The first ever Runthrough Relay event was hosted on Thursday evening in Stratford Olympic Park, and the team from Achilles International were thrilled to participate! Our VI (visually impaired) runners and sighted guides made up 4 teams of 3 runners each, ready to run a baton around 5km of the West Ham Stadium, City Mill River Path and across the Iron Bridge. 134 teams from all across London were lined up ready to run from the Pool Street Market- an incredible atmosphere on the night!

Behind the scenes, volunteer coordinators Simon Fitzmaurice, Chris Blackabee and Mark Durban had spent a few weeks of organising and messaging to make sure that every VI runner had a guide, and that everyone knew where to meet and when to run. It was amazing to see a plan come together, and all of our Achilles International crew were able to cheer and celebrate each others achievements.

Well done to everyone running, guiding, dog minding (Mario and Spike!), coordinating and cheering from the side lines. Thank you for a wonderful evening of running!

On a glorious May Day evening, the crew from the UK chapter of Achilles International (an all abilities guide running charity) met up for a smashing run around Green Park.

This week, we were joined by a collection of London Marathon running heroes (Mark Colby and Andrew Jones ran exceptionally well considering the heat). We also had the pleasure of joining Siri, the daughter of UK chapter founder, Chris Blackabee for her birthday celebrations. A wonderful evening of celebrations for all involved!

Next week, we will be meeting at Stratford Underground station for top running fun in the Olympic Park.

Sign up here to get involved: https://www.goodgym.org/v3/sessions/come-and-guide-run-with-achilles-international-olympic-park-stratford-route-6575e329-1470-4a07-959a-abcd36058c26

Last night, Achilles International UK welcomed 10 visually impaired runners to our weekly group run session- this time at Paddington Rec Track, Maida Vale. Our runners included first timers Yahya and Tanja (training for The Big Half and Kingston Half Marathon) and returning distance runner Khalid (ready to run London Marathon on Sunday). Fellow VI runners preparing for London Marathon included Andrew Jones and Mark Colby- look out for the distinctive Achilles International yellow tops if you are spectating on Sunday!

A bumper turnout this week, especially for new guides too- well done to James and Jess for shadowing and guide running on their first session with Achilles. Goodgym runners Andy, Stephen and Daniel were brilliant VI guides for Andrew, Tanja and Mark. Big thanks to Kim for looking after beautiful guide dog Mario too, while his owner Andrew ran his last pre-race shake out session. Good luck to all pf our Achilles International UK racers on Sunday!

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We will be back on Thursday 1st May at Green Park:

https://www.goodgym.org/v3/sessions/come-and-guide-run-with-achilles-international-green-park-summer-session-f62d4df4-cda9-44bc-a79f-d3cf33e87cd3

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