Founder, GOODGYM

What is GoodGym?
We combine exercise with doing good deeds. There are two concepts: the first is Coach Runs, where people run to visit an old person on a regular basis – we refer to them as their coach, on account of the fact that they provide ongoing motivation. Or the second, which is called Missions, where groups of runners help with a community project or a household job, like sorting out an overgrown garden or painting a community centre. We also run in groups to help community projects.

How did it come about?
After I left university I stopped doing sport and missed both the exercise and social aspect. I needed motivation to start exercising again, so I began running to see an older neighbour a couple of times a week, stopping for a chat and taking him a newspaper. He was an ex-soldier and gave me tips on how to build up my fitness.

In 2009 I started to think about extending this idea more widely, as loneliness and isolation is such a huge and invisible problem – according to Age UK, more than one million older people say they are always, or often, lonely.

I contacted organisations who work with old people, like The Red Cross and Age UK and set up a basic website, to try to match runners and old people. In 2013 I started working on it full time.

What was the main challenge in setting it up?
The biggest challenge is having to DBS check everyone to make sure they are appropriate, so we sometimes lose people in the sign up process. Other than that the challenges are getting the idea across to people and then matching people in the same area, with the same availability, without keeping either party waiting too long. If we had more runners, we could find more coaches.

How is it funded?
We’re a registered charity, so it’s all free to participate in. Many runners make donations and some coaches do, we also get small grants from local authorities and have received Lottery funding. We’re also now sponsored by BT and New Balance.

How fast are you growing?
We currently have around 4,000 members but it’s growing all the time as we actively spread into more cities: we’re now setting up in Norwich, Birmingham and Cardiff. We’re aiming to be in every UK city in the next two years.

Who does GoodGym appeal to?
All standards of runners, it’s a great way to find extra motivation to exercise.

Do you have plans to further diversify or expand going forward?
No, we’ll stick with what we’re doing and get better at it. Parkrun really inspires me, it’s an incredible and revolutionary organisation in the fitness world. They’ve stuck to one thing and focused on doing it really well and they work collaboratively with the community, so it’s very flexible and open.

How can gyms engage with your scheme?
Some gym operators, including Better, have been supportive by letting our runners use their facilities to meet up. It would be great if operators could collaborate with us and market our work to their members, who could do a Coach Run as another of their weekly workouts, or sign up for a one off Mission. It’s a great way to keep workouts varied and keep people engaged.

What achievements are you most proud of?
The culture that we’ve created. Everyone is so friendly and supportive of each other and it’s a wonderful thing to be able to help people who are living on their own.

Both parties get something from the arrangement. Our evaluation has shown that it improves the wellbeing of both the runners and the coaches, with 93 per cent of runners saying it increased their motivation to exercise. It gives both sides a sense of purpose.

The coaches benefit from the company and the structure. People have said that GoodGym has given them hope, or changed their perception of young people.

It’s also helped ease social isolation: we’ve had instances where the old people have been hospitalised and the runners are the only people who visit them. I’m most proud of the ways in which GoodGym has helped people connect.

Find out more: goodgym.org