Celebrations all round this evening as Hayley reached 50 good deeds.

We also applauded all those who ran the Great East Run in very warm conditions on Sunday, with extra kudos to those who made it to Goodgym tonight as well - Nicola, Robin, Kerry, Keith. Appreciation was also expressed to Hayley, Eleanor and Paul who had supported out on the course with the Goodgym flag.

We were straight off on the run aiming to get to St. Marks with as much of the fading daylight left as possible. The 1.5 mile run out made a little more challenging by the prospect of Belstead Road hill, which splintered the group. The loop back by the front runners was perfectly timed to completely miss the rest of the group taking a direct route along a narrow lane - however all was well as the group arrived almost simultaneously at St. Marks school.

We were met by Vanessa and Clare who were already hard at work in the planned forest school area. Vanessa explained the task, focussed on two areas within the "forest". Clear one area of overgrown vegetation and level off to prepare for a possible fire pit. Clear a second area and install a circle of tree trunk seats then lay a wood chip base and path between the areas.

With the light pretty much gone particularly under the trees our head torches and bat lights proved essential - this was our first "dark" task for several months.

As usual great team work and effort saw two groups getting stuck in with one group lopping, digging and clearing at the far end, deeper into the forest area, while a second group levelled off some ground and shifted logs to make the sitting circle, which was then layered with a soft, spongy wood chip floor.

It was amazing to once again see a big task gradually take shape and see a very clear end result. Hopefully the children will get great enjoyment from learning and playing in the forest school area.

The slight drizzle didn't dampen spirits on the run back to the Waterfront with an optional "hard effort" on the last half mile making just over 5k total run for the evening.

A big welcome to Nick(https://www.goodgym.org/runners/nick-ridler) and Richard(https://www.goodgym.org/runners/richard-fryatt) making their Goodgym debut this evening!

Our original task of outdoor painting was cancelled due to the rain and replaced with a check up of a small section of the National Cycle Network route 51, which runs through Ipswich and out towards Stowmarket and Bury St Edmunds on behalf of SUSTRANS.

Kerry and Robin led the way on the run out as I had to transport the litter picking kit to our start point, arriving just in time to meet the team and distribute equipment - with the new "hoops" supplied by Ipswich Borough Council being a big hit...... for hula hooping as wells as holding bags!

As well as keeping the cycle path clear of debris we cleaned up a few cycle path signs and cut back a small amout of foilage to keep signs clear and easy to spot.

With the check complete we combined the bags to be collected in the morning and set up for a pairs interval session using the cycle path. New boy Nick made lots of new friends suggesting 4 circuits was a good number to do!

There was lots great effort and heavy breathing in between muttered swearing before a comprimise of 3 circuits was negotiated!.

A steady run back to base for the first time in darkness empahsised summer is ending as well as the team photo picking out Daniela's reflective jacket looking like a spectacular, glowing waist coat!

Next week we head to Brickmakers Wood and celebrate Goodgym's national 10th Anniversary and plan (another) trip to the pub post task! All the details are Here #GG10

Goodgym Ipswich 2nd birthday celebrations got underway with a huge cheer for Tom achieving his 50th good deed and a warm welcome to Joe joining us for the first time.

Acknowledging 2 years since our launch there were 6 people who were there on the first ever Goodgm Ipswich group run - Steve, Eleanor, Libby, Robin, Nicola and Hayley - thank you for your loyalty and company over the last 24 months!

So the plan for the evening was to complete the task - Our last tour of Elmers Big Parade (which has brought so much joy and a great atmosphere to Ipswich during the summer) - cleaning and polishing the elephants for the final time before they disappear this weekend and get to the pub for a birthday social!

We started with a warm up game "Black Shirts" v "Red Shirts" competing to retain a tennis ball - no running with the ball and only holding the ball for 5 seconds max. It was very competetive with the ball flying around and changing teams several times. However the game was abandoned when (after a couple of close calls) the ball ended up out of bounds among traffic!

So we set off around the elephant trail with water spray, cloths and dusters in hand. This was to be a shortened route to the previous times we hand undertaken the same task...... along the Waterfront and through the town centre, stopping briefly for a few step up circuits, stair running and interval sprints.

Once again elephants were washed and buffed as we ran through the streets and as if it had been planned.......we finished cleaning the last elephant right outside the pub!

Happy Birthday Goodgym Ipswich!

A few heavy showers prior to our departure made tonight's elephant washing task slightly easier with all the sculptures on Elmers Big Parade getting a good soaking.

After a quick red shirts v black shirts warm up game of "tag" we set off with the aim of covering most of Elmers Big Parade and cleaning as many of the elephants as posssible.

Along the way and in between washing and polishing, we carried out various "fit" challenges including press ups, dips, step ups and steps circuits and even a few interval sprints.

A multitude of photos were taken with a variety of elephants across Ipswich town centre. It was lovely bumping into families out walking the trail and even offering to help us with the cleaning!

With just over 3 miles completed, 30+ elephants cleaned and checked for damage (and only one heavy rain shower) we were back at our Waterfront base for a cooldown stretch.

The Elmers Big Parade really has brought a great feel to Ipswich over the summer, with literally thousands of people visiting to see the elephants. It's been wonderful for Goodgym to play a small part in helping maintain the amazing sculptures.

Congratulations on a landmark 50 good deeds achieved tonight by Keith

Welcome to Nathan who was making his Goodgym debut on one of our longest runs and farewell to Jamie who was making a final appearance before heading off to New Zealand - best wishes from all of us.

Before we left we celebrated the achievements of those who had run the Ipswich Twilight 10k through the town centre on a hot and humid Friday evening.

Arriving at the Castle Hill Community Centre there appeared to have been a breakdown in communication as Trevor had been expecting us until a late message this evening., However Trevor leapt into action finding brushes ladders and creosote for painting an outbuilding we had started on a visit a few weeks ago.

With a long side and a short end of the building to be done the team spread out and made light work of the task, even having time to eat (while painting) chocolate cake Keith had provided to celebrate his 50 milestone... delicious, thank you!

The return run was a steady pace social run through the town with no appetite for any intervals given the exertions on Friday.

So the black shirts are becoming more prevalent with Keith joining the ranks - I'm very proud of all GG Ipswich participants and particular kudos to those reaching 50 good deeds and earning that black shirt.

Next week we are making the short journey to Brickmakers Wood - more info and sign up Here

Another great turnout for Goodgym Ipswich on lovely warm evening.

We really had two tasks tonight........ one was to paint the exterior hoardings of Gusford School swimming pool and the other was the run to get to the school and back - just under 3 miles each way with some challenging hills thrown in.

Well, the group splashed it. .... making the outward run look easy !

The last 200m was a deep end descent down a steep hill to the school, where we met Rebecca and her team, who showed us through to the pool area.

It looked like a very big task but everyone dived in enthusiastically grabbing sand paper, brushes and rollers.

Everything was going swimmingly and the tatty old boards were quickly turning white.

Water difference a coat of paint makes

The team managed to get virtually all of the exterior painted which will be the base for our task next week when we return to paint a second coat in blue. It's amazing how much can be achieved when everyone one pools together!

Then it was time to wave goodbye and the return leg of the run ....... starting with the climb up deep end hill. Liz tried to rally our spirits with a marine style sing song as we headed to the summit....... the chant quickly faded as we ran out of breath as incline increased! But everyone one dug in and floated to the top

Afintastic evening with a great task and tough but enjoyable run out and back.

Goodgym Ipswich - Water Magnificent Group !!

We had a debut and a tourist joining us tonight for the long run out to Castle Hill.

It was great to meet Belinda, a Goodgym Worthing centurion, was staying in Ipswich for work. Her hotel was literally a stone throw from our meeting point - good planning or what!!

Lizzie's first Group Run was slightly unorthadox in that she missed us at the start due to problems locating a place to park. Lesser people would have put this down to bad luck and headed home....but Lizzie drove to the task location, pulling up just as we arrived! So the welcome was not as structured as normal but brilliant to meet you.

Prior to setting out we recapped a busy weekend of events and races people had run - including the Woodbridge 10k and Kerry had raced a train in Norfolk (and beat it!)

The task was at a familiar location and involved some weeding in a small area and also cutting back a massively overgrown area - this was hampered by the availability of tools (only a saw and a set of secateurs . Robin and Kerry took these and set too on the shrubs with Lizzie and Nicola picking up off cuts, while the rest of the team weeded, dug and swept.

The shrub proved stubborn and years of tangled growth made it tricky to make any real impact with the limited tools. However the boys gave it a good go, diving deep into the undergrowth to try and find the key branches/trunk to cut.

The main team did a great job of weeding (mainly by hand) the small plot, leaving it looking ten times better than when we arrived.

On the run home there were a only a couple of takers for the side street intervals - mainly due to exertion of races over the weekend! But a steady, even pace by all totted up to a round trip of 5 miles.

Starting off with a big thank you for Andrew for stepping in to cover the start of tonight's session due to traffic chaos on the A12 conspiring to delay my arrival

Also massive congratulations to the same Andrew in reaching the 50 task milestone - the 4th Ipswich member to earn the coveted black shirt!

So, when I (eventually)arrived the task was well under way....and what a turnout - probably the highest attendance since our launch. Everyone was getting stuck in to the job of painting a classroom. I've never sen so many goodgym t-shirts in such a small space!

The task was set up by Andrew (a different one to our new black shirted Andrew) the school Head Teacher with the aim of making the room much brighter for a new teacher at the school. With so many hands the job was completed within 40 minutes and we headed off to run back to base which included a fartlek interval session along the Waterfront and taking in part of the Twilight 5k race route many of the group had done on Saturday with great success.

Next week we return to Castle Hill for a long(ish)run - find out more here

Massive congratulations to Steve on reaching 50 good deeds and earning his black t-shirt on tonight's task.

A big welcome to Jamie - Louise on her first group run and..... a very warm welcome back to Eleanor who had been travelling in New Zealand for several months but came back to Ipswich just because she missed Goodgym so much!

With all the festivities and chatter we almost forgot we had a 5 mile run to be getting on with

Arriving at Castle Hill Community Centre there was palpable disappointment when the scheduled outdoor task was replaced with indoor painting. However in true GG Ippo style everyone got stuck in and I tried to introduce a bit of competitive pressure by giving a time deadline to complete. This seemed to spur the team on with Mitch and Steve taking on the tricky recessed area above some lockers. In fact at one point it appeared Mitch had more paint on his hair than on the walls - luckily it wasn't paint but polystyrene from his head rubbing ceiling tiles!.

In super quick time - beating my time deadline - we were done and the room did look good for having this second coat.

On the run home there were some fartlek intervals on offer on side roads and hills , with most of the group (other than Alex and Mitch) ignoring them and preferring a steady pace for the 2.5 mile homeward leg.

We had a chat about the how tasks have become a little difficult to secure recently and if any charities or community organisations are reading this and could use some free volunteer manpower for any tasks on a Monday evening - get in touch!

We've also got the first ever Ipswich Goodgym Community Mission coming up on Friday 19 April - you can find all the details and sign up HERE

A small but perfectly formed group gathered for our first daylight Group Run this year - with Kerry sporting his brand new black Goodgym T-shirt -(literally just out of the packet), earned on his 50th good deed last week and Mitch back again following his Goodgym debut last week also.

Tonight was a "Plogging" task

“Plogging” is combining jogging with "plocka", the Swedish word “to pick”. The idea being you pick up litter while running.

Our destination was Holywells Park where we could combine plogging with a specially requested "Hills" fitness session. This special request was made by Lizzie on our FB page during the week, when I asked what would people like as a fitness session. Lizzie was the only one to reply.

With no other proposals - Hills it was!

On arriving in the park we split into two groups - we'd brought litter pickers and bags - one group heading to the top of the park and working down while the other started at the bottom. 3 bags of rubbished collected with the oddest finds being a flat football and a chair leg!

So the hill session commenced with the first few being short intervals - effort up / recovery down - lulling everyone into a false sense of reasonable comfort. Then came the "sting" 10 mins of long intervals - the park providing a fabulously winding uphill path through lush green grass.

What fun we all had - and how everyone loved Lizzie's suggestion!

Finally we head back to base taking in a large chunk of the Great East Run Course that passes through the park, before taking a steep downhill on Cliff Lane and flattening out along the Waterfront, where we added a few "back to front" sprints in train formation to complete our Plogging & Hills set.