It was an absolute joy to return to Green Park for the first time in 2025 with the team from Achilles International. Every week, the members of the London chapter of Achilles (an all abilities accessible sports charity) host a guided group run in various locations across London. Green Park only becomes an option in the Summertime, as the evenings get lighter.

6 VI runners and plenty of volunteers were on hand to run, support, bag watch and to befriend guide dogs (the best task in my opinion). Lots of VI runners training for races, as we approach peak event season- very exciting!

Next session with Achilles International

Next Thursday, we will be running at Stratford Olympic Park, meeting at the Westfield exit of the underground at 6pm.

Sign up here to get involved:

https://www.goodgym.org/v3/sessions/come-and-guide-run-with-achilles-international-olympic-park-stratford-route-d35d794a-d813-4cb4-ba66-13782bb31631

The Goodgym crew came down to Maida Vale underground station on Thursday evening to lend a hand with the Achilles International group run session. We host weekly workouts with the all abilities sports charity in a range of London locations, and this week we were running at Paddington Rec Track.

It was wonderful to run with our team of visually impaired runners (including some of who had also ran the Runthrough Chase the Moon 10km and 5km races just the other night!) alongside experienced and new running guides. Excellent performances from everyone, who took on recovery runs, tempo efforts, marathon training sessions and interval workouts on this public track.

Our next session will be at Stratford Olympic Park on Thursday 6th March:

https://www.goodgym.org/v3/sessions/come-and-guide-run-with-achilles-international-olympic-park-stratford-route-a6f34119-2ee1-423c-af26-d1ef84572c61

This week, the Achilles International team met up at Arsenal tube station, ready for our monthly session at the Emirates Stadium. 7 Goodgym guides and supporters were on hand to help our visually impaired running friends to complete a variety of workouts around a slightly wet 700m loop. We were so happy to invite 4 first time guides as well- wonderful to have you join us!

We were thrilled to be joined by top Achilles International guides Rob and Philippa - two of our most consistent members who have contributed so much over years. We wish them all the best on their new adventures in Sheffield! And we hugely appreciated the delicious lemon drizzle cake on offer to celebrate your last run with us (for now!).

We were also very happy to catch up with Stephen, who has been away from our sessions for a little while. Stephen has been training for months to prepare for a 54km ultra marathon in Slovenia, while fundraising for Achilles International. Congratulations, and great to have you back!

To finish our evening, we enjoyed a trip to The Brook Gate on Blackstock Road for refreshments, hot food and good times!

Great work everyone. We will be back next week at Paddington Rec Track (Maida Vale). Sign up here:

https://www.goodgym.org/v3/sessions/come-and-guide-run-with-achilles-international-paddington-rec-track-f84dc6a2-273c-474c-bd46-5e29cc1d7268

We are very happy with our weekly gathering, which brings us together for a unique running session at Paddington Rec Track. The weather was enjoyable for running not too cold and everyone had a great time during the session. ✅Four runners from GoodGym, along with supporters and dog owners, joined the Achilles International team for this weekly meet up. ✅Meanwhile, seven visually impaired runners enjoyed a fantastic group run around the track. Additionally, a guide dog, Mario, participated to provide assistance. It was a session with a more beautiful perspective, full of encouragement and enthusiasm on the track. We will meet next week in Stratford (Stratford Tube Station) at 6 PM. Have a great time, everyone!

On Wednesday evening, a crew of visually impaired runners and guides met up at the Battersea Park Runthrough Chase the Moon 10km and 5km event, running some smashing times and excellent performances. Mark D and Mark N both ran personal bests, and Charles ran a solid 10km time too. The three VI runners also joined the Achilles International crew for another group run session the next evening for a very impressive double!

20 guides, VI runners and supporters met at Arsenal tube station last night, and ran a variety of paces, distances and sessions around the 700m concourse of Emirates Stadium. We were thrilled to welcome new guides: Veronika and Lorna who both shadowed frequent guide running partners and tried guide running for the first time.

Wonderful to catch up with Naqi last night (running with Philippa) after his birthday celebrations, and to be joined by Tim U, back in London for his graduation. Great to see you both!

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Come and Guide Run with Achilles International (Paddington Rec Track!)

Thursday 30th January, 6pm, Maida Vale underground station

https://www.goodgym.org/happenings/come-and-guide-run-with-achilles-international-paddington-rec-track-db3e1e87-d1e9-4d55-8f34-fd86e1b9101a

6 Goodgym runners, supporters and dog walkers joined the Achilles International crew for their weekly group run session. Paddington Rec Track was significantly less cold and icy than it was 2 weeks ago!

11 visually impaired runners enjoyed a smashing social run around the track, with fellow local runners in Westminster. 3 guide dogs were on hand too (Max, Hugo and Mario), along with Rufous the border terrier for support. Great work everyone!

Next week, we will be meeting at Emirates Stadium (Arsenal Tube Station).

Follow the link for more info:

https://www.goodgym.org/v3/sessions/come-and-guide-run-with-achilles-international-emirates-stadium-398b3240-7201-49b9-b73c-d75d86b6a86e