7km!! of Leafleting Long Roads & Loads of Good: Supporting Citizens Advice Barnet

It was a cool, crisp evening in East Finchley perfect weather for a purposeful GoodGym group run. This week we teamed up with Citizens Advice Barnet, a charity doing vital, often unseen work supporting people across our borough. Many don’t realise that our local CAB is a standalone fundraising charity, completely reliant on grants and donations to keep offering free advice on debt, housing, benefits, employment issues and more. When people hit crisis, CAB is often the first and only safety net so helping them reach more residents felt especially worthwhile.

We met in the foyer of the Phoenix Cinema, where Louise from CAB (and keen runner!) joined us with a quick intro and a giant stack of freshly printed flyers — 1,000 of them to be exact. Our mission: get as many as possible through local letterboxes to spread the word about their current appeal, which also has a match-funding sponsor doubling any donations. If you’ve got a spare few pennies, this is the moment they go twice as far.

Before setting off, we shared the meanings behind our names from Georges to Louises to those of us named after 60s bands which set a relaxed and cheerful tone for the evening. It was also great to welcome Sonya ( meaning wisdom) , joining us for the first time in awhile!

Beattie took back-marking duties as we warmed up with a gentle jog through the cool East Finchley streets, looping past the station and into the long, straight roads around Brim Hill prime leaflet territory with plenty of front gardens, long driveways, and a fair few tempting glimpses into cosy houses on a November night.

We split into two teams of three and got to work. There’s something uniquely satisfying about a leafleting mission: a rhythm develops, steps rack up fast, you admire (or survive!) people’s front paths, and you always spot an impressive number of parcels on doorsteps.

Despite our best efforts, 1,000 leaflets was a tall order but we managed around 450, which was an excellent push for one evening. We’ll look to return for a follow-up mission to complete the rest.

A big thank you to everyone who came, to Sonia for joining us, and to Louise for bringing the materials and the motivation. Great cause, great company, and a great night.

GoodGym Barnet – Use It or Lose It!

Barnet gathered once more at the Phoenix Cinema, and what a turnout it was – boosted by a bumper crop of first-timers. A big cheer to Keith, Natasha, Billy and Lucie for joining us for the first time. Great to have you with us!

We couldn’t have picked a better meeting point. The Phoenix has been in the local news recently – one of the oldest continuously operating cinemas in the country, but sadly struggling to turn a profit. The trust’s message is clear: use it or lose it. ( just like our fitness ) So, while we meet outside for our runs, why not pop back another night for a classic film, an indie gem, and of course, copious amounts of popcorn?

After a gentle warm-up and a quick bank-holiday-weekend debrief (sunshine featured heavily), we set off through Cherry Tree Woods and on to Highgate Woods, where we met Cindy the Ranger. While waiting, we even managed a bit of gentle yoga in the evening light ( who says GoodGym doesn’t stretch you in every sense!)

Cindy led us to a rather large wooden construction. Picturesque, yes. Useful for biodiversity? Not so much. She explained how deadwood plays a vital role in the woodland ecosystem, supporting fungi, insects, and all sorts of wriggly life. Our task: dismantle the wooden tower and repurpose the material into protective fencing to help new undergrowth regenerate.

Armed with determination (and a limited number of gloves…), we attacked the structure with gusto, soon reducing it to neat piles ready for its next life as woodland fencing. Satisfying work – though possibly more splinter-prone than popcorn-eating!

Shout-outs and Top Tips • Huge welcome again to our new recruits – you smashed your first GoodGym mission. • A little plea: future tasks often involve logs, nettles, or other prickly characters. Treat yourself to a pair of lightweight gardening gloves – they’ll make you look the part and save you some splinters. • With darker evenings on the horizon, a head torch is also a worthy sidekick. You’ll thank yourself when you can see both the path and the nettle patch.

As ever, GoodGym is about more than running – it’s about supporting our local community, green spaces, and charities, many of whom are short of volunteers. By showing up, you remind them that what they do matters. Plus, winter training with GoodGym is secretly brilliant – it’s invigorating, you’ll stay motivated, and honestly… it hardly ever rains (and if it does, you’ll hardly notice!).

So keep coming, keep running, and keep helping. Barnet needs you and so do the trees!

GoodGym Barnet – Joyful Hydration & Time-Travelling Conversations

Six of us gathered outside the Phoenix Cinema and, before even breaking sweat, launched into a surprisingly philosophical warm-up: “If you could observe any period in history, where & when would you go?” Answers ranged from Aztec civilisation to Victorian London – the kind of discussion that might get us expelled from most running clubs but is positively encouraged at GoodGym.( well Barnett anyway.)

With our time-machine firmly parked, we jogged off towards Lyttelton Playing Fields to give the planters and orchard some much-needed love. Sadly, our host Steven was ill – but, being seasoned water-warriors, we knew the drill.

We gently built up the pace downhill, tracing the buried course of Mutton Brook (underground river, very on-trend). A quick on-the-spot exercise stop – complete with skipping – reminded us that fitness can (and should) still feel playful. One of our newer recruits Emilysummed it up perfectly as “joyful movement”.

On arrival, we uncoiled a hose of comedic length which, inevitably, didn’t reach all the planters. Enter: Buckets. Suddenly we were running relays across the field, racing to deliver precious water before any of it escaped. Orchard next – further, heavier, and definitely sweatier – but the teamwork was brilliant and spirits remained high. Honestly, the Aztecs would have been proud.

Buckets emptied and hose recoiled (no small feat), we still had a few minutes left – so naturally, yoga and star jumps. The latter required several “just one more!” photographs, which definitely qualified as bonus cardio.

We jogged back into the darkening evening, happy, hydrated (us and the trees), and reminded that community + exercise + a bit of silliness = exactly what GoodGym is all about.

Come and join next time – time travel optional, skipping encouraged.

With the temperature dropping suddenly (even though it was the hottest start to May ever recorded) and a few Goodgymmers taken ill, just three of us managed the group run to Shepherds Hill Gardens. Anthony and I both rocked up a little early to the Phoenix, while Sonya gamely offered to meet us at the gardens, so we set off promptly at a gentle pace. We arrived early and did a decent stretch, before heading over to meet Pat, one of the amazing custodians of the green space.

We gathered tools, sacks and snacks - yes, one of the lovely perks of visiting, but not the reason we go! - and set to the laborious maintenance tasks that are a challenge for the older volunteers at the space. We swept the path and steps at the public-facing end of the woodland patch while Pat litter-picked and pruned hedges, then ferried the waste down to the compost pile in the wood. That alone was enough work for the four of us, so we decamped to a bench for some hot hibiscus berry tea and apple juice, to natter about the various volunteers and the jobs they have ahead of them.

Like many green spaces around Barnet, they're looking ahead to the extra work spring and summer brings and trying to build capacity for pruning and maintaining new growth. Keep an eye out for a dedicated Community Mission to help them at their regular sessions in May and June.