Day 28: I won’t let you down

“Your brain will make you stop much earlier than your body will.”

This was something that my running coach said when I trained with Can Too for the half-marathon (if you want to do a half marathon and help cure cancer you should really check them out). I really liked this phrase, not only because it’s true for running but because it is true for so many things in life. Our self doubt and our excuses are what stop us from achieving great things not circumstances.

And the only thing that I have ever found that helps with the self-doubt is people. There is something about running with other people, that makes you keep going long after you feel tired and I think it has to do with the human desire not to let each other down.

Which brings me to Good Gym, one of my favourite sharing economy platforms. Good Gym is a not for profit organization that facilitates people doing ‘good’ while running. There are three ways you can do ‘good’ with Good Gym.

The first is what I did tonight and called the Group Run. There were 25 of us tonight, and after gathering together at Highbury Pool, we ran 2.5km to Glenville Gardens before picking up tools for half an hour and getting stuck into the community gardens. I got the honor of a pruning a lavender bush which smelt heavenly. Three of us attacked it fiercely under the guidance of a lady who was part of the community group responsible for the garden’s care. The boys attacked some roots that needed digging up. Halfway through we got to stop for a biscuit (how English) and then gardening work over we ran back (with a few stair drills just for good measure).

​The second way you can do good is through a Mission Run. This is where a group of 3 or 4 runners goes and helps an elderly person with something that needs to be done but they can’t do themselves — this could be anything from changing a light bulb, to weeding a garden, or moving some furniture.

Lastly there are Coach runs. This is where a runner is paired with an elderly isolated person. Most of the time these are older people who don’t have a lot of family and few visitors. The runner then runs their distance and meets with their ‘coach’. They sit and chat for anything from 15 minutes to an hour and then the runner runs back. The value in this is that the older person gets someone to talk to and for the runner it is a great motivator when the weather is bad or you are feeling tired to know that there is someone waiting for you who will really miss you if you don’t show up.

And that is why Good Gym is one of my favourite platforms. It takes a known human behavior — the desire not to let people down — and exploits it for getting fit. It’s not just win, win, it’s win win win. It’s ‘ambient value’ at it’s best because despite no money changing hands the value each party gets is priceless.