As Wednesday evening (the best time of the week) rolls around again, good gymers all over Colchester don their red T-shirt’s and head to Leisure World for another night of do-gooding.

Once the whole team was assembled Tav told us all about the exciting community missions happening on Super Saturday in celebration of 10 years of goodgym! A whole decade, how incredible! Only 3 more years before goodgym becomes a teenager and things might get a bit more difficult - make the most of it while we can hey! There was also many congratulations to be shared, Bryanne and her daughter absolutely smashed a 2k, and Emma, Bob and Ian took on the challenge of the Langham 10k and came out the other side triumphant! Great running everyone, well done!

With an on route warm up we set off to Go 4 Cafe at the recreation ground for some hard core litter picking. We were greeted by Pepe who gave us all some much needed and appreciated refreshments after our run. After marvelling at all the adorable dog photos that were displayed in the cafe, we chose our weapons (either a litter picker or bin bag) and set out to make sure no piece of litter was left unpicked. Bob dazzled us all with his unrivalled litter picking skills meaning the recreation ground and surrounding areas were left without a bottle top in sight! We headed back to the cafe, 3 bags of litter heavier than before and were lucky enough to have a great view of the beautiful full moon.

On the route back we ran in a snake formation with the runner at the back then sprinting to the front or weaving in and out of the other runners. We came to the conclusion that summer was officially over as the head torches had to make an appearance to guide us safely back to Leisure World. And with that another good deed was done.

Lastly, to all my fellow Colchester good gymmers, as it’s my last session, I’d like to say: you all inspire me everyday and you’ve changed my life for the better, see you on the flip side.

This Wednesday saw Team GG assemble at Leisure World Colchester ahead of an evening of doing good and feeling great. In keeping with every week, we all caught up with each other and eventually all quietened down to hear what we were up to this week. Our mission should we have chosen to accept it was to help Colchester in Bloom. We chose to accept it obvs. We warmed up at Leisure World and called our names and numbers out. We started our run up through the Castle grounds and headed to get our gear for the de-weeding. We selected our tools and went to help maintain Colchester In Bloom’s turf. With Colchester’s long-standing reputation as the Garden of Britain it’s not an easy job, so we are always happy to help. Ian, the world’s most diligent back marker had gardening gloves for those without (myself as always). We loaded up 3 bags of plant-based waste and an additional bag of man-made litter, what a haul! We returned our tools and headed back down through the castle to a backdrop of pink and gold skies. The park was now empty and the air was cool, what a pleasurable run. With minutes before the park closed, we set out to do a 75% pace lap around the lower grounds. We completed it mate. So, there it is, just another wonderful Wednesday on Planet Earth. Perhaps you’re reading this and are thinking of coming along. You’re always welcome, I’ve been going for 6 months and can’t get enough of it! Yours in GoodGym Dan

The inclement British weather did not put off 15 fearless young GoodGymers from braving the damp air for some pruning and tidying in Colchester Castle park this evening.

The 15 of us slowly drizzled in from 6.45 and we even managed to persuade Sophie to come and play rather than go to the 'normal gym' as she called it. It was great to see faces old and new as we set out in to the park, with an enroute warm up including our usual high knees and side steps. While awaiting the ranger's instructions, we played an 'appreciation' game where each of us chose another GoodGymer and told them something we appreciated about them. This was quite lovely with lots of appreciation for each other's sense of humours, thoughtfulness and inclusion. Warm fuzzies all round.

Simon the park ranger came along with the equipment and we played a game of Simon says where he told us what to do and we did it - much like the real game.... We had secateurs and lobbers aplenty, as well as some good old litter picking equipment. Our job was to cut down the 'suckers' (or the other fancy name that I can't remember) from the high point of the circle of trees around the bandstand. Simon asked us to cut down anything under about 6 foot - Christina made a fabulous measuring point for this purpose. We cleared away a big bag full of odds and ends which resulted in a very aesthetically pleasing eyeline for all those parkrunners.

Tav devised an ingenious bandstand circuits workout for us all. In pairs we completed 8 x 30 seconds of a range of strength and core activities, including planks, push ups and lunges. After that, we ran around the castle and down towards the bottom of the park - a mini park run lap to then finish with some stretches on the bridge.

A lovely evening and I hope you were all happy to come out in the end. I know I was!

Big news on the night we pruned and sprinted around Colchester town centre. Firstly we welcomedPaul to our merry group and I hope you enjoyed our sometimes peculiar but effective way of getting fit and doing good...

Secondly our hero of 21 good deeds, Dan cycled from John o' Groats to Lands End with just a sleeping bag and few pairs of socks! Epic.

Thirdly on the agenda was the Olympic team consisting of me, Ella, Jade and the Susie who stormed and destroyed North Hill during our sprint training. (As did everyone else - I am jealous that I could not join in). I never predict sporting outcomes but it is a certainty that Colchester will return heroes through racing and baking.

As I mentioned after we dead-headed the baskets in Vineyard Street, Crouch Street and Balkerne Hill we made our way from Pam's house to the home of hill sprints - North Hill. I asked for maximum effort up the hill and total recovery down and that is what I saw. After that we went to the quiet and tranquil Castle Park to stretch and and be mindful before saying goodbye...

Until next time mi amigos.

It was not just the sun that shone tonight. Twenty Goodgym heroes shone as bright as can be as they took the streets and paths to make a huge difference to Colchester Foodbank.

We started as with the news of Goodgym's expansion and new areas as well as big congratulations to the Nayland 10k runners who conquered the heat, gates and trails with some marvelous cheer-leading too.

We set off in the sunshine and warmed up on our way to the river and jogged to the Foodbank. Once their we met Mike who organised a human chain so that we could load crates into a van. Impressive teamwork!! We then swept, vacuumed and dusted our way to give the the Foodbank a sparkle and Mike a big smile.

The training was next and a little team game...well a ten minute mega game that involved sweets and unicorn cakes. The two teams had a simple but tiring task which was to run around a circle of towering trees and then do five repetitions of a chosen body weight exercise. Team one turned in the most points in a topsy turvy battle and won the unicorn cakes but nobody left without a sweet!

All in all the effort was epic at the task and training session.

See you in two weeks.

Another Wednesday. Another long light evening with the Solstice having passed on Friday. 13 Goodgym runners set out from Leisure world with Andy catching us up to make it 14.

Before we set out Tav had lots of news. Loads of people are edging ever closer to various milestones. We congratulated Jade on making it to the big 5-0 (she looks amazing for 50) and tonight was someone's 99th, hence the title. Thanks for indulging me. We also spoke about the upcoming opportunity to volunteer at The Night of 10,000m PBs. More info here https://www.goodgym.org/happenings/volunteer-at-the-night-of-10-000m-pbs. In addition there were celebrations of runs completed and runs upcoming. Lots of fantastic running going on. Well done everyone!

It was a short run tonight within Castle Park to pull up the weeds and plants from various flowerbeds getting them ready for planting. This all took place under the watchful eye of Pam from Colchester in Bloom. We threw the unwanted old plants into big yellow sacks, which inevitably led to a few people getting caught in the crossfire! Pam was very pleased and calculated that we had provided 6 and a half hours of human power in just 30 minutes, helping the park wardens to stay on top of their work load.

We waved goodbye to Pam and then ran up the hill in the park in order to arrange ourelves into a big '50' to celebrate Jades achievement. Some of us then thought it would be a good idea to roll down the hill..

Tav finished our session with a useful tactical tip to improve our Parkrun PBs focussing on making the most out of any sharp turns or switchbacks. We then headed back to Leisure World for a rave.. or we all went home for our tea. You decide!

Tonight summed up what Goodgym is.

Firstly we welcomed new and returning members. Well done and I hope you enjoyed your first Goodgym run Holly and welcome back Rosie. A brilliant start to the evening and a continuation of the great running news from the weekend after the Boxted 10k where 6 Colchester Goodgym participants took part in a hilly, warm race.

The persistent rain of the day had lightened and we managed to warm up and run to Level Best Art Cafe without a soaking. Once there we were met by Alison's friendly face who asked us to clean chairs and other details around the cafe. With 20 of us the task was completed in record time and Alison kindly told us about the latest work that Level Best are doing with adults with additional learning needs and a bit of interesting history about Darcy House and the mysterious staircase that leads to nowhere! We gave Alison a big round of applause and off we trotted with a little extra spring in our steps.

After the main event it was time for the much anticipated social just round the corner at Three Wise Monkey...or should we say Twenty Wise Goodgymers?

Food, drink and merriment.

A BIG thank you from me for the great numbers we are getting. MARVELOUS!

There are 7500 reasons to help Colchester Foodbank...yes that is right Colchester Foodbank fed nearly 7500 people last year.

Thirteen intrepid Goodgymers braved the drizzle and puddles and made a real splash at the Foodbank. Amongst the runners tonight was marathon hero Andy freshish from his Stour Valley exploits in 22 plus degrees. There was also exciting news about the upcoming East of England Co-op and Jox Cox Foundation runs. Additionally we invited everyone to support the Goodgym runners at Boxted and Nayland 10k's that are coming up soon.

The route to the Foodbank takes in the town's wildlife with serene cygnets, crazy Coots, slimey slugs and strawberry snails! Dan and Alex back-marked with supreme confidence and authority and we arrived safely to meet Mike. The task was to clean some neglected areas underneath tables in the warehouse and under the sofa's in the waiting area. We achieved this goal and mopped and swept around the shelving too. It is amazing how stylish you lot make cleaning look. The waiting room was vacuumed and the toilets mopped with finesse and exemplary technique. So snazzy.

Mike was kind enough to give us an update on the future of the Foodbank and their goal of course is not to exist! Currently they need more long life juice, they are raising money towards their own premises and are getting more space to accept increased donations.

After the group photos we warmed up in the slightly heavier drizzle (some call it rain) and ran to Lower Castle Park to do some shuttle runs with high-knees, bum-flicks and a sprint thrown in. Under the shelter of the trees we did some strength and stretching before saying well done to each other and heading off for home.

I feel re-freshed how about you?