our own speedwork in, though, with Joel and Bryon leading a speedy pace back to the hotel, via Meath Gardens where we managed to catch the Cranbrook crew at the Roman Road lights. All’s well that ends well.”

Sawing, digging and sanding at Cranbrook

I, in the meantime had headed to Cranbrook Community Food Group with a team of 9 to set about completing quite a variety of tasks requested from us by task owners Janet and Eileen, “Boys are needed to saw wood,” Eileen announced on arrival. Right you are. A slightly bemused female team then divided into two to dig, construct trellises and later move onto bench-sanding. LOTS was accomplished. Wood was sawed and wheeled to bins; trellises were beautifully and efficiently built; earth was dug and benches softened for painting. And then…it was 8pm.

Lap-and-log

Time for tempo? Uh-uh. The team were suffering this evening, with everything from sore calves from sawing, bruises from the previous day’s races, and just generally tired running legs. So we played lap-and-log. A new game that involved speedwork over laps of Meath Gardens followed by lower body, upper body and core exercises around the tree. The runners were a quiet but determined group of exercisers, running fast and balancing well. The core’s coming on nicely, folks. We headed back to the hotel for some serious stretching before calling it a night. Way to go, folks.

Big GG shout-outs

A big GG TH welcome to first time runner, Jonathan – it was great you joined our task force at Look Ahead, and well done for getting so much done (and run). And we hope to see you very soon.

Thanks to Bryon for heading up the Look Ahead team, and for making the evening’s planning that little bit easier, and to Becky for lovely report-writing and cool pics – and for sending it all so promptly.

Thanks to Annie, for the fabulous pun this evening.

And thank you to Si who saved the day somewhat in helping our task owners identify where the shed key had been hidden at 9.30pm on a Monday night.

Next week, we’re joining Tower Hamlets Big Clean Up, and, to celebrate England Athletics’ #RunandTalk campaign (twice a year they’re asking people to head out for a jog or run with friends, family or colleagues and have a chat to support Time to Talk Day and World Mental Health Day), which is running from 6th-12th October, we’ll be litter-picking around Mile End Hospital. What a way to spend your Monday evening – do come and join us, and sign up here.

And lastly, what better way to see in October than by heading to the GG social, this Thursday 4th October, from 6.30pm, Islington Townhouse, N1 0RW. More details are here.

Right, that’s it from me! Have a really great week, everyone, and look forward to seeing you soon.

3 very different tasks, 3 very determined teams…

What a night! And what a beautiful evening it was indeed for another THREE tasks (this is becoming something of a habit…).

A stake-out (or not, as it turned out)

Becky led the largest team of 15 to the Keddelstone Walk Community Centre in Hollybush Gardens to meet some of our longest standing task owners, Michael and Margaret (and Beetlejuice, the elderly canine task owner). Despite having planned tonight’s pun around the staking part of the task, the accompanying staking noise was considered too much of a potential environmental nuisance by Margaret, so digging and raking was the order of the day. New gloves were dished out – thoughtful task owners we have here in TH – and, letting sleeping wasps lie (compost heaps can be quite the hazard – who knew), the runners ploughed away solidly for over 40 minutes giving the Ground Force team a run for their money. Thank you to the team for staging a brilliant stake scene, though, to accommodate the pun. What creativity! (pics of the non-staking task enclosed).

Dab hand decorating

Lieke, meanwhile, headed another small team of dab-handed decorators back to the Glasshouse Community Centre to complete the painting task. Well done for taking a new team to the task and for getting so much done, in a confined, warm space this evening – and for making it back for Pilates Sculpt in such good time.

Feelgood flyering

...And Gabrielle beautifully project-managed our leafleting task, a new task for fabulous charity Acknowledging Youths, planning an excellent strategy for the different leaflet themes vs. the most relevant outlets. Well done to her, Tim and first time runner Simona, who I had such a lovely time leafleting with - I felt we were quite the dynamic duo, with our sales pitch! We handed out many leaflets, to very willing and interested bar managers and coffee shop vendors, so a great job completed by all.

Pilates on steroids

And so we met by the wonderful Stairway to Heaven memorial in Bethnal Green Gardens at 8pm sharp for Pilates Sculpt. Apologies to those who felt the Pilates was going to be a gentle wind down to the evening (but I’m over the moon that we managed to make the last 20 minutes of the session as effective as the first 70). Glutes and abs are where it’s at, when it comes to your running. Honest.

On behalf of the group and our task owners, very big thank you’s go to…

…Becky J, for planning and leading the Hollybush task; for writing the Hollybush report and taking some lovely pics and for helping out with the pun. Thanks to Bryon and Si for navigating and leading the Hollybush run, and to Heidi and Charlotte for back-marking.

Thank you to Lieke, for planning and leading the Parkview painting task, including some great pics, and thank you to Gabrielle for helping to plan and execute a truly effective leafleting task, and getting some lovely pics.

…And big hello’s and WELCOME's

…to our lovely new runners this evening: Bijan, Henry, Ella, Chand, Daphne and Simona. And welcome back to Lauren, who isn’t new, but who hasn’t run with us for a while. What a joy to have you all on board this evening, and please do come back soon.

We’re back to Stepney City Farm next week!

Next week I’m delighted to announce we’re heading back to Stepney City Farm, for all manner of outdoor tasks. This will be followed by a relay race back to base! So don’t miss out – sign up now. Can’t wait to see you then, and have a really good week in the meantime.

Three determined teams

And so it came to pass we were a three-team crew this evening again. Already committed to tree-watering at Meath and painting at Parkview, three GoodGymers were invited to return to Weavers Adventure Playground for some unfinished table business.

1) Let’s turn the tables

Task force member Dave headed up the Weavers crew, taking Polly and Si back to the tricky table, and remaining at the task until the four-legged furniture had, well, four legs, egged on by a resident fox.

2) An emulsion return to Parkview

Leanne, another of our fabulous Task Force, led the Parkview team to the task, and then onto Meath for our workout, on post-Great-North-Run legs. Much, much appreciated. The team finished the spearmint-green kitchen, making great time after a bit of delayed prepping at the venue. Well done to you all for making it to Meath in such good time.

3) Multi-tasking at Meath

Meanwhile, the marvellous Meath bunch combined tree-watering with litter-picking. Once it was established there were too many hands for two trolleys (there’s nothing a Good Gymer hates more than to be empty handed, right?), Chris, Charlotte and Heidi wasted no time in getting stuck in to some very productive litter-picking.

Buns, guns and…bands

And then we all gathered around in what was initially a slightly-strange looking circle for our Buns n’Guns workout – a 20-minute delight for the runners, using body weight and looped bands to effectively work arms and bum. Well done for you all putting up with both my playlist and continual exercise instruction. And so we headed back to base, for some final stretching and a quick drink ‘round the corner, for a non-weary few.

Special shout-outs

Thanks to everyone this evening, for making tonight so unbelievably productive, and such fun. Congratulations to Ruth, whose 50th good deed it was tonight. What a lovely addition to the evening .

Welcome to Katherine and Sam, whose first run it was. It was fantastic to have you both be part of tonight, and we hope to see you very, very soon. And lovely to see Justin from Newham GG, by no means new to GoodGym – but new to me. Please come back soon.

And so to next week…

Next week, we’re two-tasking it, at least, so do sign up here to come and be part of the fun. Have a really great week until then.

Two-tasking it again

No easy August evenings for the Tower Hamlets crew, as an eleventh hour request from one of our longest standing task owners saw us two-tasking it yet again.

Having promised the team a punctual departure (with a combined warm-up and intro - failed on the latter but succeeded on the former), we headed to our two tasks at 7 o’clock on the dot.

SOS mulch-moving

Becky headed up the second task again (thank you, Becky) to Hollybush Gardens to be greeted as enthusiastically and appreciatively as ever by Margaret and Michael, who promptly led the team to the two parking spaces, currently occupied by a large mound of logs and mulch (the spaces have recently been let to a business and the council need them free-ing up, like, yesterday, hence the urgency). The team quickly cleared the logs and set about relocating the mulch to the Hollybush garden. Wheelbarrow-running soon proved a perfect fitness task for the evening as the runners deftly steered around tight corners, making for a great total body workout, especially for the obliques – way to go, waist muscles. Becky confessed she has now developed an even greater respect for those running with buggies at parkrun. The small crew rounded the evening’s tough task off with a classic ‘band’ pic on the cleared logs before making their way to Parkview to join the painting posse.

Painting...

Meanwhile, I led the Parkview painting team to the Glasshouse Community Centre, situated within the Parkview estate, where one of our task owners, Ros, greeted the runners with overalls, paint trays, brushes and rollers and despatched the team of 13 to the kitchen, stage and toilet areas for 35 minutes of first-coat-fun.

...and meditating

Before long, task owner Catherine arrived ready to take the evening’s mindfulness class. With temperatures hitting 30-plus in recent weeks, I decided a couple of weeks of taking it a bit easy and investing in our mental and emotional fitness would be just the ticket, and what better way to do this than be taught a little meditation by Catherine – a well established teacher in the City. Brushes and rollers were bagged up; mats rolled out. Minutes later, our team of 19 were lying on the floor, focusing on nothing other than their breathing for the last 20 minutes of tonight’s task.

A distinctly more relaxed group of runners then posed obligingly for a couple of last pics, before we all headed back to base – nearly on time.

Thankyou's

Thank you to Becky J for heading up the second task so brilliantly again; for taking pics and writing the Hollybush report. Thank you to Chris for co-navigating to Hollybush, and to Si and Chris for navigating to Parkview. Thank you to Bryon for leading the run to Parkview; to Bryon, Chris and Jack for leading the pack back!

...and welcome!

And a great, big GG hello to Liz and Sarah who joined us for their first runs. It was so lovely to have you both on the team - thank you for getting so much done in such a short space of time, and really hope to see you again very soon.

And so to next week

We’re back at it again next week: more painting, more meditating (next week we’ll be looking at the loving kindness practice - perfect if you’re looking to let go of that residual bad feeling you have for your boss…). Sign up here.

Until then, have a really great week - look forward to seeing you again very soon.