We were invited to team up with This Girl Can and Her Spirit to encourage women to get (back) into sport.

The Her Spirit team led a social cycle, running masterclass and a Nordic walking introduction, while Leah and Nina took a couple of women (and one very cute dog) on a plogging adventure along the Embankment.

Apparently it's the place to be if you're deconstructing your car as we found what we think was a spark plug and some car headlights, along with a plethora of chip forks, sweet wrappers and, err, unused tea bags from a festival that had been held over the weekend.

I have a car boot full of This Girl Can tote bags and water bottles to give out to GoodGymers so hit me up next time you see me! And if you want to join the Her Spirit community, you can do so here.

Our latest task took us back to one of Nottingham’s most iconic locations, the Green’s Windmill and Science Centre.

A quick rainstorm in the afternoon caused us a bit of worry, but thankfully by 6.30pm the skies had cleared as six of us met up for our pre-task run. Leah, Nina and Rachel L had all arrived by bike (that’s a whopping 50% of the group!) so we quickly popped our bikes inside the windmill grounds before setting off. Oh, and Leah cycled for the first time so even more well done to her!!

Our mission was to find the Sneinton dragon which was a half a mile down the road. It was gentle slow jog so we didn’t get out of puff, ideal for having a good old chat and getting to know new members, Vicky and Luna, as we went.

According to its website, the dragon stands seven feet high and has a 15-foot wingspan, and ‘it lurks in the shade of the trees lining an urban street corner’. Some of us didn’t even know it existed despite driving past many times! After a quick photo with the dragon, we jogged back and did a few stretches before starting our task.

We were joined by Gaurav, Tom and Rachel W as we met Jamie from the windmill who explained what he needed us to do. Rachel W and Rose took on the job of painting one of the fences to neaten it up and weather-proof it. Meanwhile, the rest of us did more weeding of the paths around the flower beds and by the entrance gate. We were pleased to see that the sections we tackled on our last visit were still looking pretty clear, but the recent rain meant there were still plenty of weeds to get our claws into.

After an hour of work and a beautiful group photo under the apple tree, we jumped back on our bikes and feet and all headed home.

Thanks to Jamie for having us and to all our members who attended. Special welcome to Vicky and Luna - we hope to see you again very soon. Also a big well done to Tom who just returned from tackling his first ultra marathon in the Lake Distract where he finished an epic 15th in the Lakeland Trails Ultra 55k challenge!

WANT TO JOIN US NEXT TIME? Check out our up-coming sessions here.

GoodGym Nottingham returned to the wonderful Windmill Community Gardens for our Wednesday night task. They are hosting their annual Feel Good Garden Party on Saturday and needed our help with a few jobs in preparation for the event.

Carley set us to work clearing a large pile of rubbish and wood, transporting it in wheelbarrows to a skip which was located a bit further down the entrance road. Our main challenge was avoiding all the rusty nails sticking out of the wood. Most of the pile was destined for the skip, but we managed to save some glass, plastic and metal for recycling. We also rescued several slugs and a dog made out of welly boots!

Once the first rubbish pile was clear, our next job was to fill our wheelbarrows with wood chip from outside the gate and transport it to the very back of the gardens where it would be laid to make a path. Not wanting to waste a wheelbarrow journey, we filled them with more rubble and wood for the skip on the way back out.

It was a warm, balmy evening in Nottingham (a rarity at the moment). So much so that at one point Nigel decided to take a shower…door, from the rubble pile. We finished with a quick photograph by our full skip and headed on our way.

What a smashing task!

See the pictures for details of the Feel Good Garden Party and other events at the Windmill Community Gardens.