Tonight we had more first time attendees than veteran GoodGymers! No pressure to create a good first impression then! We gathered outside the Showroom and got the introductions out of the way using our usual circular sound off.... James 1, Andrew 2, Hannah 3 etc. Andrew kindly took on the role of backmarker, only requiring the very slightest bit of pressure to do so.

The taskholder for the evening was Roundabout. They provide shelter, support and life skills to young people in Sheffield. We would be helping them to paint the walls of their new residential unit to make it more pleasant and welcoming for those who will be staying there.

The run was an all uphill affair so we took it fairly steadily; no baptisms of fire here!

Upon reaching the house we were welcomed in by Janine. Whilst collectively catching our breath she explained what she wanted us to accomplish. We were to paint the entrance hallway to the residential unit, giving the building a fresh new look free of stains, thus creating a good first impression for new residents and a place they will be happy to return to.

It was quite a cramped task as folk all squeezed into the modest hall to plaster on the paint. Everyone got up close and personal, getting to know each other and bonding without much of a choice! Some people had brushes, some miniature rollers on a stick and some full-sized rollers.

Myself and Andrew stayed out of the way, occasionally popping in to take pictures; too many cooks spoil the broth and all that! We spent our time chatting to Janine about the work the charity gets up to and our past 'brushes' with them.

After a good 45 minutes of furious painting action we were all done and downed brushes. Janine offered to wash the equipment so that we could head off on time, clearly noticing how eager people were to do a fitness session!

After saying our goodbyes, we ran a short distance to the entrance gates to Norfolk Park. Here we were to partake in 'suicide sprints' up the tree-lined boulevard. Those wishing to do the fitness session lined up by the gates at the bottom of the hill to hear how it would be ran. There were lampposts spread at intervals of around 10 meters all the way up the hill. We were to sprint to the first one then jog back down to the bottom, to then sprint back up to the second lamppost before again jogging back to the bottom, and repeat this process until the 5th post was reached. All participants did a great job, and the folk not running helped out with cheering and taking photos. Super work all!

After all of this exertion we gently jogged our way back to the Showroom where we stretched off and heard announcements, namely that everyone should come up to the Barnsley group runs on a Wednesday evening each week!

With our esteemed leader out of action due to illness, we came together as a team to complete our task. 9 of us met up with the lovely Emily from Roundabout at the Showroom, where she told us about the work they do helping young homeless people across South Yorkshire and about the upcoming Fundraisers we were to leaflet for:

On the 24th October, is the Yorkshire Chocolate Festival - a market selling all things chocolate and the admission fee goes to Roundabout (https://www.roundabouthomeless.org/event/yorkshire-chocolate-festival/).

On 12th November, is the Sleep Out, which is a night where people gather to hear stories from young homeless people and then try themselves to sleep in a cold warehouse on a concrete floor (https://www.roundabouthomeless.org/event/sleep-out-2021/).

We split into 3 groups - Michelle and Seiko on their bikes to Heeley, and 2 groups down Ecclesall Road. We spent around an hour delivering leaflets before heading back, doing some wall sits and stretching along the way. We returned the rest of the leaflets to Emily back at the Showroom and reported back where we'd managed to cover before catching up over food and drinks.

With a bit more of a streamlined team this week due to the sunshine and the Bank Hol weekend we were down on numbers but not on enthusiasm and energy!

We welcomed new runner Rebecca Croft along who came on her first run, give her a CHEER!

This weeks task was with a new charity called Roundabout. Roundabout is Sheffield’s local youth housing charity providing shelter, support and life skills to young people aged 16-24 who are homeless or at risk of homelessness.

We met with Emily from the charity who told us more about the great work that Roundabout were doing and shared with us the evenings plan to deliver as many leaflets as possible around the city to promote the charities Sleep Out event on Friday 8th November 2019 at 92 Burton Road, Kelham Island which gives people the opportunity to support the charity, raise funds and experience first hand what it's like to sleep on the streets on a cold night! You can register here.

We split into 3 teams and headed to a few different areas including Meersbrook and Eccy Road. After a good hour of running and leaflet distribution we returned to base to stretch off and give leftover leaflets to Emily.

Until next time, happy running!

:)