A GoodGym on a Friday, you say? Yep, as part of "Ranuary" (just invented that - we can use it next year), GoodGym are running everyday and freezing cold Fridays are no exception. It was so cold Kike was wearing gardening gloves to stay warm.

So, a group of five gathered outside Highbury pool and we explained to first-timer Jenny all about how it works: group runs, missions, coach runs, badges, cheering, t-shirts, January challenge, biscuits, debates.

Our job for the evening was shifting soil at Barnsbury Community Centre. The gigantic circle we dug over the autumn is now filled with topsoil, but the remains of what was removed (horrible rocky stuff) is still piled around the perimeter.

So, we stuck on gloves and got shovelling. Even though there were only five of us and the wheelbarrows were threatening to collapse we managed to fill a whole sack (plus a bit more). Since we had worked so hard we treated ourselves to posh biscuits (Fox's Chocolate Rounds) and cos there were only a few of us we had two each :)

With work done we took advantage of the space in the garden and tested our speed and agility skills with a game of tag. Then on the way back to the pool we played everybody's favourite game: secret surges. If you don't know what secret surges are then you must come down and have a go one night. Everybody is assigned a secret number and we set off on a nice slow jog. If your number is called out you have to sprint away from the rest of the group who must give chase. A wonderful way to work not only on your speed but also on your sneakiness. Finally, with a little space still between us and home we did a mix of lunges, high knees, side-stepping and skipping to help work off that extra biscuit..

So, the debate! We actually spent more time this evening discussing what the debate should be than the debate itself. The question ended up being "What's the best holiday destination in the UK?"

Sarah thinks Vindolanda is best. There are ten Roman forts on top of each other (surely I am remembering this incorrectly). The best bit is you can volunteer to go and do archaeological digs and find buried treasure.

Simon is a fan of Cornwall: lovely beaches and coastal paths as well as delightful villages and hills for the runners.

Jenny opts for Edinburgh. It's pretty, it's got a volcanic mountain and it's a capital, but it's small. It just has so much to offer.

Kike reckons Isle of Rum is the place to visit. It's in the Outer Hebrides. It's got a castle. And a Lancastrian mill owner put roads on the iand so he could race his cars around it.

Patrick chooses Sheffield. Of course.

None of the above has been fact checked. Apart from the fact that Sheffield exists.

A great little session and task and great efforts from all.

See you Sunday and/or Monday,

Simon