First run of the year! It was bound to be a smasher, and it did not disappoint....

It may have been a cold and frosty evening, but that did not stop 41 post-festive runners ready to burn off those mince pies and mulled wine and make a difference in Wandsworth.

We were treated to a bumper load of new faces for our first run of the year, which always makes us very happy. Ladies and gents of GoodGym, please put your hands together for the lovely Charlotte, Abi, Georgina, Julie, Ashleigh, Lindsay, Tamsin, and Monica who all joined us for their very first GoodGym session last night. We hope you'll all be back next week!

It was clear that you guys hadn't slacked off over the festive period, but have instead been tackling those park runs, races, training sessions and missions like proper troupers. Vix and Lorna were both still away after an amazing sub zero 10k in Norway, but we cheered Emily, Paul, Amy, Helen, Chris, Daniel, Morag and Hannah for smashing a tough and hilly 10k in Brixton only the day before. Jessie and Luke both tackled some insane racing in waist-deep mud, while John put in a fine performance in the Surrey leagues at the weekend. Well done to all those who did Christmas, New Year and early January park runs. You really are an amazing bunch! If you're keen to find the right race for you then just shout - the GoodGym team will be behind you all the way.

Our target this January is a huge one, but I know we can achieve it. Between us, we have got to hit 241 good deeds, and cover a whopping 1200 kilometers. With over 450 kilometers under our belts already (thanks in part to a slightly longer run that advertised last night!) we've made a cracking start. Don't forget to connect to Strava so the team can support you and we can clock those miles up for Wandsworth.

After a last minute cancellation, our task for the evening had changed. But the sliver lining was that we were in fact doing a job for a different and amazing charity called Caius House. This youth centre offers local young people a safe place where they are supported and can develop their own unique talents. Every child is valued - which we think is a pretty awesome ethos. So we were happy to help when they asked us to spread the word for their upcoming projects in the area.

But first - a much needed warm up. A few minutes of dynamic exercises later we did a quick poll to find out what everybody hoped to achieve in January. There were an admirable number of running related resolutions, some hoped to final banish their NYE hangover, while others just wanted to get through the toughest month of the year. We're here for you!

It was just over a mile to Caius House, so we soon set off with Helen kindly backmarking for us. Sarah had the great idea of pairing up new runners with regular GoodGym runners so they could get an idea of what it was all about, and we all happily set off for the first stage of our task. With a teenytiny detour at the end - just to add on the mileage, you understand - we arrived to find Charlene waiting for us with a big pile of leaflets. She gave us a quick talk about the work they do there, and let us know that if any of us had any special skills or work experience opportunities that we could share with the young people at Caius House, that would be great. After a few minutes pause to catch our breath we were off again, and divided up into two teams to put our trusty human chain approach into practice. Way over 400 leaflets later we were almost finished, but the clock was ticking and we needed to get our fitness session in so lovely Jamie and Alyx volunteered to do the rest on their way home, while we knocked out a quick but tough session.

We started off with a game which involved being honest and sprinting. If you answered yes to questions like 'did you have a cheeky snog over Christmas' then you had to sprint across the park, if you didn't, then you had to do a conditioning exercise while you waited. We then moved on to the parlauf - which, while it may sound confusing, is actually great for speed training. We paired up to complete as many circuits of the park we could complete in our twos, with Roshan and Luke emerging as the winners.

All that was left was to run back to the BAC, not forgetting that last hill, and a few stretches to finish off the night. Well done team, you truly smashed the first run of the year. Apparently next Monday, the 15th of January, is officially the most depressing day of the year. Counteract those winter blues by joining us for our run instead to do good, get fit and feel great!

We are ONE!

Last night we turned one year old! A huge thanks to all that have been involved with @GGSheff to make it what it is today a really great bunch of people from all sorts of backgrounds and running abilities that have come together to do good in their community and to get fitter. You are all truely a fantastic bunch!

Following a brief inside photo now the clocks have changed we set off to a brand new task in Kelham Island with In2Change a fantastic organisation that work with young offenders to avoid repeat offending and provide users with skills and education at the centre.

On arriving at In2Change we were greeted by MAGIC MARC & BRILLIANT BRIAN who gave us a tour of the building and the project and got us tooled up for the nights task.

As the planned paint job had already taken place we went for plan B which involved some painting of doors and some cleaning of the gym which needed some love to bring it back to sparkling splendor.

Both Brian and Marc were very happy with the efforts of the group and thanked all before we headed off to Craft & Dough for our anniversary celebrations where we were surprised with some generous Prosecco from 'THE KING' Steph Gilmer in his abscence and some fantastic GG cupcakes from chief organiser of the meal Kim Longbon. Thanks to both for your extra efforts and to all that attended for coming together to celebrate @GGSheff becoming one!

Here's to another fantastic year!

WELCOME TO THE TEAM!

This week we welcomed 2 new runners to the @GGSHEFF Crew. A big welcome to

• Rhiann
• Kristy Hopkins

GIVE EM A CHEER!

WOOD TIME!

This weeks task was a woody one. On arrival at Sharrow Community Forum we were greeted and briefed by MARVELOUS MARIA who described the evenings tasks which included moving wood in and out of the now fully functioning wood working workshop and cutting down partly used pieces to ensure that nothing went to waste.

EXERCISE TIME

As it was a little cramped in the workshop with a few less tools than we wood ;) have liked we split ;) the group and half of us branched ;) outside for some fun time fitness. This week this involved a group circuit containing:

• Squat 180
• Sprints
• Sumo Squat
• Tuck Jumps
• Burpees (Ash's Fave)
• Sumo Squat
• Squat Jumps
• Goblet Squats
• Curtsey Lunge
• Lunge
• Split Lunge
• Squat Punch
• Calf Raises

Once we swapped groups over so everyone had a chance to sweat and to saw we said our goodbyes and headed home with a few street furniture exercises thrown in for good measure!

Once the Howard St Sprint and stretches were complete we gave Kat a huge congrats for her 50th good deed and thanked Steve for #GGBBQ3 and headed in for warmth and refreshments.

Until next week....

Happy Running!

Seventeen Sensational @GGSheff runners ran to Sharrow Community Forum to help sand and assemble chairs for a wood CNC workshop!

After welcoming @HelpSheffield Phil Vintin to the team we headed off to SCF. On arrival and after boosting our team numbers by two we headed into the workshop to meet Marvelous Marie.

Marverlous Marie gave us all a fantastic brief explaining the plans for the workshop and how @GGSheff have helped to get it to it's working state it's in now.

We got straight to it with 2 grades of sandpaper to ensure a quality finish on the edges before gluing and bashing the pieces into place.

We even had a chance to try out the shop made balance boards with some impressive results.

After a quick drink to quench our thirst we headed to a near by playground and got straight to business with some:

• Box Jumps
• Tri Dips
• Press Ups

We then finished with a straight arm hang where Magic Mike & Tenacious Tim impressed all with their gorilla grip!

Until next time, happy running!

Tom :)

18 excellent @ggsheff runners ran 3km to help the CATHEDRAL ARCHER PROJECT tidy up their community garden.

After hearing about the teams efforts on Sundays run at DIG DEEP we set off into town taking on a few obstacles on route to the CATHERDRAL ARCHER PROJECT.

On arrival LOVELY LYNN welcomed us with cold bottled water and a brief about the project and the tasks for the eve which included a lot of cutting back of overgrown plants. The aim is to be able to use the garden as an activity for the project and its users who will hopefully take ownership of the garden.

After a good 45mins of hacking away the area looked a lot clearer and ready to be used once again. Lynn gave us a lovely thank you before we headed back off into the city for the fitness session.

This week we took advantage of the cities structures and landscape and focussed on some stair sets, box jumps and a killer hill rep session to finish off before heading into the SHOWROOM for a well earnt drink and natter.

Until next time.

HAPPY RUNNING