What a start to the year.

Goodgym Colchester welcomed in 2019 with the usual enthusiasm and umph! Ten runners braved the cold and blustery showers to end the night running under the stars and shining bright themselves.

The evening began with news and congratulations to Ella who was 1st at Mersea Island Parkrun andHelen who came 3rd at Haverhill Parkrun. Brilliant work. Everyone who is signed up is looking forward to the Junior Parkrun Takeover and there is still time to come join the fun and bring a friend to see what GG Colchester is all about. Also the upcoming races locally, such as the West Bergholt 5miler, Colchester Half Marathon, and the international GG trip further afield to Sofia, Bulgaria were mentioned.

We warmed up with some bouncey fun and set off for the historic fountain at the bottom of North Hill. We lit the way along the bank of the River Colne with lots of chat and stories of festivities.

Last time we cleared leaves and Pam said that as a result the grasses have flourished. We set about filling bags with leaves and allowing this lovely fountain to be surrounded by greenery. Stuart used his initiative to make a branch into a brush and the jobs was done in record time as it began to spit with rain. Pam was super happy and impressed that we were out in the cold and wet.

With the rain in mind I remembered some super training sessions in my youth that occurred in car parks, so we did a car park circuit! The group showed strength, speed, power and static endurance as they did shuttle runs, partner squats, reverse lunges, planks, partner press ups and very amusing bunny hops (or human hops for those with niggling injuries). See the Facebook group for the boomerang videos! I would suggest that there were stylish bunnies, frogs, kangaroos and grasshoppers (all with great power and athleticism) amongst the group.

The photos how good the grass is looking at the fountain thanks to our help before Christmas and Pam would have us help,her every week if she could. We will be back soon for Colchester In Bloom but next week we go to the fabulous Level Best Art Cafe with a great starter session on Sunday after we inspire the kids at Junior Parkrun!

Thank you and see you soon.