5 of us gathered today to help keep our stunning beaches plastic and cigarette butts free!

We ran Pier to Pier, took some photos chatted a lot and on our way back with the wind behind us even had time to stop and help a young lady keep calm....she had managed to drive onto the beach, believing that you could like back home....only to get stuck and break down in a flood of tears.

Laura was nice enough to get her to relax and soon we had a guy with a tow bar come and help her out... We didn’t do much really in the end....but did stop to help though which is what counts right?

We got back to the Pier after 5km and started on our beach clean. Chris straight away found a pound coin! Mostly there were lots of cigarette butts and small pieces of plastic. A lot of small pieces of plastic!!!!

After braving the cold and wet weather we rewarded ourselves with a drink overlooking the sea! What a great way to spend a couple of hours on a Saturday!!

See you guys Wednesday!!!

Unfortunately we had our group task of painting at the school canceled today and after scrambling around to try to find another task, with no luck at all..... we "settled" for a beach clean. We are so lucky to be able to do that here in Bournemouth.

Today we said a big welcome to two new faces. Pia invited James along and it was great to finally meet him. Welcome James, it was great running with you and we hope both of you come along as often as possible.

We were also lucky to have Megan join us for her first group run, having only heard about GoodGym from a friend on Sunday she signed up straight away. It was great to meet you and I'm not at all concerned about how close you grew up to Andrea!! Coincidences of life! Brilliant.

Both new faces settled in straight away as we set off through the gardens and down to the beach for the first of our hills...and the gang did very well to troop up the first 400m climb...then along the overcliff and down the zig zag...which is way more fun to run down than up!! Then back towards the Pier again for our next 400m uphill climb...that one was tough but Neil and James powered up it with ease! At the top we all pretended to look fresh as daisies....and some did better than others....

Then the lovely trainer took us through the park and into the trees and down some steps....and straight to some steep steps to the next overcliff! Honestly, why would someone do that! Well, hills are great for our leg strength and will make us stronger runners...probably not the message everyone wanted to hear!

We headed back down to the beach after 5km and started on the beach clean...there wasn't that much big stuff around which is either credit to the council or people being more responsible. We did find a tonne of cigarette butts though...please don't leave those on the beach, they take forever to decompose! So sad.

Daryl managed to find a love heart mould which was probably the oddest thing out! Very tame compared to our last outing. We threw our rubbish bags in the big bins and set off back to Flirt cafe...trying to avoid the hills and the usual long hill back up....thanks Neil!

Thank you James for taking some great shot for us!

We will miss Grace who is off on a 5 week summer break, but we'll be here when you get back....promise not to do toooooo many amazing tasks without you!

Well done everyone, next week we should be fence painting! Sign up here

A very soggy day, that according to the weather forecast was supposed to clear up toward GoodGym time....well....the weather forecast was WRONG!!!!

With the promise of a get together and some beach time to go with it 14 lovely people hoped for the best and turned up to do some good!

Due to the weather we changed our plan from a beach clean to a Boscombe Garden clean. So a longer run and probably a lot more litter to hope for....well.....Bournemouth is pretty clean on Wednesdays!!

But after filling a few bags and then sorting through them for recycling....didn't want our Sarah coming after us....we made friends with a guy who had litter picked half a bath....and set off on our way back to Bournemouth Pier...somewhere in the foggy distance!

After 6.5km and getting very wet through a mix of rain and mugginess we got back to our meet location to gather our things and get together at the pub for some food and drinks!

Always lovely to hang out with our GoodGym family!!!

Next week we are gardening!!!

It was 2 years ago tomorrow that GoodGym was launched in Bournemouth, and we decided to celebrate it with a games and team bonding outing to the beach. Andrew, Daryl and Caprice were all there that day and this evening too, it is amazing that we haven't managed to scare them off since! Caprice is so dedicated that she even came along despite being sick and not yet having recovered from working a 5 day festival, and a night shift the night before!

As we didn't run, it meant that Lee was able to come along and join us. He hasn't been able to join in on runs, much to his annoyance, due to injury. And how much we have missed our best photographer!!

It was pretty blustery down by the beach, which meant that we didn't have to fight over a spot, and our frisbee skills were going to be put to the test! After a beer sitting down and getting chilly some of us decided to try to throw the frisbee around. At first the wind made it really difficult, but by the end the gang were gliding that disc around like pros! Amazing how much of a work out you can get out of chasing a Frisbee around that keeps drifting away from you!! There were some amazing flying catches made by Lee and Neil.

Millie brought along a game called Kubb, and although it is usually played as a drinking game, we played it in its purest form! Picture a game of skittles, but with wooden blocks, thin sticks instead of balls, two teams and a half way line...get the idea? Didn't think so....look it up and try it out, it was great fun. Thank you Millie and Daryl who graciously lost to Meghan, Dan and myself! Wooohooo! No wonder we enjoyed it!

After the sun went down, we slowly made our way home, not before posing for some team shots with our wonderful beach scenery as the backdrop.

All things back to normal next week as we run to help out at BodyPositive in their garden. We have never been there before, so it's a chance to make new friends again! It's not a long run so we will bring in some intervals and fitness exercises to keep everyone in shape! Sign up here

We were supposed to be painting fences this evening but because of the downpour in the afternoon we had to cancel that, much to everyone's disappointment!! We will have to wait until next week...and besides the gardens needed the rain a little and it has been really nice and warm, so we can't complain...

We welcomed back Ross this evening after he'd been away for what felt like an eternity!! Don't do that again Ross!

And we also welcomed Tom to his first group run. We have Miffy to thank for him joining us this evening, she finally managed to persuade him to come along, we are very grateful. The more the merrier!

We used the opportunity to instead tidy up the beach, which needed some attention after all the good weather we've been having...lots of people enjoying our gorgeous beaches...then a little too eager to leave things behind!

We ran to Boscombe Pier and pushed the last km until our lungs and thighs were burning. Once everyone had gathered we passed out bags and got down to combing the beach...We managed to find a knife....a fork....vodka bottle....surfboard fin....sand moulds for kids....three, one turtle, a dinosaur and a ship.....bbqs.....and a small play spatula!!!

That was the fun stuff, there was so much plastic wrappers and other rubbish...lots of cigarette buts too. Such a shame. But I'm glad we were able to help the beach out a little.

We ran the last bit back along the shore with the waves lapping at our feet, making for some great shots. You should all become running models!! Look at those smiling faces!

The run back took us through the lovely Bournemouth Gardens and onto the Hill of hell back to Flirt....Laura decided to give Neil a run for his money and pushed him all the way to the end!! Awesome effort you two!!

Can we please send Jodie lots of energy for her Half Marathon in Liverpool this weekend, one of 5 that she is running to raise money for the Encephalitis Society. (Click here)[ https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/jodie-brown82] to read about it and support if you can.

Have a great week everyone and see you next week!

Our group run this week was supposed to help us skip purgatory by painting the gates at St Clements Church. ...however, after some mix up with that task (not on our end!) I was left scrambling to find another worthy cause for us to help for the evening. It was all a bit short notice though so we decided on a litter pick instead.

It was great to welcome Rob along for his first group run. A keen and able runner who has always wanted to come along but has never had a Wednesday free to join us. Well tonight was finally the night! We hope you had a good time and that we see you next week again Rob!

We paired up and after hitting the promenade and running with the wind...to protect our sensitive ears....the competition to see which partnership would fill up their bin bag first started...and it was hard going to start with. There wasn't a lot of rubbish along the promenade at all! We did manage to find a children's sword and a boat fender though! You'll find Lee and Abi modeling them below!

We moved away from the promenade and climbed the Steps of Hell by the Harvester to move to the top of the cliff and continue along there. On the way back down the chine we hit the mother load!! So much rubbish everywhere!! Rob and Lee managed to fill up their bag first...although the did go missing at times....Reckon they were emptying rubbish bins into their bag...only kidding!!!

We filled up the remaining bags and put them in the bins and continued our run with hands free. We needed everything we had to battle the 20mph head winds on our way back!!

On the run back we spoke about a get together that Daryll and Caprice as Task Force members had been planning. We're going to Coffee and Dice in Boscombe on the 23rd. For an evening of boards games, drinks, laughs, drinks, and maybe a boogie afterwards and drinks. If you are around come along!!!

Also, next week we are helping a really important cause. Come along to our group run and help a family keep their home. They need help with painting and refurbishing to stop them getting evicted. Join us!!!

Have a great week everyone!!!