Bonfire night was celebrated in style by 17 runners who ran 4 k to help Newtown Community Preschool improve both their indoor and outdoor areas. A very warm welcome to Ellie who joined us for the first time. Lovely to have you with us, we hope you enjoyed it and will come back soon for more doing good and getting fit!

We started the evening with a warm-up session outside the Phoenix. We walked and jogged around in circles, doing different movements when certain numbers were shouted out. We obviously also let our chickens out (long story) and some other dynamic stretches.

Warmed up and ready to run we set off towards the preschool. We re-grouped at regular intervals so that no-one got left behind and we made the most of these stops to work on our glutes and quads with lots of squat and lunge variations. We also managed to fit in a few press-ups to improve upper body strength. Big thank you to Lisa who back marked, such an important job!

When we arrived to the preschool we were welcomed by Debbie, who very efficiently showed us what to do. She had written up a big board with jobs that needed doing and we got stuck in straight away with the following:

• Bagging up soil
• Moving pallets
• Moving wooden poles
• Bagging up leaves and old apples
• Sanding down gateposts
• Cleaning
• Putting filler into holes
• Sweeping steps and alley
• Taking down a netball post
• Removing trunking
• Fix fabric up to ceiling
• Cleaning out the gutters in the play area

Can you believe we ticked of every single job on the list! AMAZING WORK EVERYONE! 17 of us working for 45 minutes is equivalent of nearly 13 hours of work and it really showed!

The children will love seeing their outdoor play area looking so nice and tidy tomorrow!

On the return run we picked up the pace a little. We also found the most amazing looking hill.. It was too good to miss so we smashed out some brilliant hill sprints to really get our heart rate going! Fantastic effort guys!

Finally, we finished of with a fitness session, focusing on core exercises. Strong core is so important, it keeps you in the right position even when you get tired at the end of your runs and makes you well balanced as runners. We did 10 different types of core exercises and I think everyones favorite was the Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes Plank! You even got to hear you run trainer sing to that one.. something that doesn't happen very often! As it was a celebration evening we also did a round of Squat, Squat, Goose. You just never get too old for party games! Even better when they make you fit, right?

Back at the Phoenix we carried out some static stretches, acknowledges what we had achieved both in terms of improving our own fitness and in terms of the work we had done for the preschool. We also talked about our Christmas race, the Haldon Jingle Bell Run. It will be great to go together as a group! The more the merrier! After stretching some of us gathered in the Phoenix for some drinks, a perfect way to end the night!

SHOUT OUTS

HUGE SHOUT OUT to every single one of you for coming out tonight and being so cheerful, so full of energy, for working so hard at the task and for just being such an awesome group! I can't think of a better way to celebrate bonfire night than to have been out doing good with you guys!

Thank you Holly for the run pun. I am so grateful for the help with this!

Congratulations to Florence who came second lady in Sidmouth 10 k run last Sunday. Fantastic work!

Good luck to Pete and Florence who are carrying out the first mission run in our area this weekend! Amazing stuff!

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

The run next week is 5 k in total and will take us to Exwick for the first time! Exciting to do good in a new area! We will distribute Exwick news, a community magazine in which ideas and events for the area can be shared. This is usually done by just one or two people so by turning up in a big group we will make a huge difference! Sign up here to join!

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

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!