12 runners braved the rain & wind to help Heeley Peoples Park. On arrival we met up with Bev and Rob who put us straight to task. With a last minute change of plan we grabbed a barrow full of spades and headed over to the woodland walk to clear the drains so the paths wouldn't wash out in the deluge.

After the task 9 runners did laps, burpees, star jumps, squats and lunges in the park before heading home it dry off.

Well done all!

A solid turn out for tonight's group run - 24 Sheffield GGers braved the cold to help our friends over at Sustrans. Amongst the group tonight were two newbies, David and Anna. Hope you enjoyed the run. Give them a cheer and a chat when you next see them!

After a brief intro (using my whistle to get everyone's attention, thanks to a burgeoning sore throat) we set off up to the Sustrans location. Maltravers Road, AKA "that big hill", takes up most of the route each way. With a couple of loop-backs thrown into the run to keep everyone together, we conquered the 1.7km hill. Luckily the task site was just at the top over the traffic lights.

With Sustrans Simon being a regular friend to GoodGym, and us knowing the site fairly well, it didn't take long for everyone to pick up tools and get stuck into the variety of tasks on offer: * Litter-picking * Sweeping leaves * Shovelling debris * Chopping plants * Fixing a fence post!

As we worked, an older man who lived locally said he was happy to see us doing what we do. He had apparently been trying to do similar work by himself for decades, and was glad that bigger groups were getting involved. That's what GoodGym is all about! Half an hour's work done, and it was time to return to base. After saying goodbye to Simon (who'd fallen over at the weekend and was a bit worse for wear), we headed off back to Maltravers Road. Downhill this time. Back at base we stretched off and had a round up of what's happening in the near future:

1. Sheffield Half Recce 2/4 - led by Steve on March 5th, meeting at half past 6.
2. Frog Walk Pocket Garden Spring Clean organised by Celine, March 7th
3. Steve and Zof's Barista Class - March 7th

Happy Running :)

This week was cause for celebration with both ZOFIA & MIKE completing their 101st good deed with GG!

CONGRATS BOTH AND THANKS SO MUCH FOR BEING SO INVOLVED!

We also welcomed a new runner into the fold, please welcome, support and cheer;

Hannah

With the first group run of Feb being a brisk one with a lot of wind (weather, not flatulence), we set sail after a quick group photo celebrating Zof and Mike's achievements to meet with Sustrans Stalwart Simon who as ever (even with a cold) was committed enough to load up his van with all manner of tools and meet us to volunteer himself and meet with us and give a brief of tonights task...

The site of the Durham Ox is an area we go back to every few months to keep it in order and use for all the users and Simon highlighted this really has been noticed, noted and is appreciated by users and nearby residents alike.

We got straight to task with a mixture of;

• Litter picking
• Sweeping
• Drain clearing

We got to three different sites around the Durham Ox site and collected 7 bags full of litter and made the paths much more presentable and attractive to use.

On route back we made a few stops for some fitness which this week included;

• Clock Lunges
• Star Jumps
• Knee Up's
• Group Piston Squats
• Stair Squats
• Sprints
• Stairs, lots of stairs...

After stretching off we headed inside for some delicious home made lemon cake kindly made by Mike and his youngsters, thanks Mike and family!

Until next week, happy running :)

A HUGE GGSHF welcome to new runner;

Daisy

Click her name above to support and cheer her!

This week was the last group run of the Jan challenge and our fantastic runners came out in force for a new collaboration run with the brilliant Justin and Ben from LOVE OUR STREETS which is a program to try and clean up the streets of Sheffield and keep them that way by encouraging people to adopt a street to stay on top of the litter on that street.

We ran to just off Eccy Rd to meet with Justin and Ben to hear more about this fantastic initative and get a good competition in as well to see which team was the most rubbish!

With maps provided by Justin and Ben we split into 4 teams to cover 4 different areas and see how many bags of rubbish each of the four teams could collect in the time we had.

Team three were the victors with a solid 3 bags!

After we had said our goodbyes we headed home via a ramp for some hills sprints. We also got some good extension loops onto the run whilst on route back to keep the group together and challenge those that fancied it.

Until next time,

Happy Running :)

With 40mph winds and sideways rain outside I was amazed at how many people turned up to run last night!

We also welcomed a new runner the group. Please put your hands together, support by clicking on his name and give him a cheer for;

Adrian

Just before heading out we had a call from Bev at Heeley People's Park to say that with the rain the way it was we would have to cancel tonights task due to H&S as well as just how wet it was underfoot which meant we may have ended up doing more harm than good doing the planned woodchip spreading.

With this in mind and looking outside we thought on our feet and headed to a local multi storey car park that was sheltered from the wind and the rain and gave us some good space to look at a bit of running form and do some technique analysis and drills as well as some out and out fitness.

We paired up and started with some lunges to get those hips loosened up. We went again but this time looking at two technique points;

1: Keeping elbows in a straight line in between 2 imaginary planes of glass to encourage backward rather than sideways arm drive to propel us forward.

2: Keeping our eyes looking forward to ensure our balance and posture.

We did a bit of paired evaluation with each pair having the chance to observe their partner and feedback and what they saw before and after a bit of coaching advice.

After this we had a go at implementing the 'helium balloon' analogy to try and encourage good running posture with an upright posture to encourage an open hip angle and efficient stride as well as an open chest for efficient breathing.

Again we did some paired evaluation and hopefully everyone now has something to think about the next time they get out running.

Following the technique session we moved onto some more fitness based activities that involved:

• Sprint intervals (using the multi storey ramps)
• Knee/leg raises
• Paired 'row the boats'
• Paired knee raises
• Split lunges
• Burpees
• Hanging cross knee raises

On the way back we also gave 'The Moor' STRAVA segment a bash (always a bit longer than it seems), before heading back to the Showroom to stretch off and finish for the night.

Until next week, keep that helium balloon in place and Happy Running :)

It was the first group run of 2020 last night!

We welcomed new runners;

• Sophy
• Corinne
• Fanny

Welcome to the team!

Support and cheer our new runners by clicking on their names above!

It was a super special night tonight as it was AMAZING ANDREWS 100TH good deed (see Batman like photos). A huge achievement, well done Andrew. Here's to 100 more!

We also had news of the first GGSHF engagement! A huge congrats and best wishes on behalf of everyone in GGSHF to TREMENDOUS TOM & AMAZING ANNIE who will be getting hitched in the future!

With numbers very strong this week we split into 2 teams to head to the task to help SENSATIONAL SIMON of SUSTRANS with the ongoing maintenance and clearing of the National Cycle Network within Sheffield.

On arrival we got tolled up and got straight into action with the section of path we were using being swept of debris, litter being picked, overgrowth being cut back and litter, cuttings and debris being piled up ready for the council to collect it soon after.

Although hard to see, in the light of day I am sure users of this section will be hugely appreciative of our efforts in this stretch of cyclepath that is often forgotten on becomes unloved and overtime less safe and attractive to use. Great job everyone!

On the way back we headed back in 2 teams again. With a longer run than usual and with the Jan Challenge in mind we chose extra KM's over a fitness session this week, having said that we did sneek in a cheeky STRAVA segment down past Virgin gym (Thanks Chris).

We timed it perfectly to get back to the Showroom for a combined stretch and to hear of the latest going on's.

Make sure you've signed up to next week to help out at Heeley People's Park.

Until then, happy running :)