Here at Goodgym Colchester we love a new task and meeting new people!

This link up with Signals was formed through pure magic and old fashioned word of mouth from our friends at Level Best Art Cafe. Not only did we have a new task but it was a first for us at Goodgym Colchester to have an expert film maker with some totally awesome gadgets putting together a short film for our social media!

So before we set off I introduced Jamie who had volunteered so kindly to film us - and in true Goodgym style we sort of made sure he did some good interval sprints too!

We updated and reminded ourselves of the coronavirus advice and then to the good news of Naomi's PB with her lovely pooch and some half marathon fun in Cambridge. The exciting news flowed as we are set for a great week of new tasks because we are heading to Dedham Therapy Farm on Sunday...bushes to plant and animals to meet. It will be muddy fun.

Ella and Emily took an energetic warm up whilst I was interviewed and talked about everyones favourite subject - Goodgym!

So the run to Signals was a short but steep one and it was amazing to meet Diane and see the surprise at how many goodgymers had arrived! The scene was set with a huge wall to paint white as well as sanding down the hallway and stairway - dusty!

With music, water and biscuits provided we felt right at home and worked hard to get as much done as possible and squeeze in a chorus of Happy Birthday to Ella.

After a round of applause for Jamie we set off to the area outside Firstsite to do a quick circuit - shuttle runs, tricep dips and burpees.

You may think this is the end of our toadally mega evening but wait...

On our jog back to base along the river a natural occurrence was in full swing. FROGS. A lot of them on the river path. We saved as many as we could from bikes and feet. Good luck frogs!

A drizzling wet and chilly evening didn't put off 10 fearless and hardy GoodGymers in Colchester this week. Our news this week consisted of massive congratulations to Emma and Michelle for their fabulous efforts at the Big Half. Good job you two, you did yourselves proud! We gave them a big round of applause and then the applause turned to me for taking part in the Essex 20 mile road race, in prep for the Manchester Marathon.

Tav also gave us some important advice from Head Office vis a vis the Coronavirus and we practised our foot high fives in the warm up, in lieu of any handshaking. We set off down the river path towards the Foodbank, encountering a few puddles along the way that Naomi managed to splash through in her brand new trainers!

Mike greeted us at the Foodbank and set us to work with our usual task of cleaning and wiping down surfaces. In particular, there were a number of crates of products we were cleaning that had come through as Christmas donations from the Langham warehouse. If you are reading this and haven't already given the Colchester Foodbank a like on Facebook, please do so that they can reach their target of an additional 200 likes!

The Foodbank mascot Winnie the Pooh managed to nab Emma's t-shirt for a few pics. We think he enjoyed being a token GoodGymer! Thanks to Mike for opening up for us and we are pleased, as ever, that he is grateful for our help.

After leaving the Foodbank it was still drizzling so Tav kindly only encouraged us to do one big running effort up East Hill. We were a little soggy and cold and grateful to get back to Leisure World to do some stretches in the warm.

Next week we have an exciting new task lined up - at Signals, an arts and education charity based in Colchester. We hope to see you then!

As always the news came thick and fast - The Community Mission on Saturday was a great success and tonight we would finish the job off. We congratulated Goodgym Windsor and Maidenhead on their launch event and also GG Slough on their nomination for a Physical Activity and health Award. We also are looking forward to International Women's Day and we encourage our women to tell their stories to rebecca@goodgym.org .

It was also super cool to welcome Anna and Debs for their first runs and oh boy did they to well. Not only showing stamina and getting stuck in to the task but they seemed like they had been here for years. WELCOME.

It was also an epic weekend for our runners with Emily smashing Seville Marathon, Vanessa and Nick bouncing around Brighton Half Marathon and loads of people doing Parkrun and their own runs. Well done all.

So off we trotted after a moving warm up, breezing up the hill and staying warm in the rapidly chilling night air under a crescent moon.

We ran and walked to The Cannons where we set about the details we did not do on Saturday. Litter picking, sweeping, grouting and removing leaves and twigs - not to mention posing for photos and getting lovely feedback from residents.

It makes it worth it when we here lovely feedback and knowing we have made paths safe and turned a few heads as we pound our way around Colchester.

We had time to run back to Leisure World via North Hill and did three hills sprints and some static exercise on the steps. Some drama occurred when Abigail lost a part of her watch and in true goodgym style we used teamwork to find it!

7KM done and dusted in another awesome evening. Tell your friends and family - boast about your do gooding and share the love.

Stretched and warmed up again we headed home...

See you next week team. GG Colchester

A bright eyed and fleet footed group of 15 Goodgymers gathered at Colchester Leisure Centre for a wonderful Wednesday night of running and helping in the community.

Before heading off, Tav reminded everyone of Saturday's (22nd February) afternoon mission run to The Cannons to help clear the leaf debris left behind from the recent storms and make it a safer environment for the residents. We need a friendly and willing team to make this happen so please sign up using the website and enjoy time running then sweeping, with like-minded people.

He also promoted the annual GoodGym Shindig, a chance for a weekend with other lovely GoodGymers blitzing ideas, socialising, exercising and helping to move the organisation on to ever better things. Again, details on the website or speak to Tav.

We were able to congratulate Etienne on achieving 10+ deeds and Vanessa on reaching 100. Etienne's huge smile spoke volumes and, as I'm Vanessa, I can write that the journey to getting my wings has been a joy and hugely owing to the friendlier than friendly Colchester runners and an excellent coach. Thank you and well done Etienne. Brighton half marathon for Nick and Vanessa this weekend so let's hope for fair weather!

Tonight's venue was Level Best Art Cafe which was in need of a spruce up. Ella led the walkers and Tav led the runners in a well rehearsed warm up on route with high legs, leg flicks and lunges. We sploshed through the park and up Castle Road, chatting and sharing torchlight. We were met by Colin who talked through the learning opportunities provided by the Dacon Trust for people with disabilities to upskill in cooking, art and gardening. We are hopeful that some participants may also be able to exercise with GoodGym which would be superb. Then the cleaning magic! All was slickly done with great team work and lots of elbow grease; masterly floor mopping, wiping down of tables, chairs and skirting and a thorough clean of the art room. The bathroom cleaning team made the room sparkle and kudos to Louise who stretched all over the floor to remove sticky mess! We were rewarded with delicious chocolate cake, handmade by Level Best students and Colin shared insight on current projects. We admired the art and took contact cards and links to blogs, connecting with the community the GoodGym way!

Our run back to Leisure World was made easier with a snappy warm up of static sprints and then we flew up the high street, through Balkerne gate and down Balkerne hill. Walkers and runners united and speedier people were kept working with extra sprint runs. Our session ended with a thorough cool-down led by Tav, who threw in a ski-ing stretch to manipulate the ankles and an elongated curtsey which flexed our muscles but made us into rather pathetic-athletic ballerinas!

Well done everybody and hope to see you all on the 26th February for an energetic Colchester in Bloom.

*Fifteen beautiful people spread a little love and leaflets in the Dutch Quarter and St Mary's Field area. *

We began our group run with some amazing news of local and national Goodgym events and community missions as well as the Goodgym Games in Oxford!

Vanessa is our shining star with her epic PB as she approaches 100 good deeds!!

We warmed up in the windless but cold night and leafleted like a storm. (Storm Goodgym??)

Once complete it was time for a race and we relayed up and down Balkerne Hill with the winners being rewarded with squats! We kept moving with Wagamama on our minds and a solid stretching and strength session before making our way for a well deserved meal.

Epic as usual. Nom nom.

If you are reading this and wondering about the title...well we found a Mr Bump cup abandoned in the road and adopted it. Cute.

Tonight (or last night if you are reading this tomorrow) fifteen superstars set about dead-heading flowers in our wonderful town centre for the magnificent Colchester in Bloom - who keep our town so floral and colourful.

We started with the news that Goodgym Windsor and Maidenhead will be opening soon and can not wait to see their reports. Also the running heroes of the weekend were Fay Sibley, Ian Bown and Emily White who all ran well under two hours on a windy, tough half marathon in Great Bentley. Superb.

Tonight our good deed led us to five kilometers in distance and countless dead-headed pansies and primulars. Turns out finding the dead flower heads is harder than one would imagine...not that 3 years ago I ever imagined I would do something like this. On that note a huge thank you to Ian and Ella for getting me a 200 good deeds GG T-Shirt with Tav 1 on the back. I LOVE IT. On a personal note Goodgym has provided friends for life, a purpose outside of social care that fills me with a sense of achievement and the love of my life. (Try to keep your food down right?)

Our loop of the town centre ended at Balkerne Hill where we completed a pyramid. A pyramid I hear you ask? Each Goodgymer, whether walking or running, decided their own distance to travel up the hill starting with a short run, then a medium distance run and a long run. This was followed by the medium run and the short run again. Even the men with impressive facial hair were in awe...not only because we picked litter on the hill but also our spirit and effort.

Thank you Goodgymers.

Firstly a huge Goodgym Colchester welcome to Claire and Helen who ran and walked to their first good deed. Their documents are checked and the journey with Goodgym has began.

Secondly tonights task was saved by our very own Vanessa who was able to unlock the Foodbank because no-one was available to open up. Vanessa not only runs with us but gives up her time to volunteer at the Foodbank too. With the secret code for the key safe stored in her epic memory Vanessa was our mystic key.

Ian, our walk leader, and Claire set off early as they walked to the Foodbank whilst the rest of us warmed up in the familiar way...high knees, bum flicks, side steps and lunge walks. We chatted and jogged our way to Colchester Foodbank where we met speed-walkers Ian and Claire.

At the Foodbank our regulars helped the new members with the task and we swept, mopped and dusted our way to a sweet smelling story of success.

Vanessa summarised the importance of our job:

"The Foodbank is very busy during the week and the staff and volunteers do not have time to clean."

The beauty of a walk leader is that it gives everyone the option to walk and Jules was able to join Ian and Claire to stride up East Hill where we caught them up. We did some inclined lunge walks and static leg strength exercises before again running and walking back to base to stretch and look forward to next week and Parkrunning at the weekend.

Well done gang.

It was great to see you all tonight with Colchester traffic problems making life hard. We welcomed Mark for his first run and it was brilliant to see him slot into the action.

We started with the news of our starter session, January challenge updates and GG race team news. Keep logging your training and doing good!

The misty night meant an atmospheric run through the town centre to Plum Hall were the ever enthusiastic Rebecca met us. We scooped and swept 8 bags of leaves and litter away from vital paths to help the mobility of the residents. Smashing.

The exercise took advantage of popular running location Abbey Fields and the well placed lampposts. Sprint and recover between lampposts was the order and the troops responded.

An impressive effort and distance achieved tonight proves that not to mention a well executed task.

Next week we go to our friends at the foodbank to clean the warehouse.