On the final day of the January Challenge five Worthing GoodGymers headed for the local parkrun arena.

Mud, not so glorious mud

Gill and John got stuck into helping with setting up the finish area. Literally stuck in as they squelched around in the somewhat well soaked grass. The green finish funnel would be turned brown before long!

On the turn

Meanwhile Belinda strode off towards the turnaround point, cones in hand greeting, and being greeted by parkrunners heading for the start. On reaching the turnaround point and setting up the cones Belinda must have thought a course record would be set (more on that later). Actually, it was a non parkrunning group, using the parkrun course and setting of just before parkrun. If you enjoy a puzzle, try and ponder why they choose there and then to run, when they know they will encounter around 700 runners on their way back. Answers to this puzzle would be most welcome and appreciated. Don’t think too hard though. We don’t want to be responsible for any exploding brains. Messy!

Hearing aid

As part of their set up role John and Gill got the new speakers into position. They worked a treat. When will the runners understand that the purpose of the speakers isn’t so that we can speak over their chatter, but so that everyone can hear the briefing. Another eternal (or infernal) puzzle.

Holding the line

Stéphane and Barbara risked life and limb, taking their place on the flimsy tape that separates our 628 runners and walkers from the general public, ensuring everyone has a safe route through.

And finally

On the final turn today was Barbara. She directed runners towards the finish line, and also, most ably, responded to a member of the public expressing concern about our right to be there. I won’t share Barbara’s answer (both because it’s probably a bit provocative, but also I wasn’t listening carefully enough!), but it did transpire that the individual the member of the public complained about was not doing parkrun. Back again to the puzzle referred to above. Any answers yet?

A checkered experience

Stéphane moved on to the role of Number Checker. A crucial role, the checker sheet being the key data that helps to resolve any timing anomalies. If there are any timing queries this week, they might just get sent Stéphane’s way.

Recorded for posterity

It was great to have GoodGym supporting what turned out to be a record breaking run. First finisher crossed the line in 14 minutes, 13 seconds. Amazing! On the other hand, he can’t really have taken much in of our beautiful coastal scenery. If you do come to take part in Worthing parkrun I recommend taking the time to enjoy……

Staff Room With a View (…of Fresh Paint!) 🎨

It was back to our regular haunt at English Martyrs School this evening as we continued the painting mission around the building – and tonight’s VIP location was the all-important staffroom. With a task this crucial, it was only right that The A Team were deployed on rollers. Huge props to Roxy, Gill and Mel, who powered through the walls at impressive speed, turning the room around in no time at all.

Check out the photo of Gill and Richard the Premises Manager doing painting acrobatics!

Meanwhile, Paul took on the glamour job, carefully glossing the skirting boards and door frame like a true professional.

Barbara and I were on cutting-in duty, edging neatly around the tricky bits and keeping an eagle eye out for any rogue paint splodges that needed cleaning up. John, sensibly positioning himself out of splash range, was in charge of moving notice boards and photos – a vital role that definitely reduced the risk of accidental abstract art

The whole evening had a real party atmosphere – lots of laughs, great teamwork, and that satisfying feeling of making a visible difference together. Another fun, productive task ticked off, and one very refreshed staffroom well on its way to completion. Can’t wait to be back for the next splash of GoodGym magic! 🖌️✨

A Milestone Morning at the Goring Gap 🧤🎉

On a crisp January Sunday morning, our Walk & Talk took us to the beautiful Goring Gap – though sadly, beauty wasn’t the first thing to catch our eye. Today’s session doubled as a very special celebration, marking GillGillybean incredible 300th Good Deed with GoodGym**! 🎉

Turning out to celebrate (and get stuck in) were Belinda, John, Mel, Paul M, Paul W and Pepper the dog , Barbara, Ricky and myself , making it a proper community affair.

As we strolled and chatted, we quickly realised there was plenty of work to do. Rubbish was everywhere – strewn along the grass verges and scattered across the roads at this much-loved local spot. Gloves on and bags at the ready, we got to work, filling our bags to the brim and giving the Goring Gap the care it deserves. It was one of those satisfying clean-ups where teamwork really shines, even if the amount of litter was a bit disheartening.

With the last bag tied and we headed back to my housd for a well-earned warm-up. Hot drinks and sweet treats awaited us, with Nick expertly in charge of the coffee ☕🍰 – the perfect way to round off a cold but cheerful morning. Whilst drinking coffee we presented Gill with an engraved glass to mark her milestone achievement. Cheers to all the good times and Congratulations!

Thanks to everyone for making this a meaningful, muddy-booted, heart-warming GoodGym Sunday. 💛💪

After a challenging morning last week it was great to have GoodGym back out supporting a rather less stressful parkrun.

We covered the event from start to finish, and in between with Belinda as Run Director, John on turnaround, Paul funnel managing, and Gill on finish tokens.

Helping out at the local foodbank, packing orders to be delivered and collected. Great chatty session.