Ray Algar reports on the GoodGym initiative, in which running is given a social purpose

GoodGym is a simply great concept powered by an insight that asks: ‘How do we make the act of running more purposeful and socially useful?’

Instead of running in circles around a park, a GoodGym runner embarks on a mission to do some good in their local community, either alone or as part of a group. Rather than run straight past that nursing home, why not stop and spend time with someone who’s craving companionship? Now the act of running is no longer a self-centred act but a generous and compassionate one.

GoodGym runners can harness their energy for all manner of social- and community-minded projects, helping them to “get fit by doing good”.

How the project started
Back in 2008, Ivo Gormley, an enthusiastic amateur runner, was thinking about how to encourage more people to volunteer a small fraction of their time to help an elderly or vulnerable member of a local community. He wondered how volunteering could be made easier to integrate into someone’s already busy life. So he posed the question: ‘How can the physical activity a person is already doing be channelled into doing social good?’ It flipped the idea of running to serve ourselves into running to serve others.

Making a run more purposeful
The simple idea was to connect a person’s run with a visit to an elderly member of the community, offering companionship as well as bringing them a small gift (£1 or less), such as a newspaper or a treat from the local bakery. The home visit is not long, ranging from 10 minutes to an hour.

Duration is not the important measure here – it’s the personal connection that helps break the long periods many elderly members of our communities spend alone and isolated. It sends a powerful message that the community cares about all its residents, not just the active and visible ones.

Becoming a GoodGym member
Runners of all abilities register on the GoodGym website and select one of three cities where the project currently operates as at June 2014 – London, Bristol and Liverpool. Members need to be aged over 18 and go through a criminal record check due to contact with vulnerable adults.

GoodGym works with the NHS, charities and local community centres to match runners to a housebound elderly person who would like a regular visitor. Runners commit to a minimum of one weekly run.

From one to many
As GoodGym began to develop, Gormley began exploring how the group’s energy could be harnessed to undertake more tangible projects in the community. In a blog post, he asked: ‘How can we expand this idea to give the good activity some kind of physical aspect? Could a group of people run somewhere and fix something, then run home again? Perhaps we could paint a wall, clear some rubble or help someone move into a new home?’

This idea quickly developed and now groups of runners meet with a specific mission.

Recent GoodGym community missions have included:
- 14 GoodGymmers ran to a community garden in Bristol, south-west England, and undertook 40 minutes of gardening.
- 28 GoodGymmers ran between 4km and 8km to help two food-growing projects in Camden, north London.
- 12 GoodGymmers ran 4.5 km to
- a local hospital in north London and helped to move 3,000kg of soil for a new vegetable garden.
- 19 GoodGymmers ran to the Julian Trust Homeless Shelter in Bristol, where they all helped to sort through donated clothes and blankets.

This June, a Facebook post grabbed my attention: “We’ve been asked to help a kid from Richard House Hospice. He’s coming home soon and it would be really great to get his garden cleared. He lives in east London, so if you’re running the half-marathon, this could be a great reason to get in your final long run…”

So what can your business do?
Ask yourself: ‘How could we harness our tribe of customers and develop a purposeful programme of activities, where all that physical energy is captured and put back into the community?’ Go on, pick up the phone to your local school, care home or district nurse. See if you can find an answer to this question: ‘How can we get fit while doing some good?’ Don’t just be a gym, be a good gym.