It was late November showers that greeted us this morning under the big tree, and as our hardy volunteer team appeared from all directions to discover that efficient Run Director Rue had already set out most of the course and checked it was "runnable", we stood in somewhat nervous anticipation as to whether any junior runners (and/or their coaches) would actually brave the conditions...

But at five to nine the first few enthusiasts started appearing, and before long we had a crowd, huddled in their rain jackets. Rue put a call out for additional volunteers and a few willing hands went up, so alongside local GoodGymmers Lucinda (timekeeping duty/scaring the Run Director) and Nick (first turn Marshall), we finally corralled 11 hi viz heroes...and in today's conditions they were just that.

A brief Hackney Haka warmup led by Rue and they were off - the going was soft to treacherous in places, so care had to be taken at the turns and the especially muddy parts, but great running by all 22 of today's participants, including 3 first timers, and everyone got round seemingly without a tumble and just a lot of muddy ankles as a souvenir. Amazingly there was even a PB.

Same time next week for more fun at the fields, come along if you can - hopefully we'll be back to glorious blue skies by then...

12 goodgymers travelled to Ocean Youth Connexion on a chilly Monday evening. Some cycled, others walked, John braved poorly lit towpaths (successfully managing to remain a land mammal). Taskowner Kamal instructed us on the two jobs for the night 1) bagging up leaves in the yard and 2) painting the roller shutter.

Nia and Darren transformed the roller shutters from a muted grey to shiny metallic, almost rivaling the brightness of the jackets sported by myself and Emma. They were meticulous with their paint rollers, trapping us all in the yard at the end just to get the job done. Or one could say, painting us into a corner (pun credit/blame: Darren)... We were all happy to stay to witness the finishing touches of their Rothko-esque masterpiece.

The rest of the gang were busy beavers running around the yard clearing it of loose leaves (which Kamal had already kindly swept into piles). Wheelbarrows, brooms, brushes, leaf scoopers and hands were employed to get the job done. It seems like every time we come to Ocean Youth, Kamal provides a new helpful item - headtorches this time. So industrious were we, there was a constant background rustling sound throughout the hour. Countless trips back and forth were made to the designated leaf drop off zone for the leaf fairies (aka the council) to pick up at a later date.

Bang went the clock tower, and with jobs complete, a cheery gang made their way to the pub round the corner.