Research shows that many ‘New Years Resolutions’ rarely last more than a month; would this then mean less GoodGymer’s turning up last night compared to the week before? Absolutely not! GoodGym is now a permanent fixture in many of our GG’ers diaries; it most definitely isn’t a resolution to be broken. And it isn’t something anyone can forget, with the constant bombardment of email reminders, Facebook posts and WhatsApp messages for 24 hours prior to the Group Run. One GG’er (remaining nameless) reported at least 70 WhatsApp messages arriving during a brief meeting at work? Surely not?! At least that person will never forget that the most fantastic event of the week starts at 6pm on Tuesdays! LOL!

Once everyone had signed in, ordered a coffee in readiness for the post-GG coffee and catch up, and worked out how to put on their new ‘GG Black Friday Bargain Body Torches’ (it is usually me who gets in a tangle, asking poor Helen to sort out the mess I’ve made! I can only apologise to Stuart who has mild OCD; the strap on my new lighting system was the tiniest bit twisted causing him much anxiety and stress during the run to the task. Time to buy a head torch perhaps?!)…we then stepped outdoors ready for the pre-run chat and head count. We had a large group tonight; there were 17 of us, with some faces that hadn’t been seen for a while. Kirsty W, for example, has been in hiding following a brief illness in December and Mallory, a primary school teacher who struggles to get away from her desk in time for the run; we welcome you both back with open arms! And, Emma S (not the Trainer but Emma S the Dentist), it really was great to see you back again last night. That’s two-weeks-in-a-row now, which is absolutely fantastic. Finding the time to run when you’re a busy working mum can be tricky; you’ve obviously caught the GG running bug!

New Years Resolutions were talked about during the headcount; everyone seemed to think that me running a parkrun in 2019 was funny? I have no idea why?! The Scientist is keen to take up a non-running related hobby (if anyone has any ideas let The Scientist know next week), Tracy wants to get fitter and lose a stone in weight (GG can help with that Tracy!) and Kay wants to run the Swindon Half Marathon in September (we can help with that too Kay!). Completing Task Force training is not necessarily Helen’s New Years Resolution but most definitely on her ‘to do’ list. Helen would like to lead some of the GG Walks on our shorter runs, which is something that the Task Force can do. Fantastic news! Thanks Helen!

We set off into the dark night, with Andrew as backmarker and me at the front with the lovely Lily (whose boss at work actively encourages her to head out for a run whenever she likes; that’s just incredible! Lily’s boss is unknowingly helping GG Swindon reach their mileage target for the January Challenge?!). We ran past the Domebusters, onto Swindon College, then the Train Station, past the County Ground and finally onto Queens Drive, stopping opposite Burger King. We had arrived at our planned destination – the temporary winter homeless provision in Swindon called the Haven (frustratingly the same name as the community garden we have been to in Penhill). This facility was once a school, then it became derelict and now it is being put to good use for the most vulnerable in our community; 12 homeless adults who will hopefully be ‘re-housed’ and ‘off-the-streets’ in April. Depending entirely on volunteers to keep this place going, our help was very much appreciated last night.

Becky and Carol from Swindon Night Shelter (who have recently moved from BSS House in Cheney Manor to the Haven) met us at the front gate and invited us inside one of the porta cabins on site. They explained that they are setting up a day facility for rough sleepers here, to run alongside the night provision, to ensure that residents have somewhere to go no matter what time of day it is. There was a lot to do though; tables, chairs and mattresses all needed shifting as well as a printer; rubbish needed clearing and stacks of donations were waiting to be sorted. We had 45 minutes to get this done, some of it in the dark (one of the porta cabins was without power)…so we all got going with Charles collecting the first item to be moved; a printer that at the time was being stored in the toilet block! Jason did a fantastic job of moving all heavy objects last night, including a very tall cage containing all sorts of rubbish. Tracey was excellent at sifting through the rubbish managing to save a trophy from the rubbish pile; she was secretly very proud of her find so I took a photo for her to treasure. And The Scientist found some interesting artefacts in a storage cupboard similar to ladies underwear. I left him to it!!!

Our 45-minutes was up and we had to get going; Crazy Legs was keen to get back to the Oasis in time for a BEASTING. This didn’t sound good. Many of her Run Along Gang looked at each other in disbelief? Surely not tonight?! I took a group photo with everyone smiling around a pool table, said our goodbyes to Becky and Carol (we will be back!), set our watches and jogged back to the Oasis with much happy chit chat on the way. There was a lot to talk about; we had a fun and productive night…but it wasn’t quite over yet. We had the Beasting to experience. And wow – what an experience that was. Teams of three thrashing out some exercise moves to the point of exhaustion within just three minutes. Sam, Andrew and I were very pleased to be the ‘winners’ (can we borrow your trophy Tracey?!). Kirsty H told me that Crazy Legs has been known to do a similar Beasting with her Run Along Gang for up to an hour with no rest. It must be good; they all seem to go back for more?!

We stretched out, celebrated Andrew’s news that he is expecting a baby girl this time (he has three boys under 5 years at home!) and chatted about next week’s run to Toothill Farmhouse (click here to book on – you’re guaranteed a warm welcome with tea and biscuits upon arrival). What a fabulous evening! Thanks everyone; I hope to see some of you at parkrun on Saturday (don’t forget to wear your red tops ready for a group photo before the run), and if you’re not at parkrun I look forward to seeing lots of you again next Tuesday!