The rain couldn't quite hold off for tonight's Group Run, but our intrepid crew battled the elements and the weeds regardless.

Laura joined us for her first Group Run and got well stuck in the weeding the flower beds alongside Andy and Lucy. The rest of the team took on the jungle ahead of the back wall, filling an entire large garden waste bin and five bin bags! We finished up by spreading some wood chip to help stop some of the weeds coming back.

We made such a massive difference in a short space of time - well done everyone! A rainbow even made an appearance to send us on our way.

So good to be back with Aldermoor Community Farm this evening and with a fantastic turnout. Team work made the dream work for the best short, back and sides for the bushes! Well done to our runners who joined in for a hill session outside the farm before pruning too.

Richard gave us a lovely update on the farm and was ready with gloves and tools for the job. His request for a chamfered bush may have been a step to far.... but we can build up to that! Derek caught his finger on the barbed wire, much to Richards delight as it meant he could put an entry in the accident book.

It was lovely to be joined by Sanat, a new member to Portsmouth Goodgym. Thankyou for coming to our session Sanat, hope you enjoyed it and hope you visit us again soon 😊

All together now:

Happy Birthday to us! Happy Birthday to us! Happy Birthday, GoodGym Portsmouth, Happy Birthday to us!

We had a fab hour out on the water, and were all appropriately prepared thanks to our kayak expert-in-residence, Yvonne. Dawn came out on the water with us, and was able to guide us to a secret seal hang out. After checking us out from afar, the cheeky seals kept popping up to say hello. Abby named some of our new friends - you might spot Simon and Garfunkel in our photos!

And the results are in!! In a stunning turn of events, we have four GoodGymers on the podium for the Golden Trainer Award - but no silver medal!

Joint third place, both finishing 23 seconds under their predicted time were Katie and Andy - nice one, guys!

And we also have JOINT WINNERS - with Judy and reigning champ Dave both coming in at 19 seconds faster than their predicted time. The trophy has gone home with Judy whilst I plan to fashion a second trophy for Dave. EPIC!

Looking back on previous years, this year's field were more accurate overall, with the biggest underestimating being just 91 seconds - we have had runners being 2.5 / 3 minutes out before, so super good work to everyone who took part. You certainly earned your Haribos.

After the celebrations were up, we were united with BRAND NEW GOODGYMER Sanat, who unfortunately missed the Golden Trainer due to poor postcode entry on the task... I'm very sorry, Sanat! In just over half an hour, we filled 4 bags of litter - with interesting finds including two socks (not a pair), a tie, some sunglasses and a dinosaur head!

We then added a bonus good deed by removing the protective polythene from some new hedgerow, as the leave were being flattened and restricted as the plants tried to grow. This did add another level of chaos as we tried to contain the polythene tubes.