Helping at Mackintosh Community Gardens, flyering about GoodGym and plogging the streets - Wooo that was a busy one!

Despite the changeable weather that we had all day in Cardiff, 33 runners showed up to GoodGym this evening, ready and willing to combine their running with doing good in the Cardiff community.

We had 4 new runners this week - AMAZING! Word is getting about how cool GoodGym is and now everyone is keen to get involved. A HUGE WELCOME TO GOODGYM CARDIFF Rob , Sam, Danielle, Grace. We do love having new people come along. GoodGym has so many benefits and we hope you reap the benefits! It's incredible to have you part of the family (Yes, you already feel part of the GG family to us :))

Acknowledgements

• We had 2 red lace warriors this evening. Anthony brought Sam to GoodGym this evening and Danielle brought Rob and Grace #LifesGoals
• Clap Clap Clap to Pete for reaching 50 good deeds!
• Hip hip hooray to Llion who also reached 50 good deeds!

Don't forget; when you reach 50 good deeds you are able to claim your black goodgym milestone tee

Time to get going!

Tonight it was Ben leading the speedy runners, Ellen leading the runners who planned to run at more of a relaxed pace and Amy led the walk/runners.

• At this point I would like to express a MASSIVE thank you to all of the run leaders who help make GoodGym accessible to all abilities.
  

Welcome to Mackintosh Community Gardens

Carol welcomed us to Mackintosh gardens. Mackintosh Community Gardens is well used by all ages and nationalities. Carol has made huge progress in recent years developing the space and the garden is now very much a part of the community.

The tasks this evening included:

• Building steps
• Building a woodstore
• Shifting soil
• Sweeping leaves

With the combined efforts from everyone at GoodGym this evening, the tasks were completed and the evening was a success!

The flyering and plogging platoon

Whilst the walkers/runners who went with Ellen and Aimee remained at Mackintosh community gardens, Ben took his group flyering the streets. They delivered flyers about GoodGym. You may now be asking why did they flyer about GoodGym? Well, we targeted well known student areas in the Roath area. Students are a population that can sometimes feel isolated, moving to a new area, not having many friends and being away from home. Students can also feel overwhelmed, with many deadlines to meet and exams to revise and sit. GoodGym can benefit the student population, and in order for them to get this benefit, they need to know about us!

Time to head off!

With the task complete and flyers distributed, it was time to head back!

We ran back to Big Moose where we did our warm down, reflected on the night's achievements and shared info about what's coming up over the next couple of weeks!

2020 Tweet Off

WAHOO! Megan you have won the tweet off two consecutive times now and you are moving up the leaderboard!

• MOH - 2
• MJ - 2
• Razzle Dazzle - 1

RunPunStiltskin award

Combined effort from Andrew and Ben this week. Ding Ding Ding. A point to each!

• EW - 2
• BA - 2
• AS- 2

This evening, 27 GoodGym runners ran and made a HUGE impact at two community projects in Cardiff!

Welcome To GoodGym Cardiff and The Vale - The MOST AMAZING place to get fit in Wales

Tuesday's are the BEST day of the week. GoodGym is an opportunity to get fit, do good, meet like minded people and have fun. This evening we had 1 runner come along to GoodGym for their first ever time!Welcome to GoodGym Yasmin. We hope you had a fantastic time and come back again. :)

Before heading out for the evening's run we completed a warm up and did a headcount.

Two Tasks this week!

This week there were two tasks for runners to choose from. They could either run to Mackintosh Community Gardens, a slightly longer run, or run to Butetown Pavilion - I know how much you runners love a choice of where to run to!

Ellen led 10 runners to Butetown Pavilion whilst Ben led 17 runners to Mackintosh Community Gardens. We waved each other off knowing that in 1 hours and 30 minutes time we would regroup again and share stories of the tasks we completed.

The run to Mackintosh Community Gardens

In Ben's group, Ben led the runners along queen street, down Newport Road and up Richmond Road. They then ran through lanes to get to the gardens. Carol, the task organiser for the evening, was quick to welcome eveeryone in. She said she wanted to the make the most of the time she had us for and immediately began explaining the tasks that needed doing. "The weeds need to be cut back, steps need to be made up to the children's play area, the gravel needs to be shifted from the path and onto the play area, and I need some other volunteers to pick tomatoes and green beans."

Everyone got stuck in for 30 minutes, working together to complete the task. Emily, Lucy, Anthony and Ben did a fine job shifting the gravel. And everyone else did a marvelous job picking tomatoes, building steps, laying the gravel and pulling up weeds.

"I can't believe how much you managed to get done in 30 minutes. We should've had a film crew here!"

Carol was in disbelief about how much we managed to get done in 30 minutes. She thanked us for our hard work and wished us a pleasant run back.

Before running back to Big Moose everyone partnered up and ran circuits around the gardens. In partners runners alternated between running and squatting - Such a fun exercise!

The run to Butetown Pavilion

Ten runners trotted on down to the Butetown Pavilion, to do some weeding and a general clear up astound the grounds. This was so that social areas around the grounds are more inviting and useable for the community, and youth clubs using the centre. We quickly got to grips with the task, pulling, pushing, hacking and cutting - even with a tiny pair of scissors! Emma W went to town with the cleaver (a scarily common tool!), and Tori hacked away like a seasoned jungle veteran! In all we collected 7 bags of greenery and rubbish, and left the Pavilion in a better shape then we found it. Result!

The Tweet Off

Well done Lucy. You're into double figures. Can you make it two weeks in a row? You have to be in it to win it!

• LM 10
• MO 4
• DRN 4
• EW 4
• MG 3
• NS 2
• MJ 2
• BA 1
• NI 1
• AG 1
• WD 1

This evening at GoodGym, 24 runners ran to help Mackintosh Community Gardens

It was beginning to look like a wet one, however the Welsh weather did not let us down and we were blessed with glorious sunshine for our run.

The warm up began with a game that helped runners improve their agility and balance. They got into pairs and had to tag the knee of the person they were partnered up with without getting tagged themselves. What followed was a game of captains coming. Runners got into 'pirate mode' and warmed up by scrubbing the deck, climbing the rigging and walking the plank.

Before heading to this evenings task we participated in a headcount. To make in more fun we also said our names backwards... What? Really?... Yes, really! No new people tonight so I am holding onto the red laces for a little longer! #LifeGoals #BringAFriendAndGetARedLace

Time to head to the task

Carol was waiting for us at Mackintosh Community Gardens so there was no time to waste! Ben led the main group whilst Emma Wilkins led a walking group. We crossed streets, ran around churches and up hills until we reached the task site.

Welcome to Mackintosh Community Gardens

Carol greeted us with open arms and a warm smile. She was ever so happy to see us. She told us about the wonderful gardens and explained that before she acquired the gardens it was completely overgrown and it was a gargantuan challenge to try and clear it all up and get it into the condition that it is today. She told us about the plants that grow there, the habitat that live there and how they make it into a community space.

Carol then explained to us the tasks they need our help with. She explained that there used to be a brick path which has become overgrown with long grass over time. It was our job to clear the overgrown grass and weeds and make the path visible once again! Knowing how hard and quick we work, Carol had another task for us to do. At the back of the gardens were piles of soil which needed shifting to the other side of the allotment. This was a task for 8 runners... and it wasn't going to be easy! Whilst this was going on we SAW A TOAD! It looked so cute.

Anyway, enough about the frog/toad, or whatever it was, we had work to do! 8 runners jumped on the piles of soil and began shifting it into wheelbarrows and moving it to the other side of the gardens. The 16 other runners, armed with gardening tools, began pulling up the grass that covered the brick path.

During the task Lowri shared her new found love of riddles and requested that riddles come back to GoodGym Cardiff on a regular basis because Ben's riddles are THAT GOOD! To satisfy Lowri's request, Ben came up with two riddles; 1.) What has 4 'eyes'/i's but cannot see? 2.) What word becomes shorter when you add two letters to it?

Runners continued to work hard at the task whilst trying to solve the riddles. Everyone put so much effort into the task that within just 20 minutes the task was done!

Thank you so much everyone

Carol and Gareth thanked us for our help. She said she couldn't even have imagined how long it would have taken her if she did it by herself. She wished us well as we continued our run and waved us off as we left.

1 KM Sprint - WHAT!?!?

After completing the task we headed over to Roach rec. Ben ran 1km and told everyone to run until they met him after a 2 minute delay. Mikey finished the km sprint first and the rest of the group followed closely behind.

Well done everyone... It's now time to run back

The run back was at a social pace. Runners had earned the rest! Conversation moved on to talking about what people were having for dinner after the run... Many people didn't actually know (It was all I was thinking about!).

It wasn't long before we were running down City Road, across Richmond Road, back to the city centre and the final stop, Big Moose!

It really was an AWESOME run this evening. We then did a cool down, spent time reflecting on the evening's run and Lucy Darren and Mikey told everyone about the upcoming group runs and community missions. Click here to look at all the exciting runs coming up in Cardiff!

The Tweet Off

Marie is taking no prisoners at the moment. She has gained 3 points on the tweet leaderboard over 3 consecutive weeks - Marie is unstoppable! Or is she... Tune in next week to see whether she makes it 4 weeks in a row.

• LM 9
• MG 3
• MO 3
• DRN 3
• EW 3
• NS 2
• MJ 2
• BA 1
• NI 1
• AG 1
• WD 1

If you've attended a GoodGym run then you know GoodGym is a running club that will Spice Up Your Life

Last night the Spice Girls were in Cardiff. People came from far and wide to see them live in concert, and despite the rain that poured down on fans, the welsh weather failed to dampen spirits. To mark this occasion, this run report will contain references to some of the Spice Girls songs. Where I've used song titles I've also included links to the youtube videos, so that avid fans amongst you can listen to some of their songs.

Last week we celebrated our 2 year milestone since GoodGym launched in Cardiff. It was a huge run and so much fun. Now we are entering our third year of GG Cardiff. and I know it's going to be an amazing year!

Tonight's warm up was led by Welsh Dave. He gave us an update of runners achievements over the past week, aka the headlines. We also gave a MASSIVE welcome to Sandra. It was Sandra's first ever run with GoodGym! - Sandra, we hope you had a wonderful time and come back for a run with us again soon. We acknowledged and celebrated Nathan reaching 50 good deeds, we also gave Amy Wildgoose a huge cheer for also reaching 50 good deeds, which we hope she heard from her work.

After playing a few warm up games we split up into two groups. Ben led the sexy runners and Welsh Dave led the walkie talkie group. Due to our quick pace it wasn't long before we reached the site of tonight's task.

---

Welcome to Mackintosh Community Gardens GoodGym!

We arrived at Mackintosh Community Gardens just before 7pm where Carol was waiting patiently to give us all a warm welcome. . She said the community gardens used to form part of the mansion house, which now belongs to the bowling club. She told us how, over time, the gardens became neglected, and now a group of volunteers have got together to help maintain the community garden space. Carol then told us about the tasks that needed doing that we could help with:

• Pulling up the weeds
• Trimming back overgrown bushes
• Litter picking the streets
• Moving pallets

During the task Darren and Ella spotted a frog. Darren tried to kiss it to turn it into a prince to make 2 become 1, however fortunately for the frog, it escaped.

After 25 minutes of helping, Ben shouted STOP. Everyone had already finished carrying out their tasks in the nick of time... They managed to get the task done in a whopping 21 minutes, giving them 4 minutes to complete the final touches - Incredible!

---

Post run fitness Bonanza

The post run fitness bonanza consisted of a 1 mile sprint around the Rec in Roath, Cardiff. Nathan said I Wannabe fast... Ben said if you want to run fast then you need to lift up your knees, drive your arms back, keep your head up and turn your legs over quickly.

Before setting off on the mile sprint Ben said "If you want my future, forget my past, if you want to run with me, better make it fast", and without any further chatter the mile sprint had begun.

Here were the finishing times;

• 1 - 6 .00
• 2 - 6.09
• 3 -6.09
• 4 - 6.15
• 5- 6.50
• 6 - 6.57
• 7 - 6.58
• 8 - 7.45
• 9 - 7.54
• 10 - 7.59
• 11 - 8.00
• 12 - 8.13
• 13 - 8.35
• 14 - 8.39
• 15 - 8.53
• 16 - 8.59

Well done everyone who took part in the mile sprint. It was tough as it was a warm night. Remember your time and you can try and beat it next time. It is a great baseline to get an idea of your measure of fitness.

After the mile sprint we headed back to the Big Moose Cafe to warm down and then head across to the Glassworks for drinkypoos.

The winner of this week's tweet off was Darren - Well done matey - you're on fire! Here is the tweet off leaderboard -

• LM 7
• EW 2
• MG 2
• NS 2
• MJ 2
• DRN 2
• BA 1
• NI 1
• AG 1
• WD 1

Next week we will be helping out St Alban's Primary School - Say you'll be there

So it's goodbye for now... , until the community mission on Thursday,

Last night, 16 fantabulous GoodGym runners ran to complete an environmental task at the Mackintosh Community Garden in support of #EarthHour!

Our task for the evening was to move heavy items, organise different materials and do a general tidy up to help make the gardens more useable to the local community. But first we all met up on a gorgeous spring evening - what sunshine! - at our usual spot in town: Big Moose Cafe. We welcomed a new runner, Laura Louise and introduced ourselves, naming our favourite bird. Who knew there is a blue-footed booby! There were also magpies, a couple of robins and even an emu put forth - what an eclectic bunch of birds! We also heard about Anthony's coach running, last week's Community Mission to Rhumney Seedlings, Ellen & Mikey's weekend Mission to help Mr J dig his garden ready for planting beans, and our racers Aimee, Fiona and Lucy's results from the Monsal Trail 10k on Sunday - what fantastic news to hear that Lucy came in third for women, overall!

For warm up, we played a favourite childhood game (at least to Ellen, who grew up in America): Red Light, Green Light. This game is called Grandmother's Footsteps, or Statues, here in GB, so most people were familiar with it. Aimee and Ellen took turns playing the caller at one end of the space we played in. With our backs to a line of runners, we called either Green Light or Red Light. Whenever Green Light was called out, players did lunges first, then arm pumps, to move towards the caller. However, when Red Light was called out, they had to stop immediately. At any point, the caller could say Red Light and turn around. If any of the runners were caught moving after this, they were out. I honestly cannot remember who won both rounds, we were having so much fun!

Once warmed up, we sped off to the Community Garden. We still had plenty of light to see by, once we reached our destination (with even more once the clocks go forward next weekend - cannot wait!). We were met by Carol and Ishah from the Garden, and Wil from WWF. They gave us a brief introduction to the Garden - its use and benefits to the community - and also our instructions for the evening. And then we were off! One group quickly got stuck in, moving old bits of wood and other debris from a corner of the plot, and cleared up the old fire pit of ashes and stones. The other group went to dig out some of the mountainous compost heap. At point, Su looked like she was playing another childhood game: King of the Hill! Once the old fire pit had been cleared, a new ring of bigger stones were carried (and in some cases, rolled in) placed in a smaller circle - making what we cheekily renamed the Rave Pit. The compost heap was reduced in size, then covered with old carpets to help it reduce down even more. Lovely compost was shifted to other parts of the plot, and further tidying was done with benches being moved, pallets being put down and even an old garden-style trampoline being dismantled for parts! Lots of digging and lifting and twisting and turning was involved with both tasks - so despite the relatively short run for us there and back, it really was a great outdoor gym session. Aimee even found a perfect stone (that someone mistook for a potato!).

Speaking of running back - some of the front runners discovered a new training opportunity on the return journey: a dash around St Andrews Crescent! (this is the circle that goes around Eglwys Dewi Sant, just off Stuttgarter Strasse). A few red faces after that, but a great opportunity to put some speed into our run. Overall, a fab evening with some amazing tasks accomplished, in lovely conditions and with some great new partners helping to do good in the community. More of the same, please!

#Earth Hour 🦍🐘🐬 Our world is under threat like never before... We must find ways conserve nature and reduce the most pressing threats to the diversity of life on Earth 🦁🦎🐗🐟 We need a global deal for nature and people to reverse the decline. Earth Hour is the world’s biggest switch off event. Each year, millions of people around the world switch off their lights and organise events – at home, in their community or in their towns or cities – to show they care about the future of our planet.

From the week commencing March 25th, GoodGym is teaming with Earth Hour to do good for the community across the UK with a variety of environmentally themed tasks. We have two fantastic runs organised this Saturday, 30 March - get signed up now!!!

GoodGym x Earth Hour event - Run to garden at Plasnewydd Community Gardens 🐼 🌎🦍

GoodGym x Earth hour event - Making seedbombs & then running to throw them into Cardiff's green spaces - Stopping at Cardiff Castle for lights out! 🐼 🌎🦍

Earth Hour highlights the changes needed at a global level, but also encourages everyone to take personal action. You could, for instance, change the way you eat, embrace reusables and buy less plastic, or help to restore nature in your community. You can share your pledge using #EarthHourWales to show how you are making a difference.