7 Brent Bandits, braved the cold, followed a Goodgym-paper trail, made it to the track and destroyed some laps!

It was by far the coldest run of the year, well and truly into winter now when 7 smiling faces greeted me at the Queensbury this Monday night. With Enrique and his ladies making up the ranks - Sister sledge (Tabitha and Deb), the ever hilarious Samina and brilliantly cheerful Liz, we also welcomed to the mix our 'out of towner' for the night - Delightful Deb from Bristol, who was completing her round of Goodgym bucket list jaunts.

So with our bi-monthly track session in sight we could tick one off the list for Deb as she had never ever stepped foot on an athletics track, or for that matter ran on one!!! EEEKKKKK A treat was in store.

The task to accompany our fitness fun, was the regular GG Brent leaflet drop, but this time with a twist.... Each member was also tasked with bringing an extra slice of Goodgym cheer to the mix by making their leaflet accepter smile while explaining what we were all about and how we supported our local area. Success was in the air and we recruited at least 6 new locals for next week! YAY

Speeding down the high road and over St Peter's Hill, it was not long before the red racer was in sight and this week there was only one goal in mind - SPEED Stop clocks at the ready our awesome athletes set to pace on their first 400m dash, followed by not one, not two but three more!!!

Timing is simple, clock how fast you can run the 400, recover for 2 minutes, then repeat. Little did the team know that 4X round = 1mile and so as they embarked on their smashing times, each one able to keep their laps within a 10second range (AMAZING!!) with huffing and puffing their efforts came to a close..... now time for the maths!

Calculators at the ready we added up the timings and so everyones shock and delight, there were 1mile time trial PBs all over the place. My ultimate favourite moment was when Deb from Bristol said in disbelief when presented with her 7minute mile achievement, "This can't be correct, I've only ever run 9minute miles!!" Well believe it sister you are more capable than what you think!

Track is an amazing way to challenge your speed and short distance recovery rate in the view that regular sessions will translate to faster speeds in your endurance pace. And despite the disbelief in my maths skills by the crew, the calculator doesn't lie YES You really are all that awesome!!

With joyful cheer at the accomplishments made and statue challenge shutterbug achieved, the team bounced out (and I mean literally about 5 minutes of mad jumping around) ready to run the cool down mile back to base.

Speeding the last few metres back into home territory, we ended with stretches, cheers, back slapping and clapping , of course we were clapping ourselves, but it still counts!!!

So proud to witness everyones dedication, ability and improvements. It goes to show, with a supportive crew around you, you can surpasses the limitations and impress yourself, beyond belief.

See you next time!!

DO GOOD. FEEL GOOD. INSPIRE