Even though the evenings have started to darken that didn't deter myself, Jen , Richard and Russell from meeting at HQ for a slightly longer run to the Beaulieu community centre to help them with a spot of painting.

Arriving in no time we made our way upstairs where we found Sallyann and Nic already hard at work painting the walls of one of the ladies bathrooms. We all managed to squeeze in and hopefully give it a new lease of life.

Finishing up we washed brushes, posed for a photo and said our goodbyes. With Nic and Sallyann walking home and Russell and Richard running back a different route home than we came, Jen and I had a lovely chatty run back to HQ before saying goodbye.

Thanks for coming guys, hopefully we will be back there soon to continue the good work..

This weekend we will be volunteering at Chelmsford parkrun ( and then breakfast after)

If i don't see you before then please...

RUN HAPPY

Rich

All the best runs end in the pub but this time our purpose was the pub.

Richard was early and ready to go while Andy was briefly stuck in traffic. We decided to take the long(ish) route of a whopping 1 mile through town rather than taking the direct and even shorter route.

Fay and Sallyann were already at the pub with leaflets prepped and folding underway. We made short work of the folding, once Rich got going I don't think he was able to stop. Andy managed a further 1.2 miles while leaflet folding from his chair.

Cold pints are an excellent substitute for damp sponges and/or the old school finger lick for shuffling paper.

Our merry band of litter pickers, and some little helpers, were at Chelmsford Marathon this morning, helping keep the race village tidy as a whopping 25,000 runners took part in the half and full marathon events. It was great to welcome Farid to his first session and for Jen and Richard to be encouraging the future generation of goodgymers to get involved in helping the community. Great work everyone.

A crack team of determined GoodGymers overcame adversity to clear two bags of litter from the streets of Chelmsford.

Richard braved a squeam-inducing injury he sustained a few days earlier, Fay shook off illness and Jen battled through traffic to join the group.

The runners met Fay by the river where we started our litter picking duties.

As the night got colder and darker, Jane and Andy made everyone jealous with plans for breaks in warmer climes, while Martin wondered if there were any GoodGym groups in Scotland. Apparently not.

After finding the south of the river surprisingly tidy, the group crossed a bridge so new that it doesn’t appear on Google Maps’ satellite view and struck litter gold around the Meadows car park, with cans and bottles carefully extracted from hedges.

Good work everyone!