Santa's little helpers had the day off today, to take part in Mind in Bexley' s Mental Elf run in Danson Park. And we were there to help things go smoothly - checking-in the participants, getting medals 🏅 ready for collection, marshalling the course ➡️, and waving the chequered flag 🏁 as rosy-cheeked runners and walkers crossed the finishing line.

The sea of red and green outfits and hats in the park created a wonderful sense of community, and it was amazing to see everyone come together for a great local cause.

This morning was all about helping two brilliant local charities and supporting a local parkrun.

First up Bexley parkrun - Manish in hi-viz handing out finishing tokens; Marta, Julian, Johnny and me running. Afterwards we mingled with the other runners, giving out Mind in Bexley's leaflets promoting their Mental Elf run in the park next weekend. So far, so good 👌!

When Ivar arrived, we donned jolly elf hats and set off to pop lots more Mental Elf run leaflets through letterboxes of houses close to the park. Well, that was plan at least.

However, a resident at the second house told us he already had a leaflet because someone else had delivered fliers along the street earlier in the week 🤔.

Not wanting Mind in Bexley to receive complaints from locals about having been targeted twice, we called it a day on that task, said 'bye' to Manish and moved on to the Community Hospice for some bramble-bashing.

Things may not always go to plan with GoodGym, but we always have fun time when we get together, so it's never a wasted venture.

Come and give GoodGym a go.

"Look mummy, there's an elf!", said a child as we were out and about putting leaflets through letterboxes to promote Mind in Bexley's Mental Elf festive run.

It's not every day you see elves on a sunny October morning, but all for a good cause and it brought smiles to the faces of passersby. Although there were probably some bemused householders when they saw us on their video doorbells!

Our determined pace gave a good step count and being active and outdoors is known to be beneficial for mental health, so this task for Mind in Bexley was a great match for GoodGym.

We have lots more tasks coming up - fancy dress is always optional! - so check out what else is on offer and come and have some fun with us.