Tonight, 23 runners braved the rain, exposing themselves to the elements, and joined in the GoodGym run to help the Samye Foundation

At 12.30pm today we were notified that our planned task wouldn't be able to happen due to unforeseen circumstances. This left us in a dilemma as we run to get fit and do good and help in the community and at the moment we were without the good deed. At 5pm Ben called the Samye Foundation, he let them know that if they wanted us to run and give them a hand then we had availability this evening. This was music to their ears and they said "Yes please!".

At 6pm people began gathering at the Big Moose Cafe ready for the evening's run, excited about the prospect of another good deed and running with the nicest people around.

At 6.30pm it was all systems go. Ben directed everyone outside and got them warming up. He played a game of Captain's Coming which got people running around, jumping about and squatting - It certainly got their hearts racing. After the warm up we did a headcount and acknowledged achievements that have happened over the past week. Aimee organised and led the community mission to help set up Coryton Primary School autumn fair. Lewis ran an INCREDIBLE 65 miles over the weekend. We then acknowledged the achievements of the current run. Andrew reached his 50 good deed milestone and is now eligible to claim his 50 good deed t-shirt. We had James joining us for his FIRST EVER GoodGym run!

It's now time to get our run on

Aimee led a walking group this evening! So much kudos to her for making these GoodGym runs accessible to more people.

Ben led the main group to the Samye Foundation.

Welcome runners to the Samye Mindfulness and Wellbeing Foundation!

As runners arrived at the Samye Foundation they were greeted by Lorraine. Lorraine was so pleased that so many runners had turned up keen to help out and had planned last minute tasks that she needed help with. The list included:

• Painting a wooden radiator cover
• Weeding the car park and back garden area
• Cutting the bushes on top of the perimeter walls
• Moving objects and chairs from the upstairs flat in one of the buildings
• Painting a bathroom

Runners were given 30 minutes to complete the listed tasks.

Thank you so much everyone. You've helped me out a huge amount

Lorraine thanked everyone for their efforts and kindly invited us in for some snacks.

Aimee then led the walking group back to Big Moose followed soon after by Ben who led the runners back.

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The Tweet Off

Lucy managed to extend her lead again tonight, winning the tweet off by retweeting before anyone else.

• LM 11
• EW 5
• MO 5
• DRN 4
• MG 4
• NS 2
• MJ 2
• BA 1
• NI 1
• AG 1
• WD 1

18 runners turned up to GoodGym this evening ready to get fit and do good by helping out two amazing charities!

Keen beans turned up at 6pm and the majority of people arrived at 6.15pm. We all then headed outside for our head count and to warm up! Lewis brought a friend along to GoodGym tonight which meant his dreams came true and he earned himself 1 red lace - Welcome John to the best place to be on a Tuesday evening!!

Because it's two task Tuesday we split into two groups. Mikey led one group to the Samye Foundation and Ben led the other group to Llanover Arts Centre.

Group 1 - Running to Llanover Arts Centre

Ben led the first group off to Llanover Arts Centre. The route took runners on a wonderful adventure around the streets of Pontcanna and Canton. There was a squat jump race outside Cardiff Castle that was won by Andrew - Well done dude!! After many turns and a quick check of Google maps we had arrived at the Centre.

"Welcome GoodGym to Llanover Arts Centre" John said, welcoming all the runners with a warm smile. John then told us about the wonderful centre; "Since the opening of the new building in 2000 the centre has run exciting courses in pottery, art, crafts, printmaking, textiles, computer arts and photography, dance, drama and music. Young people and adults have been able to start and develop their creativity. Under new management, the centre has been improved, new classes are being developed and work with schools and other creative partners is bringing new learners into the centre. We hope the centre will provide the public – young and old -with the access and encouragement that they need to take advantage of the opportunities the Centre provides. We will continue to provide ‘An Open Door to Arts for All’."

Inspired by all the good that goes on at the centre we couldn't wait to get stuck in. Our two tasks this week were to (1) Paint the large hall at the Arts Centre (2) Gardening tasks in the car park. The painters included: Lucy, Darren, Lowri and David. The gardeners were Lydia, Marion and Andrew.

The painters covered up all the white marks on the wall to freshen up the hall and make it look aesthetically pleasing... Matt painted his face too... unintentionally.

Lydia was in her element gardening. She was sweeping up all the Autumn leaves that had fallen from trees. Andrew and Marion cut back a tree that had become overgrown - A task made more challenging by the 2018 BMW parked next to it.

After helping out for 40 minutes we had completed the tasks. John thanked us for our efforts and we then ran back to Big Moose. On the way back we bumped into our the group that had ran to Samye. Their cheesy grins gave away the fact that they had just consumed cheesy toasties!

Group 2 - Runner to Samye Foundation Wales

Tonight 9 intrepid runners made their way to our friends at Samye, through the darkened nights and the city streets our crew ran confident and strong, As Amy commented at a point somewhat reminiscent of Madeline, as we ran in perfect pair formation. Tonight was a very social run with lots of chatting as we caught up and met new people. With traffic lights in our favour we arrived at our destination in great time, after a quick water break the clock began and it was time to put ourselves to work.

Lorraine spoke about the wonderful work they have going on at the centre, we have seen a lot of change at the Samye foundation since we began running there and tonight was time to protect the planters that we helped to place and plant. With winter looming and the weather changing it was time to ensure their longevity so that the tranquil seating areas can be enjoyed for many years to come.

Groups were sorted with Eleanor, Keira, Aimee, John and Su on planters, cutting back overgrown sweet peas to make room for other plants to grow for a last bit of colour in the garden and painting / protecting the wood planters and Owen, Lewis and Adam were to move bricks and rubble from the back garden to the front.

After 40 minutes of work we had as usual packed Lorraine’s car with plenty of things for the tip before heading in for a few treats of spinach and cheese toasties, crisps , flapjacks and some more water. Then it was time to run, but all runners had been warned – I will not be accepting moaning about running on a full stomach!

We had another quick chat about the task that we will be returning to for our ‘Spooky’ Halloween run, with some discussions about what we should dress up as. Then we set off, and as if perfectly planned, we met up with Ben’s group and had a run back as one collective.

Don't forget folks:

• Get signed up to next week's run by clicking here
• Get signed up to this Thursday's community mission by clicking here
• Get signed up to the group run in Penarth next Saturday! Click here to get signed up

21 GoodGym runners ran to St Edwards Church to clear the basement of debris so that the Forget-me-Not charity can store their gardening tools there

Runners arrived swiftly into the Big Moose Cafe for the evening's run. Everyone's eyes widened when they saw Chloe from Big Moose bring over some delicious looking cake; it was definitely hard to resist the cake until after the run... "please just a crumb..."... The temptation was strong but everyone managed to resist!

This week we had 4 new runners!!A huge welcome to Chay, Charlotte, Matt (from We Make Good Happen) and Mathew! We love having new people come along to GoodGym; Mathew was Welsh Dave's friend, and because Welsh Dave brought along a friend, he earned himself 1 red lace! Cheers all around!... He said it was like Christmas come early. Sue has now reached 50 good deeds too... hooray! She was awarded with a badge which she plans to wear at work and on nights out! What a hero!

After a quick warm up jog, jumping about, touching the ground and shaking all about we did the hokey cokey and got on our way!

Time to run to the task!

Ben led the runners who wanted a beastly workout. He led the runners up Pen-Y-Lan hill and back down an adjacent road and then headed towards the church. Welsh Dave, carrying a bag full of portable floodlights and gloves, backmarked the speedy group. Well done to Chay who joined the speedy runners despite it being his first run with GoodGym!

Ellen led the 'sexy runners'; The sexy runners are the runners who wanted to run at a more graceful pace, paying more attention to their form and technique, they headed straight to the task.

Welcome GoodGym to St Edwards Church, the venue where Forget-me-Not meets

Every Tuesday afternoon at 2pm to 4pm the Forget-me-Not charity and support group meet at St Edward's church. The charity provides a friendly and welcoming environment, suitable for people with memory problems and their carers also people recovering from a stroke or people who feel isolated and vulnerable. They offer various activities: puzzles, games, books and music, arts and crafts, “a stroll down memory lane” and singalongs. They even provide attendees with a cup of tea/coffee and piece of cake. There is no charge to attend, but a nominal donation of £1 requested for the refreshments.

Kathie told us about how they have recently received funding from Age Cymru to help improve on what they currently offer. They used some of the funding to hire a skip and this is where us GoodGym volunteer runners come in, our task was to take everything up from the basement and put it into the skip so that the basement can be used to store gardening equipment for their future gardening projects.

Kathie also mentioned to us about the church ghost!.. OoOoOoOo, It was definitely beginning to feel like halloween month! Can you spot the ghost in the photos?

After hearing about this fantastic charity we couldn't wait to get stuck in and help out. Immediately we formed a chain with some runners in the basement, some on the steps and some by the skip. A whole manner of objects were lifted from the basement including a lawn mower, old tables, metal frames, wooden triangles, parts from an old fireplace and more! Matt got stuck straight into the task, lifting items from the basement with Rosie and passing them to runners on the steps. Chay was then putting them into the skip with help from Keira and other GoodGymmers. Emma even found Thors hammer!! 🛠. Aimee and Ellen did a spot of litter picking, filling 1 bag of litter and covering over half a mile in distance - Well done ladies!!

After a speedy 25 minutes of helping out the task was complete!

Thank you so much GoodGym for your help

Kathie and her partner thanked us all for our hard efforts and we thanked them for giving us a #ReasonToRun. Mikey then led the run back and Aimee and Emma both backmarked. We ran back with our heads held high, not just because we were proud of ourselves for helping out, but because it enables a good flow of oxygen to enter the lungs for efficient running!

Well done to Andrew who has again come up trumps and came up with this week's pun for the run - Well done Andrew... very innovative!!! You've won the virtual award for a second week running. Keep it safe, you've earned it :) Don't forget to hand it back next week.

Don't forget folks!

• There is a community mission this Thursday evening. Click here to find out more and get signed up
• Want to join in the post Cardiff Half GoodGym celebrations? Click here to find out more
• Want to join in in the GoodGym Cardiff Christmas party? There are 6 places left! Click here to find out more. You can pay your deposit to Emma Wilkins :)