Keep up the good work!!

Actual quote, shouted at us by men on a motorbike tonight!

Let's start tonight with three massive cheers for Paul who came along to his first ever Group Run tonight despite a last minute change of task. Kudos Paul, we hope to have you along every week. You did a brilliant job!

Our Group Run tonight was subject to a last-minute change but we didn't mind too much, we were looking forward to finishing the leaflet drop for Scope charity shop in Byker that we started in May. This regular task for us allows us to spread the brilliant work that the volunteers at Scope do, and at the moment is our only task in the Byker area. We love charging across town and over the Byker bridge!

The usual celebrations started the evening, four marathon runners were back looking remarkably fresh! Well done Nick, Abi, Dan and Rachel on 26.2 miles of awesomeness. We also celebrated a GoodGym parkrun sandwich that included Faye, Jon, Andrew and Dan on Saturday, and a parkrunathon that I completed on Saturday with Paul. We did 8.5 parkruns in a day for marathon distance and it was epic. A few people asked me for the fundraising link for our challenge tonight, so here it is: We warmed up with our traffic game then set off to Byker.

I'd estimate we had around 450 leaflets to distribute tonight so we got cracking straight away. Emma and Kate were asked about GoodGym on the way so they managed to do some promotion for us at the same time as Scope, Katy got herself our first ever letterbox nip injury (didn't I say this would happen one day?!) and Dan saved someone's night as they had left their front door keys in the door. There really should be a GoodGym badge for extra good deeds whilst doing a good deed! We are never short of drama.

Ross and Katy were first back but it wasn't long before we were all back at our meeting point by the church. Andrew had some great photos to share (one of them NSFRR- not safe for Run Reports- involving a dead pigeon) and evidence they'd even spread the word of Scope to a local cat. Meowsome!

A vote took place for the fitness session and it was almost unanimous that we would do The Equaliser: two groups heading back to base with a 4 minute head start for Team Chill with me, charged down by Team Speedy with Evan. I'm blaming the unfavourable traffic lights and pedestrian crossings for the fact they caught us before the end of New Bridge Street. SIGH. Well done to you all, it was epic.

No community missions this weekend, but we have a great NEW TASK for our Group Run next Monday, so get involved if you can and lend a hand to help the West End Refugee service.

Have a great week with lots of walking, running and doing good things.

Anji x

A group of ten absolute LEGENDS helped to get the word out this Easter Monday about the brilliant bargains on offer at Scope in Byker, taking in one of our favourite routes and in glorious evening sunshine along the way. I have to start by thanking Debbie and Ross for collecting and cutting the leaflets for us, and to Katy for bringing them along. None of this brilliant trio actually ran in the Group Run tonight but they made sure by helping out that it still went like clockwork. THANK YOU.

A small but perfectly formed group of our regular runners turned out to Hotel Indigo this evening which was weirdly quiet without our usual huge takeover! My bad understanding of numbers meant I thought Rachel's 50th Good Deed was actually next week when it was in fact tonight - arghh- so in keeping with recent tradition, Rachel will be wearing the cloak of Geordie Good Deeds next week for her 51st. Expect much swishing and rapturous applause. We had a quick catch up and a game of my new favourite TRAFFIC GAME (complete with sound effects) which I will definitely be repeating for many many weeks to come.

Through town and across the Byker Bridge we went, meeting Dan along the way and arriving at Heaton Road ready to drop... leaflets, obviously.

This regular mission helps Scope in Shields Road to spread the word of the changes and opportunities in their store as well as encouraging local people to drop off their donations. Despite the small group tonight we got an amazing 180 leaflets delivered in just 15 minutes.

KUDOS !

It was a new fitness session for us tonight as we smashed The Equaliser for the first time. Two teams- one with a head start. One route, one leader per group and one objective: to make it back to Hotel Indigo first. It was so close that by the end less than a minute separated the winners: Team Paulie from the Runners Up: Team Awesome.. sorry, I mean Team Anji. It was a great test of teamwork and a lung buster especially running over the flyover, and a superb effort was made by all. Well done on doing great things with your Bank Holiday!

We are really spoiling you with two great community missions this weekend!

Our regular monthly visit to Nunsmoor Park led by Katy this SATURDAY at 10am.

And a new mission for Jesmond Library booked and led by Charlotte on SUNDAY

Get involved if you can!

***IMPORTANT NOTE about next week: PLEASE READ. Due to an event taking place in the restaurant at Hotel Indigo next week we have very limited access to the hotel. Please only bring bags if absolutely necessary and where possible, please arrive ready to run. The closest toilets are at The Mile Castle and Central Station. Katy will be meeting you OUTSIDE to register so if the weather isn't great, don't give yourself lots of time to hang around. Its our return to Elliott House Gardens and it's going to be mega, sign up here.

Good luck to everyone running the London Marathon this Sunday, including members of our GoodGym Newcastle family: Paul, Jon, Tom and also- eek- me!

Happy running, Anji x

The day finally arrived... the #GGNCL Cloak of Good Deeds has been deployed and adorned for the first time ever. Congratulations Carol Anne on 50 Good Deeds and the honour of running in the Geordie Cloak for the first time ever!

Was everyone else clock-watching yesterday on the countdown to a massive evening of end-of-year celebrations and the final GoodGym Newcastle task of 2018? Surely that wasn't just me!

After an amazing first year, we were all ready and dressed in suitably ridiculous headwear and fancy dress (nod to Rachel for the tutu and Michael for the Santa suit... and beard!) ready to smash our final group run of the year. We welcomed Jon who popped along for his first and definitely not his last group run with us and warned him it wasn't always like this!

Our task this evening was in Byker for the fabulous team at Scope who had asked us to do a pre-holiday volunteer drive by dropping leaflets to the area surrounding the shop looking for new volunteers. Shop volunteers are vital to keep the shop going in the run up to the madness of January shopping. I want to to say thank you to Scope for being such a great supporter of GoodGym and providing us with regular fun tasks like this one. We hope Santa brings you lots of new pairs of hands for the shop! The run over seemed to pass quickly as we discussed what we wanted for Christmas and I confessed to Paul that I haven't actually bought him a single thing he's asked for despite him being on Santa's Good List for always planning brilliant GG routes for us to run.

We were met at the shop by Tanya, Deb and Carol-Anne who were walking part of the task in order to courier the leaflets across for us, Carol Anne sparkling in the cloak much brighter than the lights of Shields Road, naturally. A few quick photos by a random passer-by and we were off. I gave the group just 15 minutes tonight to get the 200 leaflets out and as always I was blown away by how quickly this was done. No trapped fingers and only one lost glove... let's hope that didn't end up in someone's letter box eh Tanya? The charge back across Byker Bridge was on before we knew it and soon it was time for the part of the evening we were all waiting for... the pub... and the first GoodGym Newcastle awards.

It's not easy presenting silly awards in a packed pub the week before Christmas so I am sorry if you couldn't hear! Here's the run-down (pun intended) of our winners:

• Most colourful runner: Rachel for awesome socks, tights and running in a NYC marathon medal

• The genius award: Andrew for outstanding stats and number crunching

• Most encouraging runner: Katy for helping everyone with brilliant fitness sessions and teacher calmness

• Calm in a crisis award: Louise for hardly even flinching when I announced that I was about to collapse at the side of the Felling Bypass

• Most improved runner: Deb for taking 7.. yes 7 minutes off her 5K in less than a year

• Epic services to photography: Evan for always being pose-ready

• Most rapid sign-up award: Charlotte, always first to sign up, volunteer to back mark or lead a walking group

• Most resourceful runner: Peter for getting us a bunch of litter pickers and garden tools from his own Facebook appeal

• Class clown: Dan for having a comedy genius response to any situation and for being first in a frock at Smart Works every time

And finally...

People's GoodGymer of the year 2018 Carol Anne voted for by you, the runners.

Carol Anne was chosen for this honour, and the golden GoodGym dustpan and brush, for always being enthusiastic, positive and bringing sunshine to everything she does. Carol Anne is currently our only paired Coach Runner and she has forged an incredible relationship with her coach. A very close runner up was Charlotte for her amazing growth in confidence, enthusiasm for GoodGym and for giving so much extra in helping to spread the word of GoodGym. Carol Anne and Charlotte were the only two runners nominated for the award, and just two votes separated them at the final count. Well done both of you and thank you for inspiring everyone!

We ended the evening with me being slightly lost for words (THIS NEVER HAPPENS) as I was given a beautiful card, a trophy for best GoodGym Trainer and a mug containing gin - how well you all know me! On a personal note, I want to say thank you for making this feel like the best job in the world. Not even a year ago I was very unwell and unsure if my heart condition would ever allow me to run again. What you have all helped me to achieve while I have wrestled back to health and fitness has just been incredible and you've become family.

So that's that. We are now officially off until January 7th! Catch Katy, Louise and I on the radio from 18:20 tonight if you aren't bored of us yet and don't forget to sign up to the first Group Run of the year here

MERRY CHRISTMAS !!!!

Anji x

There was so much to celebrate tonight! It was Ross ' birthday, my 30th good deed, Charlotte's 20th good deed, the count down to Rachels Big Birthday and Kate found out just before the run that she had passed her Masters! Happy Everything, Everyone!

It was so lovely to hear Carol Anne's report of her first Coach Run and the start of a wonderful friendship, as well as a run-down from Katy about the Community Mission on Saturday and Dan on yesterday's mission. It has been a massive 7 days for GoodGym Newcastle and we grew by 2 more GoodGymers tonight... drumroll and big welcome to Molly and Lalage! We salute people who turn up for the very first time when the weather is grotty.

Team work was required to make the dream work tonight as I have a dodgy calf that was not happy with that useful action of running. Dan was back from his long term injury and I tried not to accept the baton from him! A combination was key tonight between myself, Paul and Katy.. but more on that later.

Our task tonight was the Byker Bag Drop which takes us to the famous area over Byker Bridge to Shields Road. We love to help Scope a charity shop that sells second hand clothes, books and many other things at a discount price to raise vital funds for the charity. The shop relies on donations from local people and this regular delivery of donation bags keeps the shop stacked with glorious bargains. We always manage to drop off around 250 bags in just 20 minutes and always feel like we could do more! The rain didn't dampen spirits and it was on with the head torches to get the bags delivered in the Heaton Road area.

Onwards we marched to Armstrong Park for our fitness session which was led for the first time by Miss Watson, our resident teacher and run leader Katy A brief pause was required at the start when I heard my favourite words ever STOP THE DOG! I moved faster than I have managed in the last few days to rescue a beautiful pooch that had absconded from its anxious owner at the sound of fireworks going off in the park. I am pretty confident that cuddling a frightened dog should be added to my good deed total to make 31.

Katy's fitness session was amazing

AMRAP was the session meaning As Many Rounds As Possible (yes, I googled this) and pairs of GoodGymers took turns between running laps around the park and doing 10, 15 and 20 reps of three quad-burning exercises. Everyone did such a great job that I rewarded them with caramel shortbread that I'd bought while standing around and trying to stay positive about The Calf. A great way to celebrate three GG birthdays in the next 5 days! Happy Cake Day Ross, Rachel and Lauren!

Next week's Group Run is a biggie as we mash up with Active Newcastle on a return visit to The Bike Garden for #RunandTalkWeek and round it all off with food and drinks at our monthly social. Come along, you might even get to cuddle a dog! Sign up HERE

Have a fab week and best of luck to everyone running in the Kielder Marathon weekend this weekend.

Anji x

For a moment today I actually thought we were going to get our first ever rainy GoodGym Newcastle group run! Imagine that! It didn't happen though and it was another sticky hot run for week 13.. unlucky for some (those who didn't come)

We played some new warm up games to welcome newbies Sophie and Peter and welcome back Will who has had a new baby hiatus from GoodGym. The games warmed up our legs, got heart rates pumping and made everyone laugh, then it was off to Byker (not Grove)

The task tonight was a challenge. Deliver 250 donation bags for Scope in a target time of 15 minutes, running far and wide from our Heaton Road task start point without everyone doing the same street. The biggest challenge actually came in trying to work out how many bags we would need each to make it fair.

12 minutes passed and everyone was back! Injured Dan even joined us to say hi (on his way to buy wine) (in terrible shorts) and turned down the fitness session option. We hot-footed to Armstrong Park and found an awesome grassed area to do our first ever Indian File run aka Tempo Surge, with runners running in arms-length line and taking turns to sprint to the front. Everyone was amazing and encouraged each other through the workout.

Awesome team work making the dream work

I'm not going to say we guessed the way back but, well, we did and it was very cool. Back at base it was time to say bye to Anna who has been an ace part of GoodGym from the beginning, as she heads off to Boro on placement. Please come back and visit us Anna!

Hope to see everyone back next week for a plogging task in Exhibition Park where we will also be doing our first ever time trial

Happy running! Anji x

29 runners took on the Mega Byker bag drop challenge and showed that many Geordie hands really do make light work!

Starting the session with a chat challenge to pay everyone a compliment on Mental Health Awareness week we set off on a run across town and over the Central Motorway looking epic in our red t shirts in the sunshine.

Heading over Byker Bridge and a quick photo stop at Scope on Shields Road and we were treated to the chance to see Will in his favourite brandishing things pose, this time with a handful of donation bags.

The challenge was on... 300 bags to deliver in 30 minutes

Two teams split off, one to the Heaton Road area with Anji and the other to Chillingham Road with Paul where they skillfully avoided the call of the pub on the corner. The scatter approach was why everyone had a different distance on their watches by the end, some of the group ran up to 10K in total last night!

top effort!

We smashed the 300 bag target well under the 30 minute limit and headed back to Byker Bridge for a massive interval session running easy and sprint splits between the lamp posts, giving Anji a chance to share the sound of the coaches whistle in everyone's ears! Back to the city centre we went with Tanya doing an amazing job of back-marking for the first time.

Our next group run is with Changing Lives at Brims House and the good news is I forgot to give my fitness session secret prize out last night so it rolls over to next week. Sign up here