On a crisp winter evening, GoodGym Barnet met at the Phoenix Cinema before a sociable 2km run to the local gem that is Stephens House & Gardens — the beautiful 1870s Italianate house set within its much-loved pocket park.

Our task was to polish the house’s unique original pine staircase, crafted from timber believed to be over 300 years old. Armed with beeswax and cloths, we spread ourselves along the steps, carefully feeding the wood and bringing it back to life. It was warm, satisfying work — and a meaningful way to help reduce maintenance costs for the charity. Mel p advised us how to work with beeswax and cloths.

Some runners joined us at the house, and we were very kindly rewarded with tea and coffee before heading back to the Phoenix.

Stephens House is a real Barnet treasure, hosting everything from Sunday lunches and seasonal fairs to exhibitions and summer theatre. Do support them — whether by volunteering, attending events or visiting the café.

Huge congratulations to Subham on his 50th good deed 👏 and Gavin on his first GoodGym run. Give him a cheer.. Great to see Scarlett, and lovely to welcome visitors Theo and Peter Hale.

Thanks to everyone who came along to support this fantastic park and house!

For our first indoor session of winter (I know right?!), Barnet Goodgym brought their energy and gusto to St Mary's Church in Finchley Central. Following a bit of a storm, a ceiling cave in and half a year of rain management, the church finally had the gutters fixed and roof patched. All that remains to mend are the pews.

Goodgym to rescue - nine of us in all! Five of us braved the bleak rain, gathering at the Phoenix - Beattie arriving first, as usual - for a run up the East End Road, including Amir who popped over from Brent. Lucinda and Subham took up back marking, though Subham kindly took the lead as we neared our destination, steering us to a lovely car-free route around the back of Stephens House - a run leader in the making!

Arriving at St Mary's Church in good time, we were met by our host, Helen, and Paul, Kirsten and our honorary mascot, Gus. Soon after Amanda and Theodore rocked up and we got to work.

The task involved waxing down damaged pews with steel wool padding, leaving them for a few minutes, then polishing them hard with tea towels. A fairly simple task, but one that turned into a good work out. The polishing was the real energetic work, requiring a lot of pressure to smooth out the hardening wax. But with so many of us we made light work of roughly 8 pews in the morning prayer section. The pews are used on a daily basis, so they were really glad for the work.

After, Helen gave us a quick tour of the church and a brief history of some of the older parts and decorations. Maybe we'll be back to do a bit more work, as the other pews might be in need of a bit of TLC anyway.

Then, with that lovely, satisfying feeling in our chests, we headed to the nearby pub to round the evening off by slaking our thirst and sating our bellies.

Three of us gathered for a session, this time mostly on top ropes. Beattie has climbed a lot in the past, but not for a while. It was Theodore's first time climbing in the UK and second climb ever. So we had a gentle go on the ropes, followed by a bit of bouldering.

A helpful receptionist told me I can bring five free first timers every month because I'm a member, which is great!

Dark Arts, Woodchip & New Faces 🌙🌲

Last night’s group run reminded us why GoodGym is such a brilliantly odd and rewarding thing to be part of.

We gathered in the welcoming glow of the Phoenix Cinema foyer, chatting and catching up while meeting a couple of new faces a warm welcome to Jack and Jamie who both dived straight into the spirit of the evening. Numbers were handed out and, in keeping with January tradition, we briefly checked in on how everyone’s New Year’s resolutions were going. The verdict? Not much to report but crucially, everyone had turned up, which already counts as a win.

A quick warm-up followed outside the cinema, making full use of the uphill gradient for kick-ups, crossovers and skips ... proof that you don’t need fancy equipment when you’ve got gravity on your side.

Subham kindly volunteered to back-mark… and within about two minutes found himself at the front of the group. To his credit, he noticed before anyone else did, which gave us all a good laugh!

We headed off towards St Martin’s Primary School, only to arrive to a scene straight out of a mystery novel: locked gates, no lights, and a very quiet school. Just as we were wondering whether we’d taken a wrong turn into a spy film, John appeared to open up and set us to work.

Tasks included improving paths around the forest school area particularly near the fire pit and outdoor kitchen with the added bonus that we managed to tackle some extra path work too. A bit of digging, some wheelbarrowing, and a lot of purposeful activity in near darkness: exactly the kind of thing that makes GoodGym feel refreshingly different from an indoor gym session.

Before long it was tools down, a steady run back and gentle stretch.

Running, digging, and volunteering in the dark on a cool January evening turns out to be just about perfect: short, sharp, effective exercise with real purpose. For Jack and Jamie and anyone else wondering whether to come back this is what we do. Different every week, always friendly, and always worth turning up for.

Same time next week?

Rain, Resolutions & a Hidden Gem

Our group run to Stephens House and Gardens from the Phoenix Cinema had all the hallmarks of a tough one. It might have been a relatively mild 10°C, but the steady rain and gloomy skies made it feel intimidating. And yet incredibly everyone turned up. Not a single runner was put off by the forecast or the prospect of getting soaked.

We gathered in the foyer of the Phoenix Cinema, shaking off the drizzle and catching up. It was great to welcome Matta brand-new runner, clearly committed to his New Year resolution of trying something different. Fresh back from cold-water dipping in Sweden. we hope to see him at our next challenging event.

Our warm-up chat turned to resolutions kept, broken, or still evolving before we headed out into the rain, easing into the pace with George sensibly anchoring the back. Don’t forget: capture your run or walk on Strava every activity counts for the January Challenge.

About 20 minutes later we arrived at Stephens House and Gardens. By then the drizzle had eased, and we were warmly welcomed by the wonderful volunteer duo Alison and Warwick, who give so much of their retirement time to supporting this historic place.

Our task was a satisfying one: clearing leaves from the front car park and the stable yard — a job that’s particularly effective late in the evening once the cars have gone. Armed with wheelbarrows, brooms, shovels and rubble bags, we soon filled two very large bags of leaves. Jackie was so engrossed she barely seemed to want to stop proof that leaf-clearing can be strangely addictive.

Before heading off, we reflected on just how important this place is. Stephens House is a real hidden gem, run as a trust and heavily reliant on community support. Many people don’t realise how vulnerable places like this are right now. Whether it’s popping in for a coffee, enjoying the food, attending an event or even hosting a wedding every visit helps. Even the Antiques Roadshow recognised its charm, filming three episodes here.

The run back revealed a lovely irony: East End Road was closed to traffic, but on foot we slipped straight past the barriers — yet another reminder of how adaptable (and smug) runners can be.

Most of us finished back at the Phoenix Cinema for well-earned refreshments: popcorn, homemade chocolate, and cider generously supplied by Theo — our resident cameraman for the night.

A wet evening, a brilliant turnout, a great task and another reminder of why GoodGym works so well.