19 runners all gathered at Yr Hen Lyfrgell, all excited for the Snowdog Auction!

We gathered indoors where it was bone dry as it was raining cats and dogs outside. At 6.30pm we jogged on the spot and said our names, our number (in terms of a headcount, we don't randomly shout our mobile numbers out, and stated our favourite breed of dog). After the headcount we went into the cafe of Milk and Sugar who kindly said we could do our warm up in there - Thanks guys!

There we did a HIIT session, splitting ourselves up into 4 groups; 1 group doing press-ups, 1 group doing step ups, another doing mountain climbers and the final group were doing squat jumps. Each group were given specific exercises which they had to do as many times as they could in 1 minute. They then had a 30 second rest and moved onto the next exercise. Everyone was breathing heavily after 5 minutes which was great because it means they had a good workout! We then make tracks and head to the Snowdog Auction! (This is genuinely where we were heading - We are not barking mad! :) )

It's a dog eat dog world out there

We ran to the Marriott as fast as our legs could take us... whilst being weary of ice as 'baby it's cold outside'. When we arrived we dropped our bags into the cloak room and said HELLO to the Snowdogs; some of us hadn't seen the Snowdogs since the Snowdogathon, for others it was only 2 days ago.

Do you remember when GoodGym Cardiff runners ran to all of the Snowdogs in Cardiff? Check out the video:

We were then informed of our responsibilities for the evening...

Saying goodbye is hard... and dogs aren't just for Christmas

Saying goodbye to the snowdogs was hard, but we had a task to do. We had to help the auction run smoothly and where there is a will there is a way! We split into 4 teams. 2 teams were backstage carrying the dogs after they had been sold to the lorries at the back of the building and the other 2 teams were either side of the stage working as a conveyor belt system! Doing planks, squats, press ups... you name it, they were doing it! Darren, as you can see in the photos, was also auctioned off and was sold for £250 - because we want to keep him he didn't meet his reserve and he will be running with us again next week.

The snowdogs - which are based on the animals in animated film The Snowman And The Snowdog - raised funds and awareness of the children's hospice, which is based in Sully, near Barry.

The 43 dogs sold for a total of £121,200 with an extra £50,000 coming from fundraising from schools and community groups.

The Gareth Bale dog sold at £4,200! Woof! The winning dog, though, was Enfys, designed by Rhiannon Roberts, which was based on the Hayes in Cardiff which sold for a whopping £6,100.

Thank you all so so much!

Ty Hafan staff thanked us for our efforts and it was time to go and celebrate Emma's birthday! Wooo!... Off to Las Iguanas we went to eat and have a cheeky beverage! We consumed all our food and we didn't need to take any home in doggy bags.

Ty Hafan managed to raise in excess of £120,000 at the auction, an incredible amount which will help the children and families accessing Ty Hafan services massively

Get signed up for next week's run to Samye Mindfulness and Wellbeing Centre. Christmas fancy dress is encouraged!