With our Intercity Games approaching this Saturday, we asked Rabble veteran and newly turned instructor Samantha to tell us what it was like when she first joined us as a player.
“It was a freezing cold Saturday morning in January, over at Finsbury Park,” she recalls.
“As I arrived at the entrance of the park, the heavens opened and it absolutely thrashed it down with rain. I had a pang of panic about what I was letting myself in for, but continued to walk over to the exercise group with a certain amount of trepidation.
“I needn’t have worried, as I was greeted by Rabble founder, Charlotte, with a massive smile and was made to feel welcome. I was also hugely relieved that I wasn’t the only newbie – there were other people there who had the same idea as me to try this out as a New Year’s Resolution.”
And how did she find her first experience?
“There was so much mud, and I absolutely loved it!! I ran around like a big kid for an hour and was knackered by the end of it, so I really felt like I had worked hard.
“We played loads of different sorts of games… netsketball with a giant yoga ball, there was piggy backing and we chased around people pretending to be stags.
“But there was something else that made Rabble so much fun and has kept me coming back for almost two years. At the pub after the session, where we all dried ourselves off and warmed up, I got to know this awesome set of people, who just like me didn’t really know too many people in London and were looking for a social aspect of exercise as much as they were fitness.
“That was it. From then, I was hooked. I swiftly cancelled my gym membership and took on a monthly membership with Rabble instead.”
And what does she think two years on?
“Well, for a start I’m really proud to see my fitness improve so much. I’m probably fitter now in my late 20s than I’ve ever been. 
I’ve made friends with people from all over the world, and made this big scary city feel like home.
I’ve made friends with people from all over the world, and made this big scary city feel like home.“Two years on, I’ve seen Rabble expand across other London spots and other cities in the UK. I’m so pleased to see how much it’s taken off and can’t wait to help it grow more in 2017.”
Samantha and the London Rabblers are so excited to welcome Manchester, Chester and Cambridge on Saturday for the Intercity Games.