GoodGym - life starts at 50???
For nearly six years now I've been part of a community that I didn't know I needed. We do something odd - we run around our local area and we do good things for people in our neighbourhood. Some of us run in big groups to help community projects, some of us run in 2s and 3s to help older people with tasks around the home, and some of us get paired with a "coach" - an older person who we visit regularly as part of our weekly run to help us stay motivated.
Six years. A lot has changed. I remember when I first heard about GoodGym starting to grow into more and more areas. I was so worried. I genuinely thought I'd start to lose the community I'd built around me. A community that had risen me up to heights I never thought possible, and caught me when I fell lower than I'd ever expected as well. I wonder now whether there was even a bit of jealousy in my heart - almost a feeling that I didn't want it to be shared with loads of other people.
I needn't have feared. Or maybe more accurately, I should have put my fear into a wider context. In a lot of ways, since that day I have lost the community I had - I don't see my Camden friends nearly as much as I'd like to - but the real picture is I've gained a more diverse community. Diversity - it's a word bandied around but not always understood in my view, and personally I think i'm still getting my head around it. For me, every knew person I'm connected to, brings me added strength. With each new GoodGym area I now share something with someone new, whether it's the act of getting fit and doing good, or the need to feel part of something that brings a bit of meaning and purpose to our lives.
Starting our 50th GoodGym feels a bit like achieving a birthday milestone - utterly arbitrary but still a catalyst for reflection. As with birthdays I've done a lot of looking back, but what has me most excited is looking forward. Today doesn't feel like the closing of a chapter but the opening of one.
My community now spans 50 areas across the UK and whether I'm bumping into fellow GoodGym-ers in the street (happens quite a lot actually) or chatting over Twitter, whether I'm running and volunteering or just cracking on with day to day bits and bobs, I know there are people who've got my back and I've got theirs. For all the projects we help and older people we support, deep down I'm part of GoodGym less for the difference we make to others, and more because I quite like not feeling alone any more.
This post is for all those past, current and future GoodGym members who feel the same.