This time of year is great for collecting used postage stamps thanks to all the Christmas cards we send.

A quick local collection has produced a good pile to help the RNIB.

The RNIB raise £20 for every kilogramme of stamps they receive, much needed funds to help people living with sight loss.

Every day, 250 people in the UK start to lose their sight. Many people won't get any practical or emotional support when they need it most. The RNIB want to change that.

£20 allows someone with sight loss to get helpful, personalised and friendly advice about a key aspect of daily living from an RNIB Sight Loss Adviser.

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……

This morning John and Belinda headed to Splashpoint Leisure Centre where they picked up a PA system that Southdowns Leisure had purchased for Worthing parkrun. SDL have always worked closely with both GoodGym and parkrun, having been instrumental in bringing both to Worthing.

Testing. Testing. One, two three….

The job was to unpack the equipment and set it up, ensuring it works, before getting it in to the new locker that SDL have also provided for parkrun.

Of course we were going to read the manual……

…….except there wasn’t one. Still, a quick look at the rear of the active speaker told us what went where and gave a good idea of the speaker capabilities. A search online, and a stirring into life of the printer ensured a suitable document was available for future reference.

How much?

With the speakers charging we were able to reflect on the potential difference the speakers might make. Regular parkrunners, particularly those that follow a range of parkruns on social media, will know that briefings have been a “hot topic” recently. We can’t hear and we don’t need to hear (heard it all before) are the contrasting cries. "It’s other people making the noise", is the regular defence. No thought that they could actually ask them to be quiet. Recently parkruns have reported issues with unmanaged dogs creating a hazard, and hazards on the course resulting in injury.

Safety first

Worthing is an ever popular parkrun course. Safety of participants and members of the public is paramount. Thanks to these SDL purchased speakers no one will be able to say “I didn’t know”. A difference? A huge difference!

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! 🖌️✨