It was time for celebrations at tonight's group run with so much awesomeness happening recently. Firstly there was a big round of applause for Jenna who got a new PB at the Great North Run. There were also cheers for Vicky, Neil and Ed who all took part in the Tholthorpe 10k at the weekend, especially for Vicky who achieved a season's best time. We then handed out the GGer of the month award to the wonderful Lucy who is pretty much the ideal GoodGymer, always getting involved, always smiling and leading tasks when she can. Oh and it also happened to be AA Vicky's birthday, but more on that later 🥳 🏅 🏆 👏

After a brief warm up, Ed led out the run to Acomb Primary School where we were met by Amanda who gave us the lowdown on tonight's task. Basically continuing the work we'd done previously in clearing the wooded area in the playing field so that it can be used as a forest school. We were soon getting stuck in, armed with saws, loppers and sheers.

There were brambles, sticks and branches everywhere as the busy GGers made excellent progress clearing a path through the woods. The green bins were soon getting filled up and we weren't short of volunteers for people to climb in and jump on top of them to make more space. Although Steve had a helping hand from Rich in getting back out of the bin!

With the task drawing to a close and the woods getting darker we broke on through to the other side and cleared enough space to see some daylight at the end of path, which meant it was time to down tools and get ready for a bespoke fitness session courtesy of the birthday girl herself.

Now, GGers aren't always the greatest listeners and on this occasion there was certainly a little bit of confusion about what type of animal walk we were supposed to be doing and who was supposed to be doing it. So a bit of a reset was needed, but we were soon back underway demonstrating some perfect bear walks in the correct order. I'm not entirely sure if there was a winner but we certainly enjoyed ourselves.

We then gathered in the cones and sung 'Happy Birthday' for Vicky before making our way back to the Priory Centre where some delicious cookies and cake courtesy of Vicky and Jenna were waiting for us 😋

It was a weekend where the weather forecast would not have left Noah and his Ark out of place. With biblical levels of wind and rain predicted for Friday and Sunday, and only a brief window of dry weather for Saturday, a gang of brave and intrepid Good Gymers, plus special guests and two furry friends ventured west to the English alps, aka Wasdale, Cumbria.

In true British style, Friday's barbecue was attended in drizzle but spirits were not dampened. With more cake than even the Good Gymers could eat, everyone ate their fill and retired to bed, happily sated.

Saturday dawned to pouring rain and despite Egg’s best efforts to command an early bird fell trot, the team remained in bed. Finally rising to join carriages, two by two of course; Noah wouldn't have it any other way, the team headed to Muncaster Castle park run. A stunning circuit three times around the castle with the mountains as backdrop made it easy to ignore the slightly undulating course.

A swift brekkie at the Ravenglass steam railway cafe, then with one team returning to camp for a hike and another venturing out on a big hill run to help Nikki in her training for her ultra in a month's time.

As if by magic, the clouds parted and, even though the wind was strong, a fine day was had by all. The hike turned out to be a little more exciting than expected and Matt’s attempts at turning the hill run into a pub crawl was thwarted by… well, a lack of pubs. However, the Wasdale Head Inn did provide a welcome pint and a nice bowl of chips.

The previous evening's heavy rain had left some sporting rivers where rivers should not have been. Washing the hill run mud from our legs and sweat from our eyes in the fresh mountain water was super refreshing!

An early dinner at the Strands Inn & Brewery in Nether Wasdale was enjoyed by all. Pie, both veggie and non-veggie, appeared to be the highlights. Plus a delightful cheese and ale dipping starter - novel and truly delicious!

And as the rain once again set in it was simple to decide. “Oh, go on then… Just one more pint until the rain stops! “

Sunday's heavy rain and high winds meant a retreat back to York for many. Difficult muddy vehicle exits for the camper vans made for some sliding fun leaving the camping field.

Of course, a Good Gym weekend wouldn't be complete without at least one good deed. A quick scour of the site for any litter ensued, followed by breakfast at the Sawmill cafe. This breakfast might well be worth Michelin stars, if nothing else but for its setting inside an old, still functioning, watermill… this weekend with a lot of water!

A brief attempt at a clifftop run at St Bees turned out to be too much. But that gave a good excuse to head inland to the fleecy outdoor kit dens of Keswick and a run along the old railway lines.

All in all, a fantastic weekend that not even the weather could ruin. Good outdoors fun, great food and wonderful company. Roll on January and our next Lakeland trip to Helvellyn…

On a lovely summer's evening 19 GG Yorkies braved the heat and got stuck into shifting a load of bark chip at Hull Road Park. Before setting off we celebrated remarkable Richard who had recently completed his 200th Good Deed 💪 Give him a big cheer! We then numbered off by revealing pur childhood nicknames. I won't reveal any on here but there were certainly some interesting ones!

Laura set off with a steady group, whilst Ed and the rest of the crew followed shortly after and arrived at the wrong end of the park, so needed a further dash to get to right location. Fortunately Laura's group had already got to work and were showing the rest of the gang what needed doing. The task was straightforward enough; move bags of bark chip from one location to another, then cut them open and spread. Simple!

Whilst most GGers used the classic 'bag on shoulder' method, Max took the initiative and loaded up a wheelbarrow full of bags, working smarter, not harder! We were also accompanied by some very enthusiastic kids who were keen to help shift the bags, before soon losing interest and realising it was more fun to steal them instead.

It wasn't long before all of the bark chip was moved and given a good raking by Martin and Amy. So task owner Kristina was quick to dish out spades, hoes and leafblowers and set us off to work on some edging and general park maintenance. Unfortunately GG were so enthusiastic with their edging that they revealed a bit too much and had to put some grass back to hide the pot holes!

Before long it was time for a team photo and a spot of fitness. This week the team would alternate between being plankers and (downward)doggers, and then having to make a quick dash to a nearby tree, woth varying degrees of enthusiasm. Then it was back to CVS for some quick stretches and some rhubarb courtesy of the Griffs

Despite the earlier rain we were treated to some very pleasant sunshine for tonight's group run.

We welcomed newcomers Chris and Polly to the group and named off stating our favourite vegetable in honour of national vegetable day. Counting at the same time proved too complex so Vicky did a headcount instead!

Laura led out the group with Barbara and Vicky backmarking.

When we arrived we collected tools and got to work clearing a forest as part of the schools new forest area. We chopped, sawed, lopped and tugged away and we soon filled the green bins, made a pile yo be chipped and made a stack of den building logs.

To finish we did a tough tabata session - 20 seconds hard with 10 seconds rest. Everyone gave it some good effort and we were quickly through two rounds, got a group photo and on our way back.

Great turnout and effort tonight - good work everyone. Hope to see you soon. Next week its another school, another forest school at Tang Hall Primary.