21 FANTASTIC runners ran 3 k to help Clifton Albert Residence Association digging up a large flower bed and litter picking, all part of reclaiming alleys in Newtown from antisocial behavior. Welcome Andy, Pippa and Daniel who joined us for the first time. We loved having you with us and hope you come back again soon!

Getting Fit

We started our evening with a thorough warm up session, engaging all major muscle groups and getting our bodies ready to run. The run was was 3 k in total and we re-grouped at regular intervals so that no-one got left behind. We made the most of the re-grouping by giving our legs a proper work out with a variety of lunges, squats and great tap work. The evening was surprisingly mild and we were so lucky that the rain that had poured down for day on end finally had stopped. A perfect evening for our group run!

On the return run we stopped in Princess Hay for a fitness session. Santa had brought our group some early gifts, two step ladders, and we had lots of fun doing agility training with them! We had two teams going off for different drills (quick steps, sidewards running, hop scotch and more) and the runners who were waiting to go carried out a variety of strengthening exercises (lunges, squats, triceps dips, press ups and mountain climbing). It was fantastic to see everyone give it all they had! In the end some faces shone an even brighter red than our GG t-shirts - a true testament to how hard you worked. ABSOLUTELY BRILLIANT! YOU GUYS SMASHED IT!

Doing Good

In Newtown we met Alison and Ray, members of Clifton Albert Residents Association. They are a very new association that work to reclaim alleys from antisocial behavior, help wildlife and undertake green measures. All great stuff! Our task involved digging up a large flower bed, bagging up weeds and grass and doing a litter pick in the area.

It was quite hard work getting some of the weeds and brambles out of the ground. It might have felt like we were never gonna dig it all up but we totally did! It was amazing to see how much we got done in 45 minutes! A huge area was cleared and we filled at least 25 bin liners with weeds, grass and brambles. The litter picking team did really well too! The best pick was probably a penny. Such brilliant work everyone!

21 of us working for 45 minutes adds up to 15.5 hours work! It just goes to show that many hands really do make light work!

Our lovely task owners brought us tea and biscuits that we refueled with half way through the task. Very nice! It was also fantastic to hear all the chatting, laughing and even singing going on whilst we were working! This is exactly what the GoodGym is all about: getting fit, doing good, connecting with each other and having lots and lots fun! True GoodGym love all around!

Shout Outs

• Thank you Helen who back marked! Such an important job!
• Thank you Pete for helping out with the photos!
• Again, fantastic to have Andy, Pippa and Daniel with us for the first time!
• Amazing work Lucy R and Ellie persevering with the litter pick! In the end you filled a whole bin liner with litter!
• Holly and Sophie we loved the singing and hope for some more in the future!
• A HUGE SHOUT OUT to every single one of you! You came out in the dark and blustery evening, you ran, you worked really hard at the task and got so much done and you totally smashed the fitness session too! You are my superhero GG team!
• Big thank you to the Westbank for making the GoodGym possible in our area and for the Phoenix for providing us with such a good starting point!

Next week

Next week we are heading to a new area with our group! We will distribute Whipton and Beacon Heath News, a community magazine. It will be a great 5.5 k run, plus a bit more jogging here and there when we deliver the magazine. Sign up here, we would love to have you along!

Dates for the Diary

December 8th, we have our long distane trail run on Dartmoor. This is our first training run and it's so exciting. Sign up here if you’d like to come along. There are still a few places left.

December 15th, we have the Haldon Jingle Bell Run in the morning and Christmas knees up in the afternoon and evening. It would be amazing to see you all there!

No group runs on December 24th and 31st. Instead we will do an extra few weekend sessions in January. First group run next year will be on January 7th.