After a bumper turnout last week to welcome visitors from London, six of us made it out for our official Sticker Parkrun Day. Storm Claudia had brought rain and wind to the area the day before, but Saturday greeted us with a calm—if grey—morning. On days like this, it can take a real effort to get up and out, but what the weather lacked was more than made up for by the warmth of seeing the GoodGym crew gather together. Warm hearts, sunshine smiles, and off we went for our 11th monthly parkrun. Kudos to Jess, who crossed the finish line on an apt 11k, having run from home beforehand!.

Bekah was kind enough to keep me company around the course, and as we trotted along we found ourselves planning some future GoodGym events. A shout-out is definitely needed here: Bekah used to always say she couldn’t talk while running, and now she’s full-on planning mode mid-parkrun. (Progress isn’t just about times, Bekah!) Lucien was ready at the finish to greet us with the much-sought-after stickers. GoodGym Liverpool Parkrun 2025 relies heavily on his organisational skills and steady presence — or, as I alway think, on him being “the responsible adult.”

As someone who is very motivated by the post-parkrun breakfast, I’m always super impressed that Steph and Amina both turn up and run even though often commitments mean they have to leave and skip breakfast. Its always so lovely to hang out before and after parkrun with them both whilst we are doing the Goodgym equivalent of herding kittems for the post parkrun photo.

Today Lucien Bekah and myself were joined by Mo who we had met last week at parkrun and we headed to breakfast at The Golden Brunch. Over a hearty breakfast we discussed our next session which Mo is hoping to join us for.

We only have one monthly parkrun left for 2025 why not join us on December 5th and end the twelve months of Goodgym Liverpool does parkrun

As I was in Liverpool for a Movember half marathon, decided that I could add and extra Goodgym area to my portfolio. So Liverpool is my 18th Goodgym area that I have completed either a community mission or a mission at an elderly ot isolated person. After my race and a bit of sight seeing I went to Mr N house to tidy his garden and trim bushes/trees. On arrival, his small bulldog kept barking but was harmless. Mr N didnt have any tools, but I caught do with pulling dead branches and weed. I asked if he had anything to cut the branches and came back with a small saw which I made most of it. So armed with a saw, a wooden plank and brut force, I was able to cut bushes, trees, pick rubbish left by storm Claudia and remove moss(with the plank). He then came with a strimmer which I used to trimm the grass near his entrance. With hardly any tools I was able to achieve a lot and Mr N was happy amd overwhelmed as found out I was a volunteer with out being paid to help out.

🎵 "Oh what a beautiful morning..." 🎵

When Goodgymmers John and Jacqueline mentioned they were coming up from London to do a Parkrun in Liverpool, Sallyann quickly mobilised to arrange a warm Liverpool welcome. Despite it not being the usual monthly Goodgym Parkrun date - and therefore no prized stickers on offer to tempt people - she rallied a fabulous turnout.

On a gorgeous crisp bright autumn morning, we welcomed back Laura after her break from maternity leave, it was so lovely to see her again and amazing to see how it felt like she'd never been away. Miriam made great strides in her running, taking place in her second ever parkrun, and after a running break Heetu was back in the game.

Jessica smashed it by running a 5k before she even reached the park, the 9am parkrun was her second that day! Dike casually let slip he accidentally ran an unplanned marathon earlier in the week - he set off to do 15k, but kept going for all 40+! Leonardo did some excellent recruiting and we hope to see some new members soon off the back of his conversations. Lucien remains dedicated to supporting the runners and turned out to cheer everyone on, and Amina & Steph did the hard part and joined us for the run even though they sadly couldn't make it for breakfast. And I frantically tried to keep up with Sally Ann, who - despite having only recently returned to running after injuries - was absolutely smashing the speed and did an amazing job on her return to Princes Park.

After Parkrun and the classic photo, we headed over to new favourite cafe Maw for a well earned breakfast, where John and Jackie were delighted with the vegan cake selection. It turns out they're very well travelled for both Parkrun and Goodgym, and John makes the most of the numerous GG areas in London by attending sessions in several of them. John, next time you're in Hackney, send our love to Dan! We compared area notes and admired the Goodgym sticker adorning John's phone - any chance for a bit of exposure! As we chatted like old friends we were pleased Liam was able to join us for a coffee.

The large group of red t shirts attracted quite a bit of interest and we were approached by several people interested in joining us. And after such a beautiful morning, it's clear to see why. Even the sun shone on us, and with a wide range of running abilities everyone was welcomed and supported, no matter where they were on their running journey. It was a gorgeous start to the weekend and we all left on a high, surrounded by positivity and lovely people doing lovely things.

Gaspar, Leo and I attended a briefing at the Liverpool African Caribbean Centre to prepare for the fireworks night event that we will be helping out with tomorrow. The very capable Maleka, who is in charge of the event, talked us through what to expect on the night and the various volunteer roles as well as what to do in potential worst case scenarios - which can be quite bad when it's a fireworks event! - but also reassured us that in the six years that they have run the event there has never been an injury or an accident, so fingers crossed we'll extend that run to seven. We did a walk around the site in the pouring rain to make sure that we all understood where everything is and where we will be stationed on the night, with the rain doing little to dampen our enthusiasm.

What a way to make a living…

‘Remember remember the fifth of November, gunpowder, treason and plot. I see no reason why gunpowder treason should ever be forgot’.

It’s the annual anti-establishment celebration that lights up the sky and at the Carribean centre in Liverpool, Goodgymers went to lend a hand. In the briefing room there were pictures of other anti-establishment heroes like Nelson Mandela and Muhammad Ali. Maleka briefed us all and designated us spots on the site with various different tasks, queue control, contraband checks, sparkler selling, donation collecting and general high-vis wearing, torch shining approachability. We were so approachable that one punter randomly left his two children with Bekah as he went back to his car to get some cash. A bit put on the spot in a less than desirable situation Bekah improvised with a game of statues… misheard by the kids as a game of musical statues so Bekah had to sing a tune and judge their statue-ness at intervals until their guardian returned.

Leo also excelled in his role. A shout went out on the group Whatsapp that someone had sneaked in some fireworks and was refusing to relinquish them; Leo stepped in and through some diplomacy managed to relieve the punters of their shop bought bangers. Meanwhile Miriam was on car watch and queue management, keeping the pedestrians safe by turning away cars attempting to breach the barrier, and keeping a clear thoroughfare. This week was Gasper's last in Liverpool, and we were privileged he spent two of those nights on tasks with us! You're welcome back anytime Gasper, we hope to see you again.

The firework display was spectacular: a wall to wall twenty minutes of explosive chemistry that impressed everyone. We were told that the display had £3,500 worth of fireworks with some funding from the council but mostly subsidised by the Caribbean Community Centre. Despite the generous donations that we took, the centre says that the event is run at a loss but it is so worth it to see the community coming together for something joyful. The food was incredible. Everyone was in good spirits. Sian was the one who organised this session and we were grateful that she did as we all agreed we would go back again.

It was a dark but thankfully clear Monday night that saw a good group of Good Gymmers meet at Mulgrave Street for our weekly task! We were excited to welcome Gaspar to his first task after meeting him last week in Everton Park! After a round of introductions, Khan arrived to set the brief. We set out weeding and litter picking the garden with a lot of the classic question "is this a weed?" being asked amongst the group. We all enjoyed chatting together as we tackled different parts of the garden. It was lovely to see some of the fabulous planting efforts of a recent Good Gym task.
Khan thanked the group with hot tea and Bueno treats which was much appreciated in the cold. Tea in hand, we all headed off into the night towards home. Another good gym task success!!