Wow! It was the most beautiful morning and it felt AMAZING to meet up in daylight after so many dark evening sessions! Even MORE AMAZING to have 7 runners run 3 k and work super hard to help Powderham Crescent Residents Association with some gardening tasks!

A very warm welcome to Anna, Daisy and Craig who joined us for the first time, checking out what the GoodGym is all about. We hope you loved it and want to come back again soon for more running and doing good! Also fantastic to see Claire again for her second group run plus Anna and Lawrence, two of our most seasoned GoodGymers in Exeter! Lawrence celebrated 10 good deeds today! yay!

What a Sunday Super Crew!

We started our session at the Phoenix (we start all our group runs here which is great as we can lock our bags up in a safe place, use toilets and get refreshments in the bar if we like). After a little welcome speech and safety briefing we carried out a dynamic warm up session and then set of running towards our task location, Powderham Crescent.

We took the route via Northernhay Gardens which were beaming in sunlight and it was great to show this park to some of the runners who had not seen it before. As always we re-groped at regular intervals and made the most of these stops by carrying out some squats, lunges and agility work. A big thank you to Anna who back marked the whole way to make sure no-one got left behind.

On arrival to Powderham Crescent we were amazed what a stunning place was hiding between the tall buildings. Once you had entered in through the gates it felt like you had entered some kind of secret garden. Beautiful shrubs, bushes and trees everywhere made it look so lush and green even in the middle of January!

We were welcomed by Jonathan and a few other members of Powderham Crescent Residents Association. They showed us a very overgrown path that we were to dig out and clear from brambles, ivy and other overgrowth. We dug, rakes, pulled, chopped and worked really hard for 45 minutes. It gave us a full body work-out and it was amazing to see how much we got done. Just check out the before and after photos!

When we arrived I didn't think we would get anywhere with this, but just look at it now! The whole path is visible!

Craig even managed to remove a huge plant with roots buried right through the tarmac! Fantastic work all of you!

After a lovely cup of tea (big thank you to the task owners) we felt re-energized and we set off running again. We stopped in the Northenhay gardens where we had the most amazing views over the city and the hills beyond. We had lots of fun working in pairs doing squats and planks. What a lot of getting fit and doing good in one morning! Great work everyone!

Back at the Phoenix we carried out some important stretches. We also talked about different ways to get involved with the GoodGym, such as coach runs and mission runs, and how easy it is to take your next step to get mission verified.

To finish off with I have to say how amazing it was to have you all with me running and doing good today! What a stunning day, so much achieved, so much fun! I really do hope I get to see you all soon again!

Next up

Next week we will return to St Davids Church and continue our work with refurbishing the parish room. We will have two different speed groups for the run, all abilities are warmly welcomed! I would love to have you along so please sign up here and join the fun!

17 incredible runners ran 4 k to help prepare a wildflower area in St Thomas churchyard! Welcome Claire and Lynsey who joined us for the first time! It was brilliant having you with us, we hope you come back soon again!

GETTING FIT

We started the evening with a dynamic warm up session working with a lot of different circle movement. It also included a new version of "letting the chickens out" which might sound completely crazy, but you guys now know what I am talking about and how well that opens up your hips and gently stretches out your hamstrings. After that we were ready for doing good and getting fit! YES!

We ran a total of 4 k. Whilst we re-grouped so that no-one got left behind, we did some squats, lunges and press ups.

On the return run we did a great circuit training and got fitter than ever before! Our stations consisted of the following:

• Jumping squats/squat with lateral leg lift
• Mountain climbing
• Alternating triceps dips and press ups
• Lunge clock
• Sprinting over the Millenium Bridge (when runners returned from this it was time for us to change stations)

You guys totally smashed one round of this and then amazed me by saying you wanted to do a second round! FANTASTIC ATTITUDE AND GREAT WORK!

We finished off with some stretches outside the Phoenix, paying attention to our breathing and really acknowledging what we had achieved together.

DOING GOOD

Our task this evening was helping the volunteer gardening group "Bloom'In St Thomas" prepare a wildflower area in St Thomas churchyard. It was really dark when we got there but with the help of head torches and our work lights we were able to get stuck in and worked really hard for 40 minutes.

We made hay while the sun didn't shine!

We planted flowers in the flower beds and raked a very large wildflower area behind the church. The raking gave us a fantastic work out and together we got SO MUCH DONE!

• We filled 20 large bags with old grass and leaves!
• 17 of us working for 40 minutes adds up to over 11 hours work!

Absolutely brilliant! The best thing is that we had such a great time working, you could hear chatting and laughing the whole time. This is what the GoodGym is all about- Getting fit, doing good, connecting with each other and the local community and having fun!

SHOUT OUTS

• Thank you to Helen and Sarah who back marked!
• Thank you Laura and Pete for pun and quote!
• Congratulations to Nic who completed the Great West Run last Sunday, a fantastic time too!
• HUGE shout out to all of you for being so amazing, for coming out these dark evenings to do good and get fit! You are all heroes!
• A big thank you to the Westbank for making the GoodGym possible in our area and to the Phoenix for providing us with such an excellent starting point.

NEXT WEEK

Next week we will help Exeter Communities Together with creating a community allotment by St James Chruch. Exeter Communities Together is a new project that “aims to enable Black, Asian and minority ethnic residents in Exeter to have a voice and increased visibility in the wider community”. The run will be a lovely flat 5 k, and we will have time for a fitness session too. Sign up here. We would love to see you!

Remember to bring a head torch and reflective bands/clothing if you have them. Please also wear some layers so that you don't get cold whilst working at the task.

COMMUNITY MISSION

On Sunday 27th October we have another Community Mission. VERY EXCITING! We will meet by the Waterfront in Exeter quay at 10.00 am to help the volunteer group Plastic Free Exeter with a community litter pick for 1 hour. What a brilliant initiative! This is a great chance for you to plan your own run or walk and still get that good feeling of having carried out a good deed. It's also a brilliant opportunity for us to show more people what the GoodGym is all about! I would love to see you there! Sign up here!