We thought the run of rainy Mondays had been broken.....turns out that was short lived as tonight was a very soggy evening.

Small numbers tonight perhaps due to a few races over the weekend including the Cambridge Half Marathon. The weather didn't look too bad as we arrived on the Waterfront but the rain started as we set out for the 2.5 mile run across town to Castle Hill Community Centre and was in full flow by the time we left the Centre.

Our task was to continue painting the toilets we had started on our last visit. Unfortunately due to the low number and limited painting equipment, progress was a little slower than usual and we weren't able to complete as much as we would have liked. The base coat of blue in the ladies was particularly challenging to cover up !

With heavy rain coming down, there was a slight reluctance to exit the main doors of the centre to start the return leg of the run. But after the first few splashy steps we enjoyed that hard core feeling you get when running in adverse conditions and even managed to avoid any soakings from passing cars...... though we were pretty much soaked through on arrival back at base.

Good work from everyone - hope you've dried out!

Prior to heading out into the wind we celebrated the weekend achievements with a number of regulars having done the Tarpley 10 or 20 mile race locally and Colchester Nick completing the Brighton Half Marathon.

It was a very simple task tonight - litter picking a fairly small grassy area right on the edge of the river on behalf of Rivercare. It was dark and the "bat lights" were put to good use seeking out rubbish among the long grass. We managed to fill two large bags with an array of debris.

Once the litter was picked we headed to the floodlit Suffolk College grounds for a challenging pyramid interval session - only 30 secs recovery between each set of effort s ranging from 30 secs to 2mins 30 secs and back down the other side.

Everyone put in a great shift to maintain a good pace throughout particularly those who had 20 miles in their legs from yesterday!

Another fab Goodgym evening and, as Tom pointed out at the end of the night, there was something missing... it wasn't raining for the first time in weeks!!

A big welcome back to our first Group Run of the new year and new decade!

It was fab to see everyone again ready and raring to go, even if there was a little bit of back to work blues around. But nothing could dampen the smile on Robin's face...sporting his brand new 100 task T-shirt (back in red!)

Prior to setting off we had a pep talk on how we will be competing against other Goodgym areas in the JANUARY CHALLENGE on distance run and good deeds done. We have aCommunity Mission at FIND Foodbank set up for this Saturday to start the challenge off with a bang - and hopefully add to our good deed tally.

As well as this, don't miss out on a bonus "starter" Group Run on Saturday 18th January which is ideal to bring someone along who hasn't tried out a Godgym task /run before as well as rack up the good deed total!

Our run out tonight is one of our longer ones at about 2.5 miles each way to the Castle Hill Community Centre and there was lots of catch up chatting along the way. The regular task of painting at the centre was quite an easy one tonight with just the scuffs and marks needing "touching up" round the walls where furniture had marked the paint work and one area affected by damp from a leak. This was all done in super quick time, which meant we could take advantage of a reasonable size hall for a few rounds of core strength/balance circuits.

Much enjoyment was had from observing a "range of techniques" and facial expressions during the single leg balance exercises - no photos to be shared!

The run back was only notable for Hayley and Brittany going AWOL ! It turned out they were faster than they thought and had got a big lead on the rest of the group......all was well when were reunited back at base!

A fantastic start to the new year - hope to see some of you on Saturday at the foodbank Community Mission.

Tonight was one long celebration.......

It was Daniela's 23rd birthday on Sunday, Robin was about to complete his 100th good deed with Goodgym Ipswich and it was our last Group Run before Christmas so we ended the evening in the pub!

Daniela volunteered to back mark and had a brand new birthday set of lights to try out - you could see her for miles!

Our task was to paint three bathrooms and a foyer area at the 24 Ipswich Scout Headquarters. All the areas were fairly small and we split into teams for each area. Dan, from the scouts was fantastically well organised with numerous dust sheets, brushes, rollers and paint all ready for us to get stuck in.

It was comical watching people squeezing into small spaces and trying to avoid painting each other in the process. However the teamwork was once again top notch and all areas were completed in around 30 minutes.

After a brief tidy up we were off for the return 2 mile leg of our run.... and as it was Monday it began raining! This didn't dampen spirits as several of the group took on some additional fitness work by running out & back intervals ahead of the main party.

...Talking of parties!! - our run ended right outside our regular choice of pub when there's something to be celebrated. We ended the evening with some pre-christmas cheer as well as toasting the birthday girl and the centurian !

Goodgym Ipswich takes a break over Christmas and our Group Runs will resume on Monday 6 January.

Merry Christmas!

Tonight we welcomed Ed a Goodgym York regular who is visiting family his home town and came along to run with us. We also celebrated Nick's success at The Wimbledon Half Marathon and Kerry and Robin who ran the the Bury St Edmunds Half Marathon on Sunday.

Our task was painting a room at one of our regular venues - Castle Hill Community Centre - and we had a steady 2.5 mile run out with Tom and Daniela back marking.

Trevor met us and had all the paint brushes and rollers ready, with the slightly worrying sight of only one dust sheet to protect the carpet - however I have great trust in the steady hands of the team!

The group splintered into teams very carefully (not spilling any drops!) attacking different areas of the room with rollers and brushes. We managed to comandeer 3 ladders to enable some of the team to reach high above the picture rail running round the edge of the room.

With remarkable speed the job was almost completed other than the high areas which required ladders, which left a few people at a loose end. We started a small group "plank off" but when it came to swapping suddenly everyone was holding a ladder! But the competitive element came out when touching toes was mentioned.......with the majority of the females in the group able to present perfect form........unlike some of the males!

With the paint job complete we headed out for the return run incorporating a few intervals for a small band of enthusiasts!

With return run of 5 miles complete we stretched and headed home.

A reminder to all to check our facebook page for details of the Christmas "bash" - Daniela is collecting deposits for those who would like to come long....don't miss out!

On the week that GoodGym is celebrating a decade of doing good 13 GG Ipswich runners came out to play and party!

A looping run of just under a mile took us to one of our regular task sites at Brickmakers Wood where Rob was waiting for us, eager to get going before the light faded too much.

Our task was to remove several sections of large fencing - by sawing through the plastic clips holding them in place and then carrying them down the narrow steep path way to the warehouse. This would help clear a pathway that will be created for wheelchair users visiting the wood.

Armed with gloves and saws the team set to work - the sawing was vigorous and energetic and a lot harder than it looked initially. Once the fence panels were released groups of 3 carried them down along the path - again a lot more physically challenging than it looked!

With lots of elbow grease and lifting and carrying teamwork we managed to complete the whole section just before darkness set in. Once again what looked like a big task that might not be possible was achieved. Rob estimated the job would have taken him at least a day to complete without Goodgym!

We then completed a pairs shuttle run/circuit session under the college floodlights incorporating a final set of wall sits holding the #GG10 flag, before heading to the pub to celebrate 10 years of GG.

Good luck to everyone running the Great East Run this weekend - look out for Hayley supporting out on the course with our giant Goodgym flag!

A big welcome to Nick(https://www.goodgym.org/runners/nick-ridler) and Richard(https://www.goodgym.org/runners/richard-fryatt) making their Goodgym debut this evening!

Our original task of outdoor painting was cancelled due to the rain and replaced with a check up of a small section of the National Cycle Network route 51, which runs through Ipswich and out towards Stowmarket and Bury St Edmunds on behalf of SUSTRANS.

Kerry and Robin led the way on the run out as I had to transport the litter picking kit to our start point, arriving just in time to meet the team and distribute equipment - with the new "hoops" supplied by Ipswich Borough Council being a big hit...... for hula hooping as wells as holding bags!

As well as keeping the cycle path clear of debris we cleaned up a few cycle path signs and cut back a small amout of foilage to keep signs clear and easy to spot.

With the check complete we combined the bags to be collected in the morning and set up for a pairs interval session using the cycle path. New boy Nick made lots of new friends suggesting 4 circuits was a good number to do!

There was lots great effort and heavy breathing in between muttered swearing before a comprimise of 3 circuits was negotiated!.

A steady run back to base for the first time in darkness empahsised summer is ending as well as the team photo picking out Daniela's reflective jacket looking like a spectacular, glowing waist coat!

Next week we head to Brickmakers Wood and celebrate Goodgym's national 10th Anniversary and plan (another) trip to the pub post task! All the details are Here #GG10

** Big Congratulations Lizzie on hitting 50 good deeds done on this task**

Welcome to Ian and Pratyush who made their Goodgym debut on last night's Group Run - We hope you enjoyed the evening and we'll see you again soon.

It was hot, hot, hot in Ipswich as we set off for a run around the massively popular Elmers Big Parade to clean the elephant sculptures and check for any damage on behalf of St. Elizabeth Hospice.

This was our third time doing this task but with over 50 elephants to check we know we won't cover the whole trail in one go, so we headed off in the opposite direction to last time along the Waterfront then through the town centre and into Christchurch Park before turning back towards town and back along the Waterfront - around 4 miles in total!

A quick warm up (not really needed) game of tag with the black shirts being "it" got hearts beating and temperatures raised - with Lizzie earning her 50 shirt we will soon have more black shirts than red on the Group Runs.

Armed with cleaning materials we sprayed, washed, wiped and polished each elephant while also incorporating various challenges at each sculpture. - Squats, hill intervals, lunges, steps to name a few.

The very warm evening sapped strength and lots of water was needed not only to clean the elephants but also to keep runners hydrated!

The group was back marked by Steve and Daniela with Keith in charge of photography and promising some "moving" pictures - can't wait to see the emotional pics!

With around 30 elephants visited and left sparkling, it was a great night's work.

Next week we return to Castle Hill Community Centre to complete a painting job we started a few weeks ago - you can find all the info and sign up HERE