At this evening's launch event for GoodGym Windsor and Maidenhead 44 runners ran 5km to help the Maidenhead Community Allotment.

Considering it had been hailing just a few hours previously, this was a fantastic turnout, and a sign of the grit and commitment we now know to expect from the good people of Windsor and Maidenhead. There was much chatter and anticipation as the group gathered in the foyer of the Town Hall. It was great to see 32 new faces, as well as a group of superstar GoodGym tourists from Slough and Ealing, and GoodGym gurus Liv, Rebecca and Rich from head office.

New Trainer Amy welcomed everyone, including special guest Councillor Karen Davies, Ward Councillor for Clewer East, and introduced Helen Preedy, the Sports Development Manager for the borough.

Since seeing a GoodGym advertisment a few years ago on the London Underground, Helen and her colleague Mark have worked hard to bring the GoodGym dream to Windsor and Maidenhead, and to realise the potential it has to bring people together from different parts of the community and to boost both mental and physical health...

...helping both Maidenhead and (Maiden)body as one wannabe pun-queen put it.

Amy then shared the plan for the evening, the walkers headed off down the high-street and the runners headed to the outdoor amphi-theatre for a quick warm-up. This Maidenhead gem is lit like a real theatre, even on a chilly night in February, lending a dramatic atmosphere to a few leg swings and high knees. The criss-cross had a few of us going cross-eyed and some may still be wondering what Wendy calls that hip limbering move.

Then the runners were off too - chatting as they looped over the smart new foot-bridge, and down the High Street to catch up with the walkers. After the under-pass towards High Town Road the group spread out a bit more as they tackled Castle Hill. Special mentions go to front-runner Frances whose local knowledge kept everyone heading in the right direction, and to Adrian who won the best dressed award in his smart coat - proving that you don't need fancy lycra to be a runner!

No mucking around

At the task we were warmly welcomed by volunteers from the Maidenhead Community Allotment and the Men in Sheds, who had already begun preparations for our visit - not least of all collecting 53 bags of horse manure! After a briefing from the Chairman of the Men in Sheds and a group photo - everyone grabbed a tool and quickly set to work. Within minutes four raised beds and a long border were dug over and being enriched with mulch enthusiasm and shouts of 'I'm pooing over here!' from Emily. Meanwhile another group were getting diggy with it in the sensory area, removing turf to increase the area for planting.

The vision for the allotment is that it can benefit the community in more ways than one: the raised beds are used for growing veg, which is donated to Foodshare, the Boyn Grove Resource and Community Centre's Bridge That Gap Cafe next door, and also used by local residents and the allotment volunteers; the sensory area is used by the neighbouring Clara Court Care Home, which specialises in dementia care. Their residents will be planting and enjoying flowers in this area in the coming months; and the Men in Sheds offer a space for 'shedders' to benefit from regular social interaction and enjoy new and improved practical skills.

We do give a fig

After a quick strategy planning meeting behind the shed, the fig tree relocation team sprung into action. Nick set to work loosening the pot from its old home and others took turns digging a new hole, which will be more accessible for watering. Unphased by hitting concrete, they powered on until the hole was deep enough for the pot. Amy enquired as to whether anyone was getting cold...Fig goodness sake Amy, this is an even better workout than the run up the hill!

The walkers departed as the rest of the team swept up and tidied away the tools, and then the mulchers did a bit of running on the spot while the fig tree was tucked into its new bed. Manure hands really do make light work and we were really impressed by how much we had achieved as we set off back along the Bath Road and down the hill. We congregated in Kidwells Park for our fitness session, the CONES OF DOOM. This speed circuits session had everyone running around in circles, squatting, hopping, mountain climbing and even dancing for 5 minutes before we once more filled the High Street on our way back to the Town Hall.

Coming up...

If you enjoyed this evening's launch then you will be pleased to know we have our next group run starting at the same time in the same place next week, and every week after that! Next week we have an indoor task, stickering and sorting boxes of donated books for the Big Read book festival. We were lucky enough this evening to have the Chairman of the Big Read, Stephan joining us on our run. We hope lots of you will sign up here to help Stephan next week.

On today's run we also introduced Rich, who helps coordinate coach runs and missions to help isolated older people. These activities are another great way you can get involved with GoodGym and combine your fitness fix with helping in your community. Click on the links or ask Amy at your next group run for more info.