Woohoo - on tour! We went North for the first time ever for our 'on tour' series and the wonderful GG Barnetwere our hosts! Thanks for your help with organising and for generally being awesome North London-ers!

So here's what you missed, didn't hear or just want to recap on:

Heroes:

• You can't keep Beth Hoskins down and she topped the good deed charts with 22 good deeds in August!

Speaking of Beth, in September she reached the incredible milestone of 500 good deeds - give her a cheer here, and read her story here and here! Congrats Beth, an inspiration to us all!

• Congratulations to GG Lambeth who had the most new runners last month with 25!

• Congratulations to GG Camden who not only smashed through the 200 barrier but also the 300 with the most total attendances last month of 317!

• Finally there were 11 new black tshirt wearers (50 good deeds) and 8 people earnt their wings (100 good deeds) - well done all of you!

News

• More new areas as we opened in Barnsley, Leicester and Ipswich!

• An amazing 61 GG runners took on the Tywyn train over various distances. Hats off to the four runners (Paul Bown, Graham Atkins, Sam Needham and Jacob Smith. Big thanks to our organisers Beth (is there anything she can't do?!) and Aidan!

• We're a big fan of getting the media and Ivo was at it again with a fantastic piece on the marathontalk podcast. Check it out from 51:50!

Boring Bit

• Hit up the missions please - we have loads, it's a great way to meet other runners, you don't have to run there and it can be a nice stepping stone to coach running too! Check out the new missions selector here.

• TaskForce - I keep going on about it but this is your chance to have your say in the way GG is run and to be a real influence in your own areas. Ask me or your trainer about joining or setting up a TaskForce in your area!

and last but not least...the International Pun of the Month:

"We've got to shovel what? You've goat to be kidding me" from GoodGym Lewisham!

Big thank you to GG Barnet as we broke the North for the first time!

That's all from me but get in touch with questions, suggestions and anything else! (pritesh@goodgym.org/07887802793/@pritski)

p.s. Please do follow me on twitter if you can for many 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.

One month since GoodGym launched in Cardiff... It's time to celebrate and paarrrtttyyyyy

GoodGym Cardiff launched on May 23rd 2017 and since then we have completed 7 group runs and have also started doing run missions. We've made friends, increased our fitness levels and created a massive impression in Cardiff already. We've set ourselves goals, discovered more of Cardiff than we ever knew before and learned how painful squats can be in the process!

So after our run to Nightingale House, which you can read about by clicking here, 20 runners stayed on and headed to the Cosy Club to... not get cosy with one another (or have a cwtch - to use Welsh terminology), but socialise and celebrate the clubs' successes and have a good ol' chin wag without the need to catch our breath!

Cheers m'dear

We all raised our glasses in good health to one another :D

This gathering was not only a celebration, but it was also a fond farewell, for now, to Ben and Janelle. Each week since GoodGym Cardiff launched they've been running with us. It's been a pleasure getting to know them both in this short time. Ben and Janelle will be moving to Scotland for pastures new and we wish them all the best!

All the best Ben and Janelle - We will miss you!

As this social was mid week, the jokes of ordering a bottle of wine remained a joke... however, i'm sure this joke should only be taken lightly and other socials in the future may contain another wine or two.

Craig shared jokes about cheese... what do you call cheese that's not yours? Nacho Cheese! And then Ben (trainer) mentioned about a time Lucy threw a block of cheese at him, and he said sarcastically "well, that's mature". The jokes didn't stop there.... What did the cheese say when it looked in the mirror? Hello Me! (halloumi). ((Now i'll stop before they get too cheesy)...

Just a personal note from Ben, the GoodGym Cardiff Trainer...

It's a pleasure leading the runs every week. Everyone is so motivated to get fit and use their runs to do good and I love being able to run with such a passionate group of people. Remember I am your GoodGym trainer so do ask me should you need advice with setting goals or working towards a goal you have already set yourself. - With hard work, grit and determination, you can achieve things you once thought were never possible!

Here's a secret video which, if you've read this through to the end, you will have the pleasure of watching. It's Ben, the GoodGym Cardiff trainer when he featured on a TV Gameshow about 6 years ago... Click here for the secret video!

Thanks guys! Keep running with us all - and Until the next social...

Hwyl Fawr

Blue skies, hot air balloons and a polar bear provided the backdrop for tonights run as nine cheery GoodGym runners negotiated a hot 8k up and down the hills of Bear Flat.

BEARERS OF GOOD NEWS

Our task was to distribute flyers to the residents of Bear Flat to spread the news of the Community Market that’s held every third Saturday morning to promote local food and to provide space where the community can get together and share information.

It was a four vs four head-to-head as Dora, Emma, Sam and Becca (our newest member donning her red t-shirt) took on David, Rob, Steve and Tom to ensure we covered all the households on our trusty map.

SWING WHEN YOU’RE WINNING

We resisted the urge to dash down the stairs and go recce the Two Tunnels route ready for the weekends GoodGym nominated race and instead, as it was such a blooming’ lovely evening, popped in to Bloomfield Park for a quick mid-run play… I mean an impromptu improvised Strength and Conditioning session using the equipment for core stability exercises and pull ups!

A canter back along the canal topped off with a walking lunge lap and we were back to base for a stretch out.

Thanks to Sam & Tom for our pun, Emma for back marking and to everyone for a great run and a task well done.

PARK LIFE

Don’t forget it’s the GoodGym takeover of Park Run this Saturday morning, 9am, wear your GoodGym t-shirt with pride and come represent, whether it’s to run, steward or support.

There’s a task to tackle at the Bath City Farm afterwards so sign up here: https://www.goodgym.org/happenings/saturday-big-farm-fundraiser-event and join the GG tourists as they sightsee this beautiful city.

Good luck to all who are competing in the Relish Running Races events on Sunday.
Happy running everyone.

When the West wind doth blow, the Goodgymers grow in Bath showing the wind who's boss tonight a 16 strong team for a scenic 4k run to A Hidden Gem in our beautiful City, in fact it's believed to be the oldest outdoor swimming pool in England and the country's only surviving Georgian Lido http://www.clevelandpools.org.uk/

It closed to the public in 1984 but a target date to re open April 2019 if enough match funding is raised.

we went along tonight to help out in the grounds to keep it manageable for the trust to host open days to help raise funds.

Whoop!! Welcome to Ollie joining us for the first time.

Round of applause for

Emily who was sporting her Gg Wings

A reminder during our warm up that everyone is welcome to come along and support the Goodgym Olympics on Saturday at Parliament Hill track Hampstead Heath, it should be fun.

Pascale kindly lead the group out with Steph back marking and we took a short but scenic route along the canal to our destination where our lovely host Sally was waiting.

what an amazing place

The short run meant we could lavish a full 50 minutes on tonight's task at the finding all sorts of creatures from newts to beetles and giant slugs

Lido woah oh oh oh oh oh oh One more Newt ought to get it One last slug then we quit it One more run for the road

3 amazing teams divided on site with Pascale and her magic team clearing windswept debris from around the pool. Alison and crew clearing the pathway behind the main building to allow access. Ollie jumping right in with his team to tackle a rather overgrown bank.

Wow!! What a great job done in a short space of time in an amazing space.

Just time for our magic Bath Boomerang before bidding Sally and the Pools goodbye until next time.

A short spurt back to the leisure centre for a chat about tonight's pun and nice little stretch out.

Well done everyone, as they say another task bites the dust at Goodgym Bath

It may be holiday time for some but that didn't stop the lucky 11 from coming along for a 4K run with a bit of a hill to Bloomfield allotment group to help clear a space and make a bonfire.

Well done to Pascale who ran The women can marathon at the weekend.

The inspiration for this women only marathon is American endurance runner Kathrine Switzer, who in 1967 was the first woman to officially complete the all-male Boston Marathon. As runner number 261 she completed in 4 hours 20 minutes, despite being manhandled by officials who tried to drag her off the course two miles in. The images from that day - together with Kathrine's campaign for the "archaic rules" to be overhauled - changed endurance running for women forever. What Kathrine did showed that women CAN run marathons,

Now that's a Fact worth knowing

A 4k run tonight with a short steep hill to climb at the start taking us to our task location at Bloomfield allotments to help sift through a collection of wood and debris to create a bonfire.

Antony (our paramedic) was lead fire starter this evening on his final Goodgym Bath run, he literally went out in style.

Steve, Tom and Antony sawing an old gate up and salvaging the door furniture to be reused , whilst everyone else collected wood and anything else fit to burn.

It was a combination of saving a variety of wildlife in the process from Alison's collection of

Slugs and snails to Toads , Emma even spotted a rat , 'Twas almost Tales of the riverbank

In all 35 minutes spent to get the area cleared and onto the bonfire , we managed to get the bulk cleared just leaving a small amount and fire watching to our lovely hosts this evening .

Thankfully it was all down on the way back with some looping for the faster ones throughout the evening to keep the group together , so shout out to Joe , Tom and Antony for being jolly good sports .

Well earned stretch with Thanks to Pascale for back marking and Joe for a fabulous Pun .

I'm sure we would all like to wish Antony all the best with his move to a new area and hopefully a new Goodgym group for him to inspire with his motivational spirit , we will surely miss him in Bath .

Look forward to seeing you all next week at Cleveland pools , a gem of our beautiful city .

Thank you everyone for being you .