15 fantastic runners came out in the wind and the rain to run 10 k to help Ellen Tinkham School improve an outdoor area for children with disabilities.

A super warm welcome to Amy and Abbie who joined us for the first time, and to Rosie who came back for the first time since our launch in August. We hope you enjoyed it and that you come back soon again!

WOW! JUST WOW! was all I could think when I saw so many of you arrive for the group run this evening. Despite it being pitch dark outside, the rain coming down and the wind blowing strong, 15 of you turned up for our longest run so far, a full 10 k! You guys are totally amazing!

After signing in and locking up our bags in the Phoenix, we went outside and got warmed up with some dynamic warm up exercises. We then set off towards our task. Our run included some very long sloping hills, the ground was really wet and occasionally we got splashed quite badly by cars driving past. None of this seemed to ruin the high spirits of our lovely GoodGym group though! There was lots of chatting, cheering on and laughing! Fantastic atmosphere!

We all worked hard on keeping the pace up so that we could reach the task on time. This was particularly challenging the last bit of the run, which took us down a very dark lane, without any street lights (how suitable for Halloween week!). BUT WE DID IT! AND WE DID IT BRILLIANTLY!

At the Ellen Tinkham Shool we were welcomed by Helen who, after a quick safety briefing, explained that our task was to cut back brambles, ivy, nettles and other weeds outside a classroom so that the children can access it more easily and start doing some planting there. This felt like such an important task! We worked really hard for 30 minutes and it was amazing how much we got done together! We hope the children really like the magic work of the GoodGym fairies!

Many hands make light work!

After pulling up lots of weeds, refueling with some chocolate (thank you Helen!) and having some fun trying to come up with a good Halloween pun, we gathered back outside the school and set off running back toward the Phoenix. As our run was so much longer than usual we didn't get time for a fitness session, instead we talked about some important running techniques, including:

• Keeping your chest up, no slouching
• Driving your elbows backwards
• Keeping your hips high
• Foot landing right underneath the center of your body mass

In order to remember these points we imagined that we had a helium balloon stuck to our heads that pulled us slightly upwards, ensuring that we stayed in the right position during the run.

When we got back to the Phoenix we carried out some stretches, felt our breathing and heart rate return to normal, and I think it is safe to say that we all felt pretty chuffed with having completed such a long run and having achieved so much at the task! We also talked a bit about future runs and training opportunities. There seem to be a great interest in doing some longer training runs on Dartmoor. More info to follow on that soon! A few of us then gathered for some well earned drinks in the Phoenix bar which was a really lovely ending to a brilliant group run!

SHOUT OUTS

WOW you guys! You did so well this evening, you ran so far in the dark and rainy evening, you got so fit and made such a difference at the task! Amazing work everyone!

A big shout out to Joe who has completed 10 good deeds!

A big thank you to Sam who back marked and shared his knowledge about ultra running!

Thank you Anna who came up with our Halloween pun!

A massive thank you to the Westbank for making the GoodGym possible in our area and to the Phoenix for providing us with such a good starting point.

NEXT WEEK

Next week we have a 3 k run, perfect for all abilities! We will return to Newtown preschool and there will be both indoor and outdoor tasks which is perfect this time of the year! On the return run we will do a fun filled fitness session and it's time for our monthly core session as well. YAY! Sign up here to join us!