Sometimes (ok most of the time) GoodGym is exactly what you want it to be. Tonight was one of those nights. It was a super-fun physical task, everyone was in a great mood, and it was just a great evening!

There was loads of news to share. While we'd just slipped out of the top division in the January Challenge, tonight's group run promised to bring us back into the Gold division (as I write this we're in 15th)! We have loads going on at the minute, and it's great to see so many getting involved.

We also had a string of people hitting their 10th Good Deeds this weekend, with Alex, Julie and Rachael all hitting double figures. We also had four newbies, with Brogan, Rob, Naomi and Eimear joining us for the first time! That's a big number of people who deserve a massive cheer, so go and give them some love!

Tonight's run was down to Meanwood Valley Urban Farm, who are starting to make big plans with the things we can do for them, which is awesome!

We started out with a quick 'Big Wave' warm up to show off to all the new GoodGymers how coordinated we are (I think we can agree this is still a work in progress).

We then set off down the hill towards the farm, with Helen backmarking. We arrived to find Ben, the task owner was all ready and waiting for us. He had three pretty massive jobs for us to do:

• Dig a big trench, around 2 feet wide, and about 10 metres long
• Move around 40 bags of gravel/sand across to the hole
• Move a huge pile of soil from one polytunnel to another.

It was a super ambitious list of tasks that looked impossible at first, but for this group impossible is not a declaration. It's a dare. Impossible is potential. (Kudos to anyone who knows the quote!)

So we all just got on with it! We split into groups, with hole diggers, bag movers and wheelbarrow shuttlers, and we just started grafting! And boy did we work! There were some serious effort faces, grunts and sighs as everyone really put their back into what was a serious workout.

"This is harder work than my pump class" Julie, Leeds GoodGymer

The diggers were really taking it seriously, even if some tools were perhaps more suited to sandcastles than trench digging! Some people were also getting pretty defensive about the section they'd been digging, and didn't want to move on to a new area.

"I'm quite protective of my hole" Naomi, first timer immediately getting into the swing of saying something inappropriate enough to make the run report.

The whole idea with digging the hole is that next week we're going to come back and fill the trench with rubble, which will be the foundations for a retaining wall (made from the sand- and gravel-bags). It's a massive job, that the regular volunteers just don't have the time or the capacity to do.

"What you've done tonight would have taken me about 2 or 3 weeks of serious drudgery!" Ben, task owner.

Once the gravel bags had been shifted, and most of the trench had been dug, a splinter group split off to move the soil. There was a constant stream of wheelbarrows from one polytunnel to the other with the pace not letting up despite all the hard work that had already been put in.

With the jobs all coming to a close, the tools were collected in, and everyone had a chance to admire their handiwork. It is still genuinely amazing to see the amount that can be achieved by a big group of people who are keen to work hard, and even better to see the smiles on everyone's faces the whole time too!

The run back was up the hill we'd come down, so we let everyone take it at their own pace. Tom took the lead group, with Adam taking up back-marking duties. We all reconvened back at base, with a few stretches led by Julie and Helen.

Thanks again for a fabulous evening, I was bouncing along on my way home tonight! You're all brill!

Every time we head to Growing Better it seems to be a wet one, and tonight was no exception.

The rain put a few people off, but we still had an amazing turnout, and Catherine, Mia, Ciara and Charlie all chose tonight for their first run with us. They definitely deserve a cheer for coming out in weather like that.

It's also great to see that people are bringing along their friends to GoodGym which is exactly what we want to see!

Our HUGE news tonight was that it was tenth event, and two amazing runners have been to all ten! Adam and Katie both deserve a massive cheer. Click on their name and then find the loudspeaker symbol next to their activities to give them a warm fuzzy glow inside! Or better yet, hit support and you'll see all the amazing stuff they get up to every time you go onto the GoodGym website!

This is the third time we've been back to Growing Better as they're always looking for things for us to do, so most of our crew knew the drill by now. We had a quick 10-themed warm-up in celebration of Adam and Katie, and then made our way down the hill towards Kirkstall, with Katie back marking.

As we reached the cricket club, we let the speedy bunch head off down the hill at a quicker pace, with Adam taking the lead, and Helen stepping in to backmark.

As we all arrived at Growing Better the rain was really coming down and we set about our tasks. While a small group tried to work out the logistics of attempting to build some compost bins, the rest of the team grabbed their tools and headed over to the allotment site.

There was more orchard clearing and pallet fencing to be done and the team got straight down to it. It seems that for some people GoodGym is about more than just going for a run and socialising with new people, particularly when they have a spade in hand:

"This is better than therapy!" Riobhne, GG Leeds

With the Orchard looking even better than before, and another section of pallet fencing completed, thoughts turned to the potential of building compost bins. The Pallet shifting crew had brought a huge stack of pallets across the field to the allotment (which is no mean feat when it's so wet) with Adam and Alex even getting an extra workout by carrying two at a time!

As we started the task of digging in for the compost bins, we realised the ground was just too sodden, and it wasn't going to be possible, and so we called time on our attempt. I'm sure there will be a next time, possibly when the weather is a little drier!

We then all made our way back to base in the same groups as before with much of the conversation revolving around how amazing it would be to eventually get home and dry out! One anonymous GoodGymer (to protect their modesty) was most concerned about what to wear for the journey home:

"I think I might have to drive home in my pants!"

Hopefully everyone got home safe and has finally dried out and warmed up! Our next three tasks leading up to Christmas are all in Kirkstall, meaning a similar distance run. They're all inside, and Christmassy, so hopefully we'll all start to get in the Christmas spirit!

See you next week!

Aron