Tonight's group run saw us have to scramble a little to find a replacement task as our original had to cancel on us.. A quick call to our hero Mark at Hope Housing and he soon found us something to do for the evening. We are super

GRATEFUL!!

We welcomed back John after what seemed like an eternity away....we are glad you are back, we really missed you! Hope your work is a little more flexible and you can come along more often.

We also had Phil and Heidi come along to their first group run and they were brilliant! Got chatting to everybody right away and got into the happy friendly vibe like they have been part of the gang for ages! Lovely to meet you both! Give them a cheer and support them guys. Show them some

LOVE!!!

The day had started really nice and sunny with a nice temperature....as the afternoon passed, an eerie mist came off the sea and enveloped Bournemouth....it was going to be a spooky GoodGym run. After a catch up at Flirt and making sure everyone had turned up, we set off outside for a team talk before heading down the high street and up the "ondulating" route to Hope Housing... Mark kindly volunteered to be our back marker for the evening and made sure no one was left alone at the back. Thank you Mark!

We always forget how taxing that start to the run is as it's 1.4km all uphill...gradually which makes it seem much longer! Despite the hill we managed to get there early...fast runners this Bournemouth gang!

Mark then led us to one of his many sheds...and this time we hadn't actually moved anything into this one before...or out of it either. Mental! We made a line and started to get certain things out looking for pots and pans, plate, bowls, clocks...kitchen roll holder...tea cake molds...mugs and flower pots to leave to one side. Once we had everything out we emptied some boxes and started sorting through everything, trying to make up a home starter box for couples and families moving into new accommodation. This way they would at least have something to cook and eat with and make their new start that little bit easier.

After a fight for some items and a bidding war over others we tidied things back into the shed and left the boxes to be collected the next morning.

For our way back we went a slightly longer route that took us along the prom and gave us a pretty view of both piers under a little hazy blanket of mist.... The gang were motivated by the reward of a social after the run....food and drinks at the Goat and Tricycle....so we pushed on and ran through the gardens and up the killer hill to our meeting spot, just in time for closing!

Well done everyone!

Although the weather forecast had threatened with a storm we got very lucky and missed the showers and only had to contend with a chilly wind which we dealt with pretty swiftly by setting off at a good pace!

We welcomed back Neil after his first run last week. It was also great to have David back with us after being away in Bristol for what felt like aaaaaages!

Is was Lisa's first group run as a member and and it's going to be great to have her on board. Got chatting straight away and also had her documents checked so she'll be joining in with missions and coach runs soon! All whilst training for a marathon!!! Give her a cheer and show her some LOVE!

This evening we were helping out our ray of sunshine that is Abi, promote her FREE art festival for children through her amazing Arts2Educate organisation. The flyer is amongst the photos if you are free over the easter half term.

Our run took us through the beautiful Bournemouth Gardens, and in daylight, so whilst we were chatting and catching up we were also surrounded by lush greenery and the sound of the creek flowing through. Very idyllic!

Then we came up onto the main road and we branched off into two groups to tackle as many roads as possible. In and out of each we ran and risked our hands in some very sharp letter boxes...we are not fans of the letter boxes with the bristles...yes they keep the draft out maybe...but they also crease our flyers!

We managed to meet up and finish our roads at very similar times which made everything flow really well....almost like we'd planned it and done it before....

Our time was up and we had 30 minutes to get back to our base before they closed up for the night. Back through the gardens we returned, this time along the other side that has a gravel path and so we mixed up the terrain a little. Always good for the ankles.

Well done everyone for coming out on a risky evening! Fingers crossed Abi's event is magnificent!

This Saturday we are doing a litterpick near Hurn Forest. Sean saw a lot of rubbish along the roadside verges and we are going to do something about it. I will put something on the website for it. We will meet at the car park there and go for a run then litter pick as much as possible!

Also Claire is part of a research program into designing and app that will help monitor heart failure. The leaflet is in the photos, please get in touch with her if you or someone you know could help out.

See you all very soon!

It was great to meet up and start our run this evening with some daylight to accompany us, makes such a change! We could actually see each other's faces!

We were lucky enough to have Fredrika join us on her first of hopefully many group runs! Lovely to have you on board, and hope you receive your GoodGym t-shirt in the post soon and can wear it with pride next time! Give her a cheer here!

We also had Neil join on his first group run and it was very fitting as he has created a charity called Rubbish Science. If you're running a race and not sure of what charity to pick, well this could be a good choice.

It was also Dan's last run with us as he heads back to Bath, great to have had you on board. We hope to see you here or there soon! Our longer serving Dan was also back testing his knee and things didn't go to plan with that! Thank you Ashok and Caprice for sticking together and making sure no one was left alone! Dan, deep breath. Take a break if you need to, but we're always here for running but also social stuff!

This evening we teamed up with the Bournemouth Parks team thanks to Sarah, who coordinated a lot of the logistics. We picked Meryck Park as our litter pick area as it was a problem spot. Armed with litter picks, torches black bin liners and recycling bags we split off into team of 4 and made our way along the path and wooded areas.

There were some hotspot areas where there were a lot of cans and needles unfortunately and it became clear why the Parks team had suggested it to us. It's a shame as most of Meryck Park is a lovely place, where a lot of us run around. There is a playing field in the middle, and even at night with floodlights there are hoards of rugby teams practicing....less than a hundred meters away in the bushes other are entertaining themselves with drug use and littering...

In our teams of 4 we managed to gather a lot of rubbish and then it was very satisfying to see Will come and collect it all and take it away. We managed to get in some laps and top up our running before heading back to Flirt. 5km in total and we didn't even notice it.

Next week we are doing a flyer drop for the lovely Abi (please look after your ankle and rest up!) and the week after that we are heading to the Foodbank in Boscombe.

Well done everyone....the gloves are in the wash as we speak!