Tonight as I ran to Goodgym I thought about the path I was taking and how unsafe it seemed.

I only ran 3k but that path through the park that I only ran to get some extra distance in, looked dangerous because I'm alone.

If I had been with the Goodgym crew doing it, I wouldn't think about about it but, as a woman on her own it was a thought.

Loving to run on the road the concerns should be, not getting so caught up in your pace you forget crossing properly and if it's dark wear visible clothing and possibly a head torch.

Unfortunately this is not the only worry for women. We want to run home from work, get that training in after work or take that path that seemed safe when the sun was out.

This is why in Haringey tonight we were happy to support the This Girl Can Lift The Curfew campaign.

We didn't have far to go to our task and so got a bit of fitness session in before taking a nice jog over to the Community Hub.

We were needed to continue painting the room that had been started the week before.

Sam and Paul got into some up the ladder down the ladder and painted a column white. Whilst Rebecca, Louise and Julie gave the back wall a second coat of yellow.

Niamh arrived to help finish off the tasks and as usual we accomplished more than what the beneficiary thought we could.

This only left the fitness session to finish off the night.

Goodgym Haringey vets knew what was in store when Sally was mentioned but for some such as Paul, it will be something I'm sure we'll hear about tomorrow.

With Moby now silent it was time to call it a night. Whilst some headed home, some went to enjoy the rest of their Halloween night.

Twenty Goodgymmers congregated in the grounds of the wonderful Meadow Orchard in Crouch End for an emotional evening of doing good and getting fit.

Nurj O'Clock

This report is a bit late because frankly I found it a bit hard to write. Or more concretely, I tried a couple of times but failed miserably each time. You see, even in her absence, Nurj had managed to grab centre stage on Wednesday's task like she had done some many times over the last six years and I knew I would have to write a report with her as the protagonist for one last time. The words just didn't come, to be honest.

So, instead, I have decided to share with you the big Nurjehan-shaped hole she leaves on a normal Goodgym evening. She played many roles within our motley crew: self-appointed timekeeper, naughty gossipy aunt, strict school teacher when we needed a telling off, whingepot whenever we attended her least favourite task that shall now forever remain unnamed, indefatigable do gooder, tireless 5k/10k runner, unconditional friend, and perhaps, the one thing we'll miss the most, her enthusiastic cheerleading of everything Goodgym Haringey. She loved Goodgym. And she preached its praises at any given opportunity.

If I'm allowed a personal note, I'll personally miss a role she played too well without any fanfare or noise but that she relished and excelled at. Whenever we had a new runner in our group, it would always be either Nurj or myself reaching out to say hello to them. She would then proceed to tell the newbie all sort of crazy stories about how I am a mad area activator, I would then reply by telling the newbie to watch out for her because 'this one bites' and thus, within the space of thirty seconds, a newbie was eased into the dynamics of our group and was then shadowed by Nurjehan for the next 45 minutes, regaling them with whatever particular drama was happening at her school that week and making sure their evening was as fun as possible. I'll miss my newbie whisperer.

Our dearest Nurjehan Khan passed away on Thursday 18th July 2024, having completed 273 Goodgym tasks and along the way having become the unofficial face of Goodgym (her face is the landing page of the website). Goodgym Haringey will never be the same without her and we'll miss her.

I'll finish this here before she tells me off for going on too much.

<3

It's Our Birthday And We'll Cry If We Want To

In a moment of incredible timing, this evening also happened to be Goodgym Haringey's 9th Birthday. There will be other nights to celebrate and we will have a social to end all socials in due course, but we did mark the occasion with cakes, chocolate, and hell of a lot of tears.

We're very grateful to the folk at the Meadow Orchard for accommodating us at short notice (this was Nurjehan's favourite Haringey task) and they had loads of fun jobs for us. They even let us use axes on the night. Talk about cathartic.

Normal service will resume next week.

For now, just look after each other and I'm here if anyone needs a hug, a natter, or a cry.

Love to my wonderful Goodgym Haringey Fam

5 Goodgymmers cast a spell on a very moody Halloween night as they helped the Noel Park Big Local put on a phantasmagorical extravaganza for the kids in the estate.

Ghoul Runnings

On a night with two good deeds up for grabs and an abundance of crappy weather for an outdoor task, our Goodgymmers exorcised any semblance of wailing from their demeanour and got on with their missions for the evening.

First up, Citrusy Alex and Hexy Rebecca joined plain old Gramps for good deed number one. With a rather dramatic storm brewing in the air and a shortage of troops due to a bad bout of pestilence among the Noel Park Big Local ranks, Lemony Snicket and Hexy Bexy were tasked with staffing not one but two of the stations along the Halloween trail in the estate. Tasks included handing out sweet treats, avoiding the diluvial elements, and stamping kids' paper maps in the middle of a flood. And reader, that they did. Our valiant two not only held the two forts with aplomb but once their task was done, with loads of leftover treats in their bags, they started the trick-or-treat in reverse challenge by going up to kids in the streets and filling up their bags with sweets. A very wholesome end to the first good deed of the evening that would take a rather more sinister turn later in the night at the hands of Batgym Girl. More on that later, perhaps.

Once they rejoined Gramps who had been manning the final station, it was time for good deed number two. Enter Sluggish Charlie and Batgym Niamh.

At the last station, it really truly was a scene worthy of George A. Romero as poor Gramps faced last chance saloon before the cavalry arrived. With a kids party originally planned for around 20 kids and at least three members of staff available to him, a solitary Gramps stopped counting after kid number 90 walked through the door. One after one they all kept pouring in, devouring sweet treats and displaying hands covered in stamps from the trail.

Luckily our four heroes came to the rescue. First one to shine was Hexy Bexy who took control of the hordes in a way that can only be described as Sexy. With the absolute calm of an experienced hunter, she first gained the trust of the soaked kids and led them in some prancing and dancing, before using some unknown spell to convince the parents to leave and head home with such a skill that they all left thinking departure was their own idea. It was a thing of beauty.

A now savaged community centre was quickly turned over by Batgym Girl, Sluggish Charlie, and Hexy Bexy while Gramps stood around, picking up the last bits of party detritus and his nerves off the floor.

In one last act of kindness, our Goodgymmers took a now discombobulated Gramps to a local watering hole, where they sat around the campfire feeding him beers and regaling him with stories of days gone past.

A good night was had by all (but one) 😅

#BananaCaca #WeveAlreadyDoneTheseOnes #YouHadToBeThere