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Alexander, who is part of The Chris Evans Breakfast Show on BBC Radio Two, completed his first GoodGym mission last week when he ran eight miles from the BBC studios in central London to clear a garden for an elderly lady who can no longer do it. He then ran five miles back home.
“It’s a great way to train for the London Marathon or any event,” said Alexander. “I did 13 miles in total with two hours of gardening in between that with another GoodGym runner called Polly (pictured). It’s a great way to get the miles in, socialise and help other people out.”
GoodGym, which has been supported by London Marathon Events Ltd, was set up in 2009 by Ivo Gormley with a very simple premise: get people to exercise while doing good in their community at the same time.
Eight years later, GoodGym is growing fast. It is now operating in 30 different areas in the UK and thousands of people – or coaches as GoodGym refer to them – have benefited from the good deeds.
These deeds can be anything from clearing a garden, as Alexander did, to helping fix things around the house or just spending time with someone who can’t get out of their home. The runs can be done as a group or on your own.
“When I first heard about GoodGym it sounded like the best thing ever,” said Alexander. “I called Ivo and got him on the Breakfast Show to tell us more about it and we all loved it. It’s such a brilliant idea.
“Since I got bitten by the running bug I have found that, as a group, runners are generally good eggs. It goes with the miles I suppose and the simplicity of the idea of GoodGym is genius. Why run miles that don’t need to be run when you can use up energy doing something good?”
Alexander dipped under the magical three-hour marathon barrier at last year’s Virgin Money London Marathon but is not expecting to go that quickly this time round.
He said: “I would be very surprised if I have any speed in my legs at the moment. I’m training for more ultra-endurance events at the moment so I’m not sure I’ll be beating last year’s time.
“But I am really looking forward to it. It’s a great opportunity to run and enjoy the crowds which is what makes London so special.”
For more information on GoodGym, visit www.goodgym.org
Source: Virgin Money London Marathon
