15 AMAZING runners came for the first group run of the year in Exeter, ran 5 k and delivered 710 leaflets for Ride On! A very warm welcome to Sarah and Alistair who joined us for the first time. We loved having you with us and hope you come back for more running and doing good soon!

It was so lovely to all meet up again after our Christmas break! Everyone seemed full of energy and there were smiles and cheers all around, no January blues in our group at all! We started our session with sharing some big news about the GoodGym in Exeter, including giving those who volunteered for Exeter Park Run last Saturday as a Community Mission a big cheer! Great work guys! We also had the great pleasure of having the task owner Will with us at our starting point. He told us a bit about the great work that Ride On does, working to make Exeter healthier and greener through promoting cycling, recycling bikes and offering bike courses.

We then carried out a dynamic warm up session outside the Phoenix, getting our bodies ready to run, and then, off we went. It felt great to stretch out running and we moved in good speed towards our task location. We re-grouped at regular intervals and made the most of these little stops by giving our legs some extra work with squats, lunges and some agility exercises. Sarah, Lisa and Anna back marked so that no-one got left behind, thank you so much!

When we reached St Leonards we divided into two smaller groups so that we could get as many leaflets as possible delivered. Everyone got stuck right in and everywhere you looked you could see runners in GoodGym tops with head torches jogging along the streets delivering. Fantastic!

We totally smashed it, in 40 minutes we managed to deliver 710 leaflets and covered all the streets on our map! That's a new record number for leafleting for us! What a great start to the year!

On the return run we stopped in Princess Hay to do a core session, just what we all want after Christmas! We did ten different exercises for 30 seconds each and although I had promised to not do any music this evening I just had to sing a little bit for you when you did your head, shoulders, knees and toes-plank! I hope it didn't put you off too much..

Super work at the core session all of you! Keeping the core strong is so important to your running, it keeps you well balanced and ensures that you maintain good running posture even when you are tired at the end of your runs.

Back at the Phoenix we carried out some stretches and talked about up-coming runs and events (see below). We also had a very exciting time doing a lucky dip with some amazing prices that Will from Ride On had given us. Thank you so much Will and congratulations to Vicky who won a bike maintenance course with Ride On. What a treat! Some of us then gathered in the Phoenix for some refreshments. After running up and down so many streets some special treats were well in order and we had a little tasting session of Swedish sweets. I think it is safe to say that most of you preferred the cinnemon buns over the salt liquorice. Loved the faces made though when you tasted it he he he!

Wow guys, just got to finish of with saying how great it was to see you all again! Fantastic work running, delivering leaflets, doing that core session, even better to hear all the laughing and joking going on. Already looking forward to next week!

Dates for the diary:

Next week we will run to St Davids church and start a three week project redecorating a room that is used for various charity work. We will have two different run speed groups so this is a perfect session for all abilities. Please sign up here to come along.

On Sunday 19th January we will do an extra group run, heading to Powderham Crescent Resident Association there with some garden tasks. Come along and join the fun! Tell all your friends about it too! Sign up here

On Saturday 25th we will go to Killerton Park Run together for a little training run, coffee and cake. Would love to have you along! Sign up here.

14 amazing #GGwinterwarriors came out on Dartmoor and ran 22 k, climbed the highest tor in South West England and got blown away both by the stunning views and the gale force winds! We had sunshine, rain, hail, thunder and lightening and THE BEST TIME EVER!

We all met at 9.15 in Okehampton, a bit nervous and super excited about the adventure ahead off us! After a quick safety talk we set off towards the moors. The first few miles followed a stunning river in woodland and we had to focus a lot on our footwork as the ground was very rocky and slippery. Once we reached the moors the running felt easier and we made our way up to Belstone Tor where we realised that the metoffice probably had been right in issuing a yellow weather warning for wind... we nearly flew away when we reached the top!

Nothing could stop us from continuing though! Up and down the stunning Dartmoor landscape we went, stopping often to take in the views and to refuel. We soon made a steep climb up to Yes Tor where Sam fed us all on the most delicious brownies ever! Thank you! From there we made it over to the highest tor in South West England, High Willhays, where we all added rocks to its already impressive height to increase it.

From there we started our decent down to the valley, thinking the run would get a bit easier... that's when the thunder and lightening storm blew in and the HAIL started! It was so bad at one point we had to crouch down on the ground and huddle up with our backs towards the wind to protect ourselves. Once the worst was over we set off again.. and now we had a new adventure starting.. getting our feet stuck in the boggy mud! I think pretty much everyone of us had our legs down in deep mud up to our knees or more at least once! But we made it, and we made it in high spirits and with fantastic attitude! Back in Okehampton a recovery dip in the river followed by a pub visit was in order, best finish ever to a great day out!

It was a true adventure; 22 amazingly beautiful km covered, in the best company ever! You guys are totally amazing! TRUE #GGwinterwarriors for sure! A very special thank to Samuel for guiding us, keeping us safe and for the homemade medals at the finish. Huge thank you also to Jimmy for back marking, making sure we all made it back. Lawrence, I am so happy you came along, I know you don't like running in the rain! Arabella, I hope this helped you overcome your fear of hail! Nic, I am sure you managed to take in the view! To all of you, THANK YOU for an amazing day! I can't wait for next time!

61 runners turned up to the very exciting GoodGym launch in Exeter! We ran 3.5 k to help the Newtown Community Association get their new community building in Belmont park ready for opening in September.

WOW! We had an incredible turn out for our launch run in Exeter! 61 is the highest number of runners ever to come along to a GoodGym launch. Absolutely amazing to see! Most of the runners who came along were totally new to the GoodGym, but we also had some experienced GoodGym runners joining us from Bristol. Great to meet you all!

We started at the Exeter Phoenix Art Centre. This will be our starting point every week which is great as it has toilets, a safe place for us to lock our bags and also a lovely cafe-bar for refreshments and chats for anyone who fancies that before or after our runs.

From the Phoenix we jogged over to the Rougemont Gardens where we were joined by the Deputy Lord Mayor of Exeter, Councillor Mrs Yolonda Henson and Mathew Bryne, the CEO of the Westbank (who we work in partnership with and is funding the GoodGym in our area) who gave some lovely speeches.

We then carried out some dynamic warm-up exercises, getting our bodies ready before we headed over to Belmont Park. During the run we re-grouped at regular intervals, so that we didn’t get too spread out and we managed some press-ups, wall squats and high knees as well on the way. Thank you to Helen Stevens and Ed Field who back marked so that no one got left behind and a big thank you to Dave Guest who led the walking group.

At the task we were welcomed by Rory McNeile, the chair of the Newtown Community Association, who showed us what to do and explained that the community building will be an important place for educational and social events and that it will have a very positive impact on the lives of local residents. The community building will be opening on Saturday the 21st of September, 11 am-3 pm, with fun activities for all age groups and everyone is welcome to join!

We then got stuck in and worked hard for 45 minutes, focusing on the following tasks:

• Shoveling soil onto a trailer and transporting it to the preschool nearby
• Picking up rocks from the ground
• Digging out flower beds
• Raking up grass
• Sweeping the ground
• Cleaning the floors inside the building
• Clearing out gutters

These tasks gave us a full body work-out and it was amazing to see how much we got done!

45 minutes of GoodGym runners getting stuck in made such a difference. Fantastic work everyone!

On our return run we stopped at the Cathedral green where we all enjoyed (I hope!) a fitness session involving 5 types of squats and 4 types of planks. All these exercises strengthen muscle groups that are important to running and by keeping these strong we both improve performance and reduce risk of injury. Hot, sweaty and happy we then returned to the Phoenix where we carried out some stretches. We also took some great photos!

After the group run some runners stayed around for refreshments and chats in the Phoenix which was lovely. Some runners also got their documents checked so that they can start doing coach runs (regularly running to see an isolated elderly person), or so that they can take part in mission runs (running to help isolated elderly people with one-off practical tasks). Fantastic to see that runners are getting involved with the GoodGym in Exeter in this way already and thank you Dom Tooze for helping out with the document checks.

It will be brilliant to see you all again next week when we will run to help the Sylvania Environment and Community project with some gardening tasks along a footpath in the Sylvania Estate. The outward run will take us up a rather steep hill but don’t worry, we will stop to catch our breaths and regroup at regular intervals! Also, what goes up must come down so the return run will be a lot easier! Sign up here to come along.

To finish of with a big shout out to everyone who took part in the launch of the GoodGym in Exeter is very much in order! You all really showed Exeter how to get fit by doing good! It was fantastic to see how everyone chatted to each other and got along during the whole evening as well. Such great GoodGym vibes!

See you next week and happy running until then!