I just wanted to do something good with my free time!

... and new member Daniel did just that tonight. Kudos for joining us on not only our longest run to date but possibly our coldest too!

It was typically brisk tonight for our last run of November so I kept the intro short (not like me, I know) before leading us off on a run so epic we had three possible routes there and none of them particularly scenic. Surely running down the Felling Bypass is best kept for the Great North Run only?! I have to give a special shout out to Liz who was a little worried she wouldn't keep up tonight, yet Queen Backmarker Charlotte and her were never more than two steps behind! The rain held off but that didn't stop us needing to dodge a million puddles.

On arrival at the Age UK Gateshead dementia hub, we were met by Carol Anne at her first post-op Good Deed, and the brilliant Julie from Age UK. She was every GoodGym trainer's dream: totally organised, materials laid out and tasks written on a clear plan so we wasted no time. Everyone was on painting duty for this one: Charlotte painting a Stage door, Dave painting a church door, and micro teams brushing up walls with bright blues and orange to match the Age UK logo. A few teams were squished into tiny doorways and corridors and suddenly the cold outside was forgotten. I especially liked the team that had their own personal baby gate to keep them hemmed into place!

It was so great having the Dynamic Duo Charlotte and Carol Anne back together, especially so that Charlotte could relay the story of our super-cute mission to Mr S's house yesterday.

The Dementia Hub is just a few weeks away from their big opening day and it was so brilliant to have a big team like this on task and having fun. We were able to complete all of the jobs in the time set...

And we only managed to break one roller!

We are planning to return to the Dementia Hub for a series of community missions in January, and group runs to look after a patch of their HUGE garden in the spring and I already can't wait. A brilliant task where we were able to see the impact we can make straight away while we start our week the best way possible.

See you all next week for our return to Smart Works Newcastle Remember, next week is walkable so try to bring along a beginner and show off our wonderful community at one of our favourite tasks.

Happy running and walking Anji x