Perfectly timed thick fog made for an atmospheric Halloween parkrun this morning 👻

Harriet and I were at Fulbourn Hospital parkrun, which is set in the hospital grounds and felt very eerie. Harriet was volunteer coordinator and I was marshalling. There were frightfully good fancy dress outfits on the course today including the brilliant tail walkers dressed as dinosaurs (with very large tails).

Well done to all those who took part today, you were fangtastic 🦇

Congratulations Harriet on your 100 parkrun volunteer milestone 🎉 You are an integral part of the Fulbourn parkrun team making great things happen 🙌 We celebrated with cake, naturally, all homemade by Harriet and absolutely delicious!

Special mention also to Caroline, who reached her 50 parkrun milestone while park walking with her mum earlier this month 💛 A solid achievement, well done 💪

Mr B had been clearing his late wife's clothes and needed some help to get the six bags of items to the local charity shop to be reloved.

Before we set off, we had chance for a chat and were delighted to meet his friendly little dog too 🐶

We managed to deliver the goods in two trips, getting our steps in, doing a little strength training (some of the bags were a bit bulky), and having a good catch up. In Cambridge style, on the second trip we made use of Harriet's bike as a packhorse. A trusty steed.

A lovely start to the morning helping a member of our community and supporting the circular economy ♻️

We celebrated with lunch, spooky themed sweet treats included 👻

Pun credit: Harriet

A new task for us this evening with six GoodGymers supporting Abbey People's Swish clothes swap event.

Earlier in the day, Harriet was helping to set up the event, putting up clothes rails, sorting and hanging the clothes and setting up the social space. And of course making time for some dog fuss! The benefit of setting up is seeing all the clothes that had been brought for swapping, and a rather beautiful crochet cardigan caught her eye. It looks very swish!

The late shift (Kate, Sandra, Scott and I) met at Parkside Pools to run to the task. It was our first dark run of the season, and we were all well lit up (and some of us overly reflective). 🔦

It was a longer run than usual as the task was on the other side of town, but it made coming out worthwhile, and gave us plenty of time to catch up on tales of stormy holidays in the Lake District, daredevil dogs, love of zone 2 running, and the joy of hot/cold therapy.

We arrived at the venue to meet Eva, who was already hard at work clearing the clothes and rails. We joined in and helped with clearing more rails, tables (with a very creative storage space), activity boxes, and sofas, and then Sandra gave the floor a good sweep 🧹

With many hands, it was light work, and within 30 minutes we were done! There was just time to enjoy some baked goods before heading back. Will always run for cake 🍰

This session was promoting This Girl Can's Let's Lift The Curfew campaign, which highlights the safety concerns women have exercising at after dark and how this shifts their outdoor activity routines.

Some of us said we hadn't been out in the evenings this week and that the GoodGym task was the reason we got out. We agreed that GoodGym is a great way for women to continue to stay active in a social environment during the darker months.

We continue to create safe spaces to keep active 💛

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✨ GoodGym has designed night safety training for men to support women to feel safe when out exercising at night. You can read more and complete the training here: Women's Night Safety Training for Men

We love a Fox Den session at GG Cambridge, and were delighted to go back this afternoon for another visit.

Braving the wind, Catherine and I cycled across town, meeting Oscar for their first GoodGym session - welcome, Oscar! 🤗

Making the most of the remaining light, we got to work stamping the clay base of the pond into a uniform surface. Softened by the week's rain, this proved no trouble and was really fun! Getting our step counts in and strengthening our calves, we bounced and jumped and stomped it into shape in no time. 🦶

Once finished, Oscar and I constructed a frame to shelter plants during the colder months, while Catherine made a start on dismantling the big pile of sticks for the hedgehog and insect hotel. Uniting for the remantling (?), we fought the brambles and made it a 4* resort. 🦔🪲🐌

The final task was weeding the hugel mound - which had undergone quite the transformation since we constructed it! - and planting more flowers to attract insects to eat the unwanted bugs as a natural pesticide. 🐞

With the sun setting during our session, we packed away the tools once it started to get dark and said our goodbyes. Another lovely afternoon spent at Fox Den! 🦊

As the nights begin to draw in, our leafleting sessions on behalf of Cambridge City Foodbank are a fantastic way to get some fresh air and your step count up - all while doing some good!

For the first in this year's winter series, Kate and I layered up and met to distribute the revamped leaflets, which Kate carried in a well-stocked backpack. With me recovering from a bug, we took a gentle stroll from our meeting point rather than a run, heading down Mill Road to the other side of the railway tracks and our designated area. With it being just the two of us, we made the decision to stick together to maximise the social aspect, helped by most of the doors being arranged in closely grouped pairs. 👭

With all of the "no junk mail please" doors uncannily being the ones I went to (not taking it personally!), we admired the various stained glass windows and autumn wreaths. We were even treated to a couple of cats and some small but mighty tiny guard dogs! 🐈‍⬛️🐶

Catching up on everything we'd been up to since we'd last seen each other, the main topic of conversation soon became running. It turns out we've both signed up to our first marathons next year! Sharing training plans and ideas and agreeing to do some long runs together, we committed to motivating and supporting each other. 💪

With each of us having a less-than-ideal afternoon beforehand, this task was the perfect antidote and we were both so pleased we were able to make it. Time flies when you're having fun and doing good, and it was the pep both our steps needed! ☺️

We had a brilliant evening serving dinner at Jimmy's this week. We were delighted to welcome new GoodGymers Sydnii and Rachel, and with Rachel as a trained chef, and Sydnii familiar with Jimmy's, we were in excellent hands.

On the menu was a very delicious looking pie, cheesy mash, and greens with a good helping of gravy. Sticky toffee pudding and custard to finish. What a line up!

All the food was prepped and warming, but the lumpy gravy called, needing a bit of extra love. Utilising all Rachel's cooking experience we set her on her first task of sieving the gravy. 👩‍🍳

Beth and I were in charge of checking the food prior to opening the hatch, putting our recent food hygiene training to the test to ensure the food was hot enough. At 82 degrees in the centre of the pies, we agreed that was toasty enough. 🥧

It was an efficient line up, each taking a different element of the meal and all taking time to speak with residents. We made sure to get all orders correct and plated some meals up for later. It didn't feel too busy, but we did have a little flurry of requests just before the end of service, keeping us on our toes.

Rachel wasted no time washing up, I was on dishwasher duty, and Sydnii was a pro at storing and labelling the leftover food. Sydnii also took the initiative to clean the eating area a little before we finished service, so we were all cleared up in 15 minutes, a record!

There was a real buzz in the kitchen, and it was great to have time to get to know our new GoodGymers, hearing about very cute doggies and travelling adventures.

Looking forward to next time already!