Did you know that GoodGym is more talked about than the general election? ............ Talked about by me anyway! And I was especially chatty about GoodGym this week as we got to help the wonderful Charity called 'Forget-Me-Not!'

GoodGym is all about getting fit and doing good. It really is amazing how much we've grown and flourished over the past two and a half years into a club that welcomes individuals of all abilities. Over the past couple of months we have consistently had high numbers, between 25-30 runners every week, and this is testament to how fun each and every run is, and why we ABSOLUTELY LOVE to come to GoodGym every week... Anyway, now onto tonight!

As soon as the city hall's clock struck 6pm people kept turning up to GoodGym with smiles on their faces. Greeting each other with the friendliest of welcomes. We had two new runners to GoodGym this week; a GARGANTUOUS WELCOME TO GOODGYM MEGHAN & ALAN! Alan is Marie's friend which means, Marie claims her FREE red lace for bringing a friend to GoodGym #LifesGoals.

Let's get our run on! Mikey and Ben at the ready...

Mikey led the sexy runners this evening; those runners that wanted to run more gracefully, concentrating on their technique and form whilst talking about how cold the weather is getting

Ben led the speedy group; the runners who want to run that little bit harder and be pushed beyond the limits of conversation! They took a slightly longer route and did some hill sprints before arriving at the task.

Welcome to St. Edward's Chruch, the home of Forget-Me-Not

Kathie, the task organiser and a volunteer at the Forget-Me-Not Charity, welcomed us into the warmth of the church and told us about the wonderful charity. Kathie then wasted no more time and explained to us how we were going to be superheroes this evening (the tasks that needed doing).

Our mission was to:

• Move all of the chairs onto the raised area at the church, clean the lower area by mopping and drying the floors and hoovering the carpets, and then move all the chairs back.
• Cut back the buddleia tree that was becoming overgrown (imagine Jumanji but to a much less extent)
• Litter pick the streets of Roath

We had 30 minutes to complete the above tasks, and boy did we do good! Runners dried the floor using towels under their feet, except for Mike who ran up and down the hall pushing the towel as part of his training. Mikey used his profession as a manager to manage the team of buddleia cutters. The team of litter pickers had the most difficult challenge it seemed, to find litter on the streets of Roath. The streets surrounding the church were all pretty clean, however they did find some empty drinks cans, drinks cups and plastic bags.

Peter created a timelapse footage of everyone moving the chairs back at the end which looks pretty cool!

Thank you so much for all of your help

Kathie and her team of volunteers were all grateful that we ran to help there this evening. Kathie invited us all to have some scrumptious biscuits she had laid out so that we were adequately fueled before running back to Big Moose.

Ben led those runners wanting a speedy run and Mikey led the sexy runners!... It wasn't long after that when we arrived back at Big Moose and did our warm down, reflecting on our run and discussing all the exciting listings there are on the GoodGym website.

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The Tweet off

Lucy added another point to the tweet off leaderboard tonight. Marie retweeted second but that doesn't get you any points unfortunately. Great work Lucy and awesome job everyone who has made it on the leaderboard to date.

• LM 12
• MO 9
• EW 5
• DRN 4
• MG 4
• MJ 3
• NS 2
• RJ 1
• BA 1
• NI 1
• AG 1
• WD 1

This week, we pridely present to you the run report from our GoodGym run that happened in Cardiff! - The text that is in red has links to some songs that will get you in the mood for pride

It's Pride week in Cardiff this week - cue to jump in the air with excitement. The pride festivities are always incredibly fun, so positive and action packed full of events. From a parade that goes through the centre of town to a stage with music going on throughout the day, at Pride there is something for everyone! Are you coming out for it? Cue first song to get you in the mood for Pride!

How did we make ourselves feel pride?

Here is a short summary of how some of the runners made themselves feel pride...

• Lowri brought along rainbow face paint so that we could all look ravishing with the pride colours on our faces, legs and arms
• Emma D-B brought glitter so that we could make ourselves sparkle
• Llion brought along a pride flag that he wore as cape which had the words 'Peace' written on it
• Pete also brought along a pride flag
• Mike wore the most amazing rainbow coloured shorts
• Lucy wore an orange tutu
• Emily had a bright orange tee and wore face paint

We also welcomed Robbie to the evening's run! Robbie was a fantastic sport and volunteered to wear Pride cat ears - Robbie they looked majestic on you! We hope you come running with us again - Robbie is going to be our task organiser for the run on the 3rd September. Click here for a glimpse of what he has in store for us.

Can you spot us in this video btw from last year's parade? (we are within the first 5-10 seconds!

Run to the bay

We jogged to the entrance of Queens Arcade so that we could have a photo with the Pride letters which are by St. Davids 2.

After having some fabulous photos we did some fabulous running! Ben led the speedy running group to the bay. Mikey followed close behind leading the sexy runners and Welsh Dave led the power walkers!

Andrew met us at Cardiff Bay as he is currently suffering with some niggles and he doesn't want to make it worse and be out for the cross country season! Stuart also joined us at Cardiff Bay too.

The speedy runners made it to the bay first. So, not wanting to miss out on the opportunity for more fitness, Llion, Ben and Lewis all did laps of the Pierhead building, stopping to do squats, star jumps, burpees and step ups after each lap.

Hello GoodGym! It's so lovely to see you all again

Gian greeted us with the warmest of welcomes. He told us when the first Pride march happened in Cardiff and what Pride stood for. He loved our enthusiasm so much that his smile went from ear to ear.

Gian then distributed the flyers to everyone and Ben started the clock. Runners had 23 minutes to distribute 1000's of flyers. In short, the mission was for EVERYONE in Cardiff Bay to know about the pride festivities.

Lucy and Mike ran all the way to the aqua park and back distributing flyers. Sue and Robbie teamed up to flyer together and everyone else disappeared in different directions to spread the word.

Another epic moment was, when there were only seconds to go, Martin sprinted back to the meeting point with his Pride cape flying behind him.

We are all promoted out!

After 25 minutes of promoting pride we were done! Only a handful of leaflets remained that we had earmarked for the Glassworks pub.

We ran back as two groups. Welsh Dave led the walking group and Ben everyone who wanted to run back. Those running back were made to do sprints at every other traffic light on Lloyd George Avenue - Oh Ben does make them work hard for their good deed doesn't he!?!

It's important to remember we are superstars, and that we are who we are!

There is only one question left... Do you believe in life after love?

Thank you for joining in the run. Our GoodGym club is and will always be a place where members of the LGB&T community can feel safe, welcome and free from discrimination. We stand united.

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The Tweet Off!

Well done Emma. I can imagine you doing the 'flossing dance' as a celebratory dance for winning the tweet off this week. Martin, not having won the tweet off for some time now, was quite sad that he hasn't had much success recently. Sophie is considering getting a new phone or complaining to her network provider because everything she tries just isn't working.

• LM 9
• MO 4
• DRN 4
• EW 4
• MG 3
• NS 2
• MJ 2
• BA 1
• NI 1
• AG 1
• WD 1

The third and final GoodGym run of Lovetrails, how the weekend flew by. We met at 9am, which for some only afforded a handful of hours sleep after Saturday night's party. Thankfully it was a great turnout of GoodGym members as well as first timers and nobody was sick during the warm up, which was fairly intense as Ben led a game of Evolution by Rock Paper Scissors.

First stop on the run was Woebley Castle, part of the festival site which could be easily missed if camping on the other side. A quick picture and a look out over the gorgeous Gower Peninsula before heading off on the trails. All was going well, lots of chatting and random rock jumping, until we hit the dreaded tidal river. Luck was not on our side as the stepping stones were fully submerged (well I guess we could have checked the tide) but we took it as a challenge to cross rather than divert around. Shoes off and two tactical groups formed: the "long jumpers" and the "human bridge", various levels of wetness occurred but given the heat, we had all dried off a mile or two down the trail.

What a view as we reached the Broughton Bay beach, miles of sand with very few other people around that on first look didn't appear to have any litter on it. We split in to pairs and before long plenty of plastic and other rubbish was bagged up. A review of the best pieces was captured by our very own paparazzi, a local guy with a telephoto lens did the job perfectly.

With energy levels still high, we had a game on the beach, a take on British Bulldog and Stuck in the Mud. With run leader Ben starting in the middle perhaps it should have been called the Welsh Beach Dog game. We ran down the beach with the bags and the festival vibes continued with music from our Midnight Runner as well as some ABBA and other questionable sing-a-long "big hits" from Ben. We had to stop for a quick swim of course, would be rude not too given the sea temperature was actually really nice!

A forest section, and then back to the homeward trail taking us back to the festival site, via a cafe of course for the obligatory Welsh cakes and scones.

And that was the end of a brilliant weekend of running and socialising at Lovetrails, and what a way to finish by helping to clean the local area with like-minded outdoor adventurers. Until next year....

37 runners ran 15 km to help the Down to Earth social enterprise in Gower.

08:40 and we gathered by the flag, a mix of goodgym runners and some who were new to goodgym - a special welcome to you! After a vigorous warm-up of pirate- and lovetrails-themed games, we set off to the Down to Earth project - a social enterprise that helps people to bring about positive change in their lives through meaningful outdoor activity.

On the way there, we stopped at Arthur's Stone for a dramatic reenactment of the Lion King and to take some photos of the stunning scenery. We soon had to stop again due to horses on the path. Many of them had foals, which were really sweet, but made us nervous about going too near them. Eventually the horses moved on allowing us past and we arrived at Down to Earth.

Once there we were welcomed with squash and biscuits and given a little introduction to the work Down to Earth does. They aim to make a positive difference in people's lives through sustainable construction, outdoor adventures and merging innovation in healthcare delivery with innovation in education. Inside the building were plaques made by groups of young people about their experiences at Down to Earth - it was moving to read about the incredible positive changes these young people had achieved through their engagement with the project. We split into four groups and were tasked with gardening, sawing, sorting timber and moving parts of houses. It was hard work in the hot sun, but many hands made light of it and we achieved an incredible amount working together. After a group photo outside the main building, we were off back to the festival.

We took a different route back, pausing on top of a hill for another great view of beautiful Gower. Ben stood on the trig point valiantly fighting off territorial wasps whilst taking photos of the group. The run back was fun, lots of down hill and some lovely shady woodland. We arrived back at the festival in time for a hearty lunch and having made new friends and done some good.

Tonight was a run like no other! 23 runners showed up in spite of the rain to get fit, do good, socialise and have an INCREDIBLE time at GoodGym Cardiff

After a day of no rain it was all too coincidental that the rain should start at 5.30pm - This was going to test all those willing to push all limits and run in spite of the rain! We also had TWO new runners with GoodGym this week, Megan and Marie - A warm welcome both of you :D As Marie was brought along to GoodGym by Martin, this means Martin earned himself 1 red lace - Woopeee!!! #LifesGoals ... Martin was holding the red lace for the remainder of the run looking at it at various times saying "my precious."

• Megan is our parkrun star this week. She was the only runner who took part in Parkrun on Saturday... Come on people we need more of you getting involved in parkrun!
• A HUGE well done to trainer Ben who ran a PB marathon on the weekend in Valencia - He definitely practices what he preaches! A sub 3 hour marathon - Blimey!

Our headcount involved saying our name, headcount number and a brilliant suggestion by Ellen got everyone stating what their favourite race is that they have ever done or what they would like to do; Wine lovers said "any race where there is wine." It is safe to say that there will definitely be runners from GoodGym Cardiff heading to compete in the Medoc Marathon next year!

After getting warmed up it was time to run to St Edwards Church by Roath recreational ground... Off we go.....

zoom zoom zoom crossing over roads and after running through Cathays and Roath we had made it...

It's lovely to see you all again GoodGym

Kathie, from the charity Forget-Me-Not greeted us with the loveliest of welcomes. She told us all about the wonderful initiative Forget-Me-Not is and how it tries to help people find comfort who are older and lonely, who have dementia or who have suffered a stroke. Kathie told everyone about the wonderful project we are helping out with and explained that they are trying to start up a therapeutic gardening project at the church that they need our help with.

It was really beautiful to hear about the wonderful charity and the good they are doing and we were all really inspired by what Kathie had told us and this really motivated us to help them out as best as we could. Our task this week was to cut down a big bush that had become overgrown and cut back another bush that was encroaching onto the pavement next to the church. We were also tasked with sweeping the leaves up in the church grounds.

Marie and Megan were both getting stuck into their first GoodGym task, making light work of the branches! Jess was pretty epic holding the portable floodlights with her arms outstretched - This must have been good training for your arm strength (This helped ensure everyone was safe carrying out the task). Matt and Ellen were working as a team tackling one of the bushes that had begun encroaching onto a road and path. Lydia said "leaf this to me", before grabbing a rake and raking the leaves on the grass into a pile. Matt and Welsh Dave were breaking up branches and bagging them up.

After 25 minutes of helping out, making light work of the tree, we had completed the task!

Thank you everyone for coming to help us out tonight - You are amazing, you truly are

Kathie thanked us all for helping out. She also gave us all a biscuit to replenish our energy reserves for the run back. Thank you so much for asking us over to help and giving us an amazing #ReasonToRun

Ben, that's not the way!

Ben began leading everyone in the direction away from town... "Uh Oh" everyone said, "what does he have in store?" Ben led everyone along a route to the bottom of a nearby hill with a steep incline. He explained that everyone was to run up the hill as fast as they could and then jog down at a very slow recovery pace and when they reach the bottom to go again.

You did wonderful everyone! The extra fitness activity this evening was 'well' received. Ben explained the importance of hill training and told everyone that back in 2012 when training for his first ever marathon he would do hill sprints on this very hill!

It is time to run back!

With no time to waste it was time to head back to Big Moose. To get back we crossed roads, ran through student areas and over bridges. When we got back we then did a warm down and gave one another high fives to celebrate a great run!

EXTRA BITS TO MENTION

• Would you like the opportunity to write a run report reflecting on the Tuesday evening run? - Let me know and providing nobody has requested to do it already, then you can have a go at writing the run report :)
• There is a GoodGym run on the 5th December to help put up the Christmas decoration in the Tenovus Charity shop on Clifton Street. Click here to get signed up
• There is a run this friday daytime to help fill shipping containers with donations that will then be shipped off to Sierra Leone. Click here to find out more
• Don't miss out on next week's run!! Click here to sign up to the fun!
• CHANGE OF DATE FOR ICE SKATING - It's now taking place on Thursday 13th December. Click here to get signed up

21 Spooky GoodGym runners ran to help out the Samye Foundation. It was a very ghoul run!

Witching hour was an hour earlier this week as the clocks went back on the weekend, it was completely dark when we started our run - ooooo spooky. There were lots of new faces this week, including Velma from Scooby doo and batman from, well, Batman of course! This week was also a milestone for Batman (Aka Martin) who reached 50 good deeds and was presented with a special 50 badge; He's a silent guardian, a watchful protector, a Dark Knight As a Halloween special, we played a few Halloween themed games including Trick or Treat and Groups of Doom. The task involved running around and going head to head with other runners to find out who would do burpees and who would do star jumps.

It was time to begin our run to the task… and who better to lead the way than someone who is used to adventures… Making a special appearance this evening from all the way from the shire, Bilbo Ben led runners to the evenings task. Over hills and across rivers, Bilbo Ben and the fellowship of GoodGym Cardiff ran hard.

Welcome to the Samye Mindfulness and Wellbeing Centre Unrecognisable Lorraine, who was also dressed in an awesome fancy dress cat costume, welcomed everyone to the Samye Centre, offering water to runners on arrival to allow them to rehydrate themselves. Lorraine then explained the task for the evening. “Okay everyone, we have lots of plants in the building that need to be re-potted. Your task will be to take all of the indoor plants ourside, replenish the plants with fresh soil and then return them back to their original positions”. Upon hearing the task we had all been we all got stuck straight in.

Darren took photos of runners completing the task and whilst Bilbo Ben provided a countdown. Rosie had the most reflective jacket in the world.

Task Complete! Lorraine thanked everyone for completing the task in rapid time and said the plants look so much happier! Everyone then gathered together for a group photo and after having the group photo Lorraine then invited everyone back into the centre for nibbles and warm spicy pumpkin soup to warm up cold finders ready for the run back.

After 15 minutes of chatting and eating it was time to go.

Ellen led the run back whilst Fiona and Rosie backmarked.

Why do ghosts go to bars?.... For the boos!

Thank you Samye for an epic task and for giving us a reason to run.

The Pun-king award this week goes to Ben! Well done.!! Come on peeps.. I want some really good pun suggestions next week!

After the run we headed to the Glassworks where Martin shared with everyone Welsh Cakes he had spent a lot of time baking.

Reminders: * Sign up to next week’s run to the Llanover Arts Centre by clicking here * Join in the next run in Penarth on the 17th November by clicking here