It was a record-breaking morning at London Fields parkrun this week, and the Good Gym crew were right at the heart of the action! We welcomed at least 2 brand-new parkrunners, 11 people smashed their Personal Bests, and at least 5 first-time tourists discovered our course.

A huge thank you to the fantastic volunteer crew: Good Gymers Hilary, Sarah, and Rue were ably assisted by DoE Hugo and some wonderfully dragooned parents, ensuring everything ran smoothly. Some special Good Gym shout outs starting with Sarah, who commanded the top side and held court at her eponymous marshalling tree and Hilary, who put in a true captain's innings by helping with set-up, timekeeping, and token sorting.

Despite the muddy and slippery conditions from recent rain and a carpet of leaves, our sure-footed juniors stormed around the course. It was a marvel to see so many younger participants moving so quickly!

This week's warm-up mantra set the tone: "Dream big, act now, never give up, because you are amazing!" And indeed, every runner and volunteer lived up to that message. You were all amazing!

Let's do it all again next week!

This evening I returned to an isolated resident of Hackney for a food delivery from Humdingers.

As it is Friday they are serving chicken curry and rice, Mrs N's favorite.

And I'm sure the hour long all round walk helped me to build up an appetite for my own evening meal.

This evening I collected food from a soup kitchen for an isolated resident of Hackney.

All went well and after a brisk walk I managed to find Mrs N just in time for her tea.

They are cooking chicken and rice on Friday if anyone is available to lend a land.

Today I went back to a resident of Hackney to plant some of her beautifully cared for plants in the back garden.

The going was tough as with most town gardens these days there is a few inches of soil and about a tonne of hard core and rubble beneath.

But with a bit of huffing and puffing I eventually got there.

We shared a nice cup of tea and chatted about days gone by.

Such a wonderful lady and a beautiful little garden to boot.

… and the sky is blue!

Hardly a grey cloud in sight at this morning’s London Fields junior parkrun.

Sooz, Rue and Sarah took to their regular posts supporting Jonny as today’s Run Director.

London Fields in its autumn glory provided the beautiful red and orange backdrop for a sunny November Sunday.

Jonny set up the event, briefed the runners and got them raring to go with a strong warm up.

Sooz then started the timing and they were off! Rue on turning point position meant plenty of encouragement as the kids steamed up the first 100m, and hurtled round the first corner; and then again as they came flying down the home straight.

Sarah on her favourite tree got the runners through the hardest part of the course, and before long everyone was gunning back towards Sooz at the finish.

With a broad team of volunteers, they helped 60 youngsters to achieve their Sunday Runday goals, and an incredible 14 personal best times!

Impressive stuff for a leafy day underfoot.

Volunteered at Hackney Night Shelter