WELCOME!

This week we welcomed 2 fantastic new runners to the @GGSHEFF crew. Please put your hands together and welcome

• Elizabeth Townsend AKA BEANY
• Emily Stoker

Give em a cheer!

TASK TIME

This week we set off on a slightly longer run to another site under the supervision of Heeley Development Trust called ASH TREE YARD.

Finishing on a tough hill we met FANTASTIC FRANK who gave us a brief of the evenings task which was to fill 5 tonne sacks full of wood that has been sat in the yard roting away and creating access for a spate of break ins. Heeley Development Trust have secured funding to develop the site and are therefore clearing the space so it can be put to better us in the community.

The @GGSHEFF team got straight to the ROOT of the task, quickly forming a human chain to twist and pass logs from person to person creating a fantastic TRUNK workout! A small team quickly TWIGGED we had a few too many people in our chain and soBRANCHED off from the main group to tackle the big logs using some fantastic teamwork to lift and shift the heavier logs using a wheelbarrow. Did you CEDAR ammount of wood we shifted?

WOOD you BELEAF it, we smashed the task and managed to fill all of Franks sacks in the alloted time! A really strong team effort with no DEADWOOD to be seen.

Oaky kokey SYCAMORE jokes? time to move on from the puns and onto the...

FANTASTIC FITNESS

With a slightly longer run this week we had limited time for group fitness, however we did get some good work in with some on route loop backs with great efforts from SENSATIONAL SAM & DANGEROUS DAN.

Once we got to the light of a park we got paired up and did some JOHN PEEL PAIRED SPRINTS followed by a DEAD ARM HANG CHALLENGE with MAGIC MIKE taking the crown this week alongside his PUN MASTER title!

On return to the Showroom we finished with the HOWARD ST STRAVA SEGMENT SPRINT for those that fancied it, stretched off and headed inside for liquid refreshment and puntastic conversations.

1 YEAR ANNIVERSARY

We will officially be 1 next Mon! To celebrate we are going to go out for some food after the run so won't be running straight back to the Showroom after the run next week.

You can let us know you are coming to the meal by completing the Doodle Link here

Until next time,

Happy Running!

WELCOME TO THE TEAM!

This week we welcomed 2 new runners to the @GGSHEFF Crew. A big welcome to

• Rhiann
• Kristy Hopkins

GIVE EM A CHEER!

WOOD TIME!

This weeks task was a woody one. On arrival at Sharrow Community Forum we were greeted and briefed by MARVELOUS MARIA who described the evenings tasks which included moving wood in and out of the now fully functioning wood working workshop and cutting down partly used pieces to ensure that nothing went to waste.

EXERCISE TIME

As it was a little cramped in the workshop with a few less tools than we wood ;) have liked we split ;) the group and half of us branched ;) outside for some fun time fitness. This week this involved a group circuit containing:

• Squat 180
• Sprints
• Sumo Squat
• Tuck Jumps
• Burpees (Ash's Fave)
• Sumo Squat
• Squat Jumps
• Goblet Squats
• Curtsey Lunge
• Lunge
• Split Lunge
• Squat Punch
• Calf Raises

Once we swapped groups over so everyone had a chance to sweat and to saw we said our goodbyes and headed home with a few street furniture exercises thrown in for good measure!

Once the Howard St Sprint and stretches were complete we gave Kat a huge congrats for her 50th good deed and thanked Steve for #GGBBQ3 and headed in for warmth and refreshments.

Until next week....

Happy Running!

NINETEEN NINJA @GGSHEFF RUNNERS RAN 3KM TO HELP A FAMILY OF SIKH ASYLUM SEEKERS FROM AFGHANISTAN PREPARE THEIR BACK GARDEN FOR GROWING FRUIT AND VEG WITH REGATHER

As the rain began to fall, we set off from our base of the Showroom Cinema after giving a warm and hearty welcome to two new runners this week; LIZZIE & HELEN.

Give em a Cheer!

With SENSATIONAL STEVE as our back marker we set of into the damp eve toward our destination; the back garden of a family of Sikh Asylum Seekers from Afghanistan near to Regather who will be helping them to grow their own fruit and veg in the coming seasons.

After an entertaining brief from GORGEOUS GARETH we got tooled up including the necessary PPE (gloves) and got to work moving wood, bricks and slabs, digging out roots and leveling the ground ready for the planting that will come next.

We finished in the dark, making it a little harder to see the impact we had.Rest assured it was huge and we were kindly rewarded with tea and cake from the family before setting off back into the drizzle of the night.

On route back we took advantage of the underpasses of Sheffield using them as shelter for our fitness session which this week involved runners working in pairs with one person wall sitting whilst the other sprinted to the other end of the underpass and back to tag their partner. We went hard for 3 rounds.

GREAT WORK TEAM!

On return to base we found a sheltered spot to stretch and saved all announcements until we were inside in the dry and had a drink in hand.

Note to all. as we saw last night the seasons they are a changing so next week please do bring a jacket and a head torch if you have one.

Seventeen Sensational @GGSheff runners ran to Sharrow Community Forum to help sand and assemble chairs for a wood CNC workshop!

After welcoming @HelpSheffield Phil Vintin to the team we headed off to SCF. On arrival and after boosting our team numbers by two we headed into the workshop to meet Marvelous Marie.

Marverlous Marie gave us all a fantastic brief explaining the plans for the workshop and how @GGSheff have helped to get it to it's working state it's in now.

We got straight to it with 2 grades of sandpaper to ensure a quality finish on the edges before gluing and bashing the pieces into place.

We even had a chance to try out the shop made balance boards with some impressive results.

After a quick drink to quench our thirst we headed to a near by playground and got straight to business with some:

• Box Jumps
• Tri Dips
• Press Ups

We then finished with a straight arm hang where Magic Mike & Tenacious Tim impressed all with their gorilla grip!

Until next time, happy running!

Tom :)

All across London last night the beer gardens were heaving, barbeques were being lit and naps were being taken as the bank holiday drew to a close. But not in Wandsworth, where, despite the gorgeous weather, 28 runners dedicated the evening to doing good and getting fit. What a brilliant bunch.

We had the pleasure of welcoming several lovely new faces to the group. Give a big cheer to Emily, Clare, Holly, Jenn, Paul and Emily.

While you're in a cheering mood, why don't you nip over to David's page, where you'll find out about the fourteen good deeds he's done this month, and have a gander at Chris' epic strava profile which shows he has smashed out no less than a huge 268 kilometres this month. Brilliant stuff!

After we met at the BAC and found out what we all like to do on a bank holiday (napping, running, eating, beer), we marched down to the Latchmere pub who were kindly looking after our bags tonight as our usual start location was closed for the holidays. We then popped over the road to our task at St Stephen's church.

Our job tonight was a big 'un. While one group started weeding down one side of the building, another team began tackling the forest of weeds on the other side. Check out the photos for one of the most impressive before and after shots ever. Another few runners took to the loos to do a spot of painting, while a couple more of us ascended ladders to clear the blocked gutters. Within half an hour the difference was more than noticeable, and the church wardens were really pleased with the jobs that would have taken them a long time to get done. As a bonus, we were serenaded with Paul Simon's greatest hits from the lovely chap next door.

Job done, we put ourselves in the very capable hands of ace new Woking trainer Nick who came to visit us and put us through our paces in a tough fitness session. With a set of pyramid drills that featured jump squats, burpees, and reverse crunches all interspersed with sprints, our heart rates were soon up. We ended the fitness section with some core work, and a run back to the pub. Thanks Nick!

We finished up hot, sweaty and having done some real good for the community. All that was left to finish the night was a bank holiday social. Well done team! Next week Nick will again be leading us through the run, don't miss out by signing up here.

So, I took over the monthly socials in September 2014, it was a great night and we celebrated Becky Greenwood reaching 100 good deeds as well as the other heroes of the month. I think about ten people came... fast forward nearly three years and yes the format has grown, but not only are we rocking exclusive venues but, a stupendous EIGHTY of you came out! I genuinely cannot thank you all enough, it brings me so much joy to see everyone coming together, and the fact you're still bothering to listen to me three years later... Anyway, before i get way way too gushy on to the report:

Heroes

• So last month we decided that we were all gonna work really hard and top spot fell to three awesome GoodGym-ers. Round of applause for Egg Cameron of GG York, David Guest of GG Bristol and Sam Needham of GG Sheffield with 16 good deeds in July. London...must do better ;)

• For the rest of the heroes have a look here till 31st August or have a look at the pic above!

• July saw 13 more people earn their black tshirt having done 50 good deeds and three more joined the exclusive 'GG gives you wings' club with 100 good deeds - congrats to John Shirley of Camden, Melanie Kramers of Tower Hamlets and Pete van Tongeren of Redbridge - give them a cheer!

• The first of the area heroes...for most new runners in July, with a whopping 30 goes to GG Norwich congratulations, only a month into existence and you're topping the leaderboards!

• It's the second month of our new feature and things are hotting up already! Another draw for July between some of GG's heavyweights… with 190 attendances it's GG Bristol and GG Wandsworth Great stuff - who is gonna be the first area to hit 200 in a month?

News

• Races! We have over 60 people taking part in our second trip to Race the Train in Tywyn, Wales. It's gonna be a great trip - technically not too late to enter as you can enter on the day - so keep an eye out on social media! #GGxTrain

• Upcoming we have the New Forest Races, September 10th, which you can very much still sign up for - all the details here! The last of the 'Big Six' on October 8th, the Oxford Half Marathon - details here, if you want early bird entry at £40 then make sure you sign up before August 22nd, it goes up to £45 after!

• Euro Trip! No, the gaudy C4 extravaganza is not back but GGxBucharest is here. The European trip is decided and the best Anglo-French pairing since we decided to build that there Channel Tunnel, Paul and Axel will be keeping you updated on details for that. Ensure you're getting those details by signing up here!

• Make sure you check out the race section of the website for details of all races and check out the Race Team if you want to get a singlet, a discount and get involved in the cross country!

• Media! GoodGym Birmingham are all over your telly boxes at the moment having made an appearance on BBC Midlands Today and ITV's Central News with their fantastic work. Ivo, the founder of GoodGym, also appeared on Radio 4's #FourThought with a wonderful piece on how GoodGym started - I'd recommend a listen no matter how long you've been with GoodGym.

• Finally, we are ever expanding so please spread the news that we are now operating in Barnsley on a Tuesday, Leicester also on a Tuesday and will be opening in Ipswich on Monday 4th September.

Boring Bit

• This month we talked about the GoodGym Shindig which is basically GoodGym's away day but with GG Central, trainers, run leaders and taskforces coming along. We were in the Peak District this year to talk all things GoodGym. Topics covered ranged from diversity to communications, how to grow the numbers doing coach runs to how to keep up variety on group runs! We want to hear what you have to say and at the end of the day if it doesn't work for you it likely won't work for newcomers which leads me to...please please keep on at your trainers with regard to Taskforce, it's your first step to being more involved with GoodGym. As ever, please do also contact me if you want to know more and finally check out more on the shindig, including some notes and actions here.

Guest Speaker

• A huge huge, thanks to Fay Sibley who braved the massive crowd and told us about her amazing story of combining the Land's End to John O'Groats bike ride with GoodGym-ing. Please do donate if you can here!

now for the big one... yes… the…

INTERNATIONAL PUN OF THE MONTH!!!

the winner with a resounding 42 of 103 votes from the night and online...

"Don't chair wish your girlfriend could sand like me" from GG Cardiff; just three months after their launch! Massive congratulations!

...and with that I prove that I can't keep these damn things short! Thanks for sticking with me, it just goes for me to say a massive massive thank you to you all again. EIGHTY of you! Amazing :D Thanks to all of you that came for the first time, i know it's not easy. Big shout out to Beth from GG Worthing, top effort to make it! And, finally, thanks to all of you that clearly did follow the hashtag and prayed for sun! What a night!

Next month we go on tour again and the wonderful people of GG Barnet are hosting - all the details are here but in short, 7th September, 6.30pm The Old White Lion, N2 0NW.

Dates for your diary going forward are 5th October (Angel), 9th November (GG Newham) and December will be out of my hands but we’ll have the "GG-mas Party" which I'll keep you posted on anyway!

That's all from me but get in touch with questions, suggestions and anything else!

Cheers,

Pritesh (pritesh@goodgym.org - 07887802793 - @pritski)

p.s. Please do follow me on twitter, if you can, for many GG related updates and also join the 'Unofficial' Facebook Group here (remember to state your area) for more info on races, training runs, socials and other news from the GG community.

p.p.s. Big thank you to Frances and John for additional photos

Namaste, Wandsworth.

Last night we had a super zen session featuring a special one off yoga session.

It started, as it always does, in our well-loved Battersea Arts Centre, where we did one of our favourite things - cheer all the lovely new faces joining us for the first time. So please give a massive Wandsworth welcome once again to the excellent Rachel, Lorien, Charlotte, Anca, Leonie and Phil.

We also tipped our hats to Jack, Helen, (Jo) [https://www.goodgym.org/runners/joanna-aa3da551-638e-4194-823a-cd5d1da2b03a] and Matthew who all represented team GoodGym at Fulham park run on Saturday. A huge well done to Hannah who showed the very hilly Wimbledon half who's boss.

We also did a shout out for anybody who is keen to get involved in the Tooting Park Run TAKEOVER this Saturday - GoodGym is going to be all over Tooting common running the show this weekend and we need you. Sign up here to put yourself down for pacing or volunteering. They'll be a lovely breakfast social picnic afterwards, so join us for pretty much the best way to kick off the weekend.

After all that cheering, we headed outside to crack on with tonight's run, but not before doing some lovely warming up and hearing about what makes people cry. Because it can't all be butterflies and rainbows all the time, you know. The good job is that most people cry happy tears, brought on by puppies, runners getting medals in the Olympics, onions, The Notebook, adverts, goodbyes, and Ryan Gosling.

Our run down to the task tonight was a fairly short (and downhill) one, so we happily made it down there in record time. Our job tonight was to shift a load of furniture for the charity Spacemax - an organisation which helps families living in overcrowded properties maximise the area they have. It was a teensy bit chaotic as we attempted to clear a huge corridor of furniture outside, but in no time at all the area was clear and while we waited for the team to regroup, we knocked out a quick legs blast.

After all that shifting, we were ready to be centred again, so after a quick jog to Battersea Park, qualified yoga teacher Lorien kicked off our serene yoga session. We slipped off our trainers and socks and sat down on the cool grass, while Lorien took us through a series of stretches and moves to help us as runners. We saluted the sun, we downed our dog, and we king pigeoned. After 20 minutes we were truly zenned, and ready to tackle the run back to our starting point. It was amazing what a difference the session made, with many of us feeling bouncier and more limber for the return leg. A huge thanks to Yogi Lorien!

We split into two groups for the run back, with Sophie leading the speedy team on an alternate route that finished off with our favourite hill. All that was left was a few relaxed stretches and a good old pat on the back.

Next week we have another special guest who is going to give us some invaluable pointers about technique - don't miss out on this one-off session.

If that isn't enough good news, we also have a GoodGym social this coming Thursday for the whole of GoodGym - come along to meet lovely GGers, see who won pun of the month, and to have a jolly good knees up.