Well the Christmas community  spirit was in tremendous force on all three fronts for the good gym Christmas  partae:

1) THE HIGH-Achievements : We celebrated our goodgym park run awards, not just about celebrating runs, stickers, or times but about celebrating people. Especially Sallyann Sallyann who thought of this amazing park run sticker contest and who always encourages with relentless enthusiasm no matter at which level or in what way. But little did Sallyann realise in 2025 she had not only encouraged Bekah to run her first 10K, Heetu for >10K, whole bunch of us to 25K trail, Jess to become runleader but also encouraged the fiesty little sticker monsters in us all!

Here are the standout moments...

🏆 Top Attendance Awards

Lucien Lucien: first place. The heart of the group, showing up every week despite health challenges, keeping stickers and cards ready, and supporting everyone with consistency and warmth (13/13).

BekahBekah: joint second. From non-runner to regular supporter, now running consistently and encouraging new and returning runners (10/13).

Sian Siân: joint second. Balanced PhD studies and family visits while still showing up, running effortlessly and supporting the group (10/13).

Amina: close fourth. Champion of stickers, always checking in on people, and ensuring we had 13 sticker days this year (7/13).

🌟 Special Recognitions

Leo Leonardo: New this year, became an ambassador, spreading the word and even scoring café discounts (6/13).

StephSteph: Validated nerves at the start line, always pulling out strong runs (6/13).

ElileEleanor: Sacrificed her run to secure café tables for the group (5/13).

Jess Jessica: Supportive and knowledgeable, became our new run leader (4/13).

MiriamMiriam: Came to film, ended up running her first parkrun (4/13).

SophieSophie: Offered calm conversation that helped others overcome fears (3/13).

JoJo: Completed parkruns all year across locations, volunteering at junior parkruns (3/13).

LiamLiam: Ran before flying halfway across the world to Costa Rica (3/13).

DikeDike: Fastest runner, always waiting at the end with a smile (3/13).

Dan: Ray of sunshine, excellent runner, now in London (2/13).

HeetuHeetu: Worked abroad most of the year, but brought enthusiasm when present (2/13).

Afrah: Showed up despite a demanding charity job and freezing weather (1/13).

Laura: Returned after two years with family, looking like she’d never been away (1/13).

💖 Spirit of GoodGym

Every award reflects more than running—it’s about friendship, encouragement, and small acts that ripple outwards. Sallyann and Lucien’s dedication, despite not being able to run always, embodies the very essence of GoodGym: consistency, support, and community.

2) THE FAT- The Grub: upon arriving there was a vast array of options to try on our Christmas buffet and drinks cabinet!!!

Variety of from almost all continents Africa, South America, New Zealand, Vietnam ... -Brie and cranberry swirls care of Siân -Salt n peppa sausage rolls care of Bekah -Amazing chicken lickin care of Dike -Most gorgeous perfectly portioned ratios mini mince pies care of Jessica -oh there was so much more to mention but I am just making myself hungry!

But really thank you absolutely everyone for everything you bought to the party it was a lovely collective effort to bring everyone together to catch up on the year over some very tasty bites.

3) THE FUTURE-Aspirations: : we also made a to do list for 2026 from starting the 1st day of 2026 with a run, to attend more GG sessions/missions/runleadering, grow our team/charities we help and of course for all our sticker monster addicts more park-runs/breakfasts/tourism!
In conclusion what a fab partae and the only other thing we can aspire to is better christmas tunes!

So each of you has made this year unforgettable. Whether you ran, volunteered, cheered, finding a café or simply shared a coffee afterwards, you’ve built something connected and special. Every person is a winner so here’s to more miles, more smiles, and more memories together for 2026 where the sticker fanaticism continues!

This was my second visit to see Mrs W, so I had a good idea of the tasks ahead. Mrs W's House was now looking very festive, sporting an array of Christmas lights and decorations.

A slight change of plan meant that there was no furniture building required, the remaining table and chair parts were to be stored in the shed, along with several other items.

Upstairs, there were boxes and bags to be moved, and a couple of bedside cabinets to be extracted and taken downstairs.

In the kitchen, storage baskets were arranged on the shelves, kitchen appliances moved, and an electric can opener had batteries fitted.

Mrs W and I had quite a chat in between tasks... we talked of family, friends, holidays, and hobbies.

As I left, Mrs W handed me a small gift of several croched hearts, each adorned with a guardian angel, which I was to share with other GG friends and family... they had been made by Mrs W's sister and bring a smile to the face of everyone who receives one ❤️ 👼

Mr D has a beautiful home but has difficulty getting around safely. He is in need of brighter lighting and is hoping to have some fluorescent tubes fitted in his living space.

Today's task, however was much more simple - just a new light bulb required.

After introductions, a chat about his home and the task, I was done in a matter of minutes.

Such an easy fix and yet Mr D had found it really difficult to find help. There is still a huge gap in the type of support available and things such as changing a light bulb just don't seem to come under the remit of either health or social care.

Mr D was very pleased to have more light as he us registered blind and has been struggling for some time.

I imagine we will be hearing from him again as he needs help to use his computer... in order to arrange for new, brighter lighting to be installed.

The Choir with No Name is an organisation close to Good Gym’s heart as Ema, our Area Activator manages the choir and one of our Good Gymers, Steph sings with them. It’s such a brilliant charity. A weekly meet for people who have been affected by homelessness or who have felt marginalised in any way. This annual concert is a real highlight in the Christmas calendar. Sian, Heetu and Sallyann walked to the Tung Auditorium on this chilly December evening. Miriam walked up from Lime Street station and Ellie joined us a bit later straight from Christmas shopping in town. We were walked through the plan of action by Cat from the choir. We were on donation bucket duty, merch selling and survey promoting. We were across our stations as people arrived, during the interval and at the end but then we got to sit down in our balcony seats and watch the concert. It was amazing. Our very own Steph put in an impressive solo performance during the second song. The choir were joined on stage by the Asylum Link choir who performed a welcome song from Togo amongst others and a beautiful song penned by a local musician called ‘Bridges not Walls’ which had the whole auditorium up on their feet. The choir from Person Shaped Support ‘sing sing sing’ also put in a set that was moving and heartfelt. The Choir with No name sung some amazing festive tunes including Scouse Christmas classic ‘The Power of Love’ by Frankie Goes to Hollywood which was rousing. Our Ema had a dedication made to her from the choir, a song called ‘Dominick the Donkey’ for which she had encouraged as much silliness as possible in her absence. The choir spoke of how they missed her so much. The choir gave a special thank you to Good Gym for their fundraising efforts at the recent Santa Dash. The choir talked about how their meets offered a ‘soft landing’ to their members; a place to call home. They talked about the meaning of home, whether it’s a physical place, the people you know or a feeling of belonging and that all of these things were important for a home and I think Good Gym definitely shares this sentiment. Our buckets were full of generous donations by the end of the night and we all felt thoroughly festive. Thank you Choir With no Name for having us.

Mrs W was very welcoming... after a 4 day stay in hospital, she was keen to restore some order to her home. New carpets had been laid and furniture needed to be put back in place. With a leg injury, fractured shoulder and recently diagnosed diabetes, Mrs.W was in need of a helping hand. The first task was to clear a room and set up a bed so that she could finally move off the sofa. Several boxes and bags needed to be opened, emptied and organised . The largest box contained a table and chair set which had to be put together... quite a fiddly task and one chair took an hour to assemble! The current kitchen table was cleared and put outside, a set of shelves moved into place and filled with new kitchen appliances. After 3 hours, it was time for me to leave but I still hadn't finished the furniture so arranged for a follow up visit. Hopefully, the other chair and table will be assembled in record time, now that I know how to attack those fiddly allen key fixings 😁

The Santa Dash has been a regular fixture in the Goodgym Liverpool Christmas calendar, and this time we were participants and fundraisers. This event grows and grows - we heard over the tannoy that with over 11,000 Santas, this is the largest Dash in the world!

Steph, Clara, Miriam, Dike, Rachel and Bekah donned the red suits to run, and Pauline and Steph showed their colours with blue suits to walk the route with friends and family. Leonardo was intrigued by the idea of thousands of Santas running around the city centre, and came out to support the runners and see it for himself - yes, it's exactly what it sounds like. We passed pubs already full of Santas, and Leo was surprised at how early the Santas had started on the beer. Those of us more familiar with the dash - less so.

We were fundraising for The Choir With No Name, a choir for those impacted by homelessness or otherwise marginalised by society. Each week the choir meet for a cuppa and a catch up, choir practice, then sit down to share a hot meal. With a budget of less than £40 to feed up to 55 people (!) this type of fundraising makes a real difference. At the time of writing, the Goodgym Liverpool team have collectively raised over £775, a fantastic amount which will go directly to the Liverpool chapter we've volunteered with before.

It was a pleasure to meet Rachel for the first time, who was instrumental in the fundraising and contributed some very generous donations. Lovely to meet you Rachel - we hope to see you at a Goodgym task soon.

The Santas worked their way around the route through the city centre, and even the rain couldn't dampen the festive spirit and the streets were lined with people cheering us on. We were serenaded by a choir, treated to live music, joined by stilt walkers and the running Santas even struck up their own songs as they ran (no mean feat). Due to terrible planning, this was Bekah's third 5k in 26 hours (with Sally Ann partly to blame for making those stickers so damn appealing at yesterday's Goodgym monthly parkrun), but this was the big one, and with the thought of all those generous donations pushing her on, she was able to dash the dash and finish the third and final run of the weekend. Several of our runners were either new to 5ks or getting back into it gradually, and everyone put in a fantastic effort and exceeded their own expectations - we came away with some well deserved medals!

It's a lovely event, super fun to see the Santas all over the city and such wonderful community spirit. See you next year!

P.S. many thanks to Clara for the winning pun!