Thank you for our Goodgymers today for helping us volunteer today! Without our volunteers the event would not be able to go ahead.

Our theme was supporting England in tonights match, We are coming home.....

Another lockdown another challenge! With the tasks for this month being postponed, we wanted to keep the momentum of ‘feeling good’ going, so we had two fitness challenges for our members to get involved in. One was a daily, 28 day long fitness session and the other was….our 12 hour challenge, with a ‘ruler’ theme.

Rules and Regulations

Now we are not a team who flaunt the rules, in fact, I even made Harsha check that we would not be trespassing in certain areas before I agreed to her crazy route!

We know we can only be in two’s, we know that we need to keep a good distance – the general rule of measure is 2 meters. We know that running/fitness takes us to our Happy Place

So with a 12 hour challenge from 6am till 5pm and an hour slot of your choice – the plan had been formulated and 24 Goodgymers were keen to go the distance!

She Rocks…I Rule (06:00)

First up on the ungodly hour of 6am were Harsha and I. This seemed like such a great idea until 5:15am on Sunday when the alarm went off! The last time either of us were up at this time was for a race (remember them?)..

Boy was it dark in Iver this morning! We started on Wood Lane which literally had no street lighting and headed towards Langley Park and then into Black Park.

Such an eerie awesome experience! One we definitely want to do again.

Our National Measure (07:00)

So Sutyee had requested the 7am slot around 2 weeks ago. Keen and eager to get a nice run in around Black Park. But our national measure had forgotten to check hubby’s work schedule and can you believe it..he was on an early shift!

So Sut did 30 mins off indoor exercise and 30 mins of exercise in her front garden!

She was joined in the 7am slot by our good neighbour Sara from GG Windsor and Maidenhead who did her slot around Wargrave in Maidenhead.

Ricky has an inch or two on Nit (08:00)

Over to the likely lads now with Ricky and Nital taking on the 8am slot.

Just to ensure good measure, Ricky had an extra extra long ruler which ensured they kept the to minimum 2 meter distance! And not only did these guys run for an hour, they actually completed a half marathon distance by running for just over 2 hours! Nit’s longest distance ever! Well done guys

I draw the line at… (09:00)

Out at 9 were Nisha and Brendar. Even though Nisha is part of two run groups, she actually draws the line at running….and did a long walk along the Long Walk in Windsor with Brendar.

Anna on the other hand, ran her hour and managed a super ruler video clip too.

Bend the Rules (10:00)

In Slough we do bend the rules every now and then! So when Keira and Chrissy asked if they could go out on Saturday instead at 10am, I wasn’t going to say no to two teachers! I know the rules!

Another rule breaker Ciaran asked if he could do his over various days (actually he didn’t…I volunteered him to do it over a few days due to his ankle injury…the things I do for you (bruv!)

Also getting fit at 10 were Gauri and Roisin with Devina . Well done to Team 10. Clearly a popular time of day.

That’s the spirit (11:00)

Emily, our original ruler, who now lives in Ealing did her 1 hour stint there. Not having a ruler in the flat, Emily improvised with a spirit level (you don’t have a ruler but you have a spirit level?)…you rule Emily.

Generuley (12:00)

Kam was up next with a lunch time eggstrava gansa… Kam can knock a good distance in an hour generally so we had high expectations today.

Cant measure up to…(13:00)

It was now Pam's turn and given Pam’s daily activities on Strava, we really cant measure up to her. She can out walk us all.

The lengths we go to…(14:00)

Jen was getting her hour in whilst doing her walk to Sainsbury – Living well for less is always a great mission to have, so tying in two activities in one is a foot in the right direction.

Inching their way forward (15:00)

So close now! Jess and Naomi had this slot, each one covering a certain distance in their respective areas. They still had the light on their side in the Evening Golden Hour.

Can’t measure up to you (16:00)

Our penultimate pair were Sandy and Ruth. They were going down memory lane and hit Salt Hill Park for their hour of run fun and chat. They officially fell into Evening Civil Twilight!

And the ruler of the day is…(17:00)

Sara

Sara did an 8 hour shift at work, before finishing off our 12 hours of fun with the 5pm slot! Well done Sara.

And that’s a wrap! Thank you so much to everyone who got involved in this challenge and a special thank you for all our themed ‘ruler’ photos and videos… You guys really do RULE!

Watch this space for a December Santa Dash!

Signing off The Supreme Ruler Manjit

Super Sunday

Sunday is a day of rest but not for Goodgym Slough with 21 runners taking on our 100km team challenge to celebrate Pride and our 2nd Birthday. With the success of our Slough Half Marathon Relay we wanted to get out as a team, follow the social distancing measures and arrange something for all abilities. Manjit mentioned the idea of a team challenge with distances from 2.5Km, 5km and 10km and everyone put up their virtual hand. We understand the importance of exercise for physical and mental health and taking part as a community is at the heart and soul of Goodgym Slough. So in true Goodgym Slough and Pride style we got our colours on and celebrated the rainbow.

Stride with Pride

The rainbow colors reflect both the immense diversity and the unity of the LGBTQ community. With pride events cancelled due to Covid 19 we wanted to show our support and celebrate. And the team didn’t let us down with rainbow socks from Sut and Nisha and rainbow sweatbands from Rosin and Keira. And ohhh the tutut’s well done Sut, Milly, Ruth, Manjit for bringing some cheers. However I have to mention my favourite outfits were Sara rainbow wig (it really did suit her), Suts rainbow bowtie, Sandy’s amazing cloud and rainbow leggings and her spinning hat and the wonderful Jean who outdid us all and had sown homemade bunting to the bottom of her Goodgym t-shirt.

He's coming home, he's coming, Ricky's coming home

Manjit and myself got to Upton Court Park bright and early to set up the event and got a few kms in to get the ball rolling. Ricky joined us and was encouraged to add some rainbow face painting to his completely black outfit. Ricky has been training for London Marathon and is unsure if the event will go ahead. However he has been doing longer runs in the weekend so wanted get in 21km’s and help towards our 100km goal.

Do we relay have to do a warm up?

We split out the runners into groups based on distance and to ensure we had enough space and kept socially distanced from each other. Everyone was given a briefing and before we started Manjit had a warm up for us. We thought it would be a bit of a light stretch however she had something else in mind and set us off in 3 teams with a relay including, heel kicks, side steps and sprints….. we are a competitive bunch and everyone went out in full force…. It was great cheering each other on and getting our hearts pumping.

We had a running plan

Ricky took out the first team with Ciaran, Jenni, Pete and Nit running 10km so off they go! Meera and Nisha also set off for one lap of the park. All our other runners were keen to complete 5km so they were put into 2 teams with Sut’s team running clockwise and my team running anti-clockwise. This ensured there was sufficient social distancing and runners could cheer each other on as they passed them. It was great to see the community together and a lot of our runners actually said they did more km’s than they would have if they had been on a solo run.

S'miles all round

The atmosphere was electric and the air was filled with positive vibes. Some members have found it difficult to stay motivated during lockdown with races and events cancelled and having the community behind you keeps you going with our team target of 100km everyone kept pushing on. We totalled a 128.5km’s and everyone did really well, it was great to be part of something together and what a great birthday celebration.

Somewhere over the rainbow Goodgym fly, they fly over the rainbow... Why then oh why can't I.

You can! Come and join us... Sign up with Goodgym Slough

Why the Dickens would you want to restage the 2018 Slough Half Marathon?

‘It was the best of times, it was the worst of times’

The 2018 Slough Half Marathon had a buzz about it like no other race I had ever done. Not only because it was the first Half Marathon (even race!) for a lot of the runners of our local running community but it was also the first time it was being staged after an 18 year gap!

Goodgym Slough was relatively ‘new’ but we still flooded the race with the #redarmy tee's. This was one of the only races I have done where ‘Everyone knows your name’…. It was so joyful to see so many familiar faces and to receive so many ‘Good Luck's ...…Cheers for that.

Did I mention the weather that day? Let’s save that till later

So, an epic race returning after an 18 year gap, supremely well organised, the happiest marshals I’d ever seen….so why wouldn’t we say:-

‘Please Sir, can I have some more?’

Sadly there was no more…but to of had the chance to ‘run our town’ was epic…so when sitting at my laptop one evening trying to think of another inventive training session for the team to do…I thought…let’s do a little Twist and give the team some Great Expectations! And re-live the Slough Half Mile by Mile.

(Why are Mr Dickens quotes being used you may ask?....Did you know he lived in Slough for a part of his life!)

Me, Myself and I

So the aim of this training session was to try and russle up 13 team members to run a mile of the Slough Half route at any time that suited them during the course of a weekend. I was conscious that I may not even get 13 runners interested so was ready to run a few extra miles myself.

I shouldn’t have doubted the team though…within minutes of posting the link in the what’s app group, Harsha was signed up as was Nisha, Ricky, Emily, Jenni, Pam, Naomi, Jen, Chrissy, Keira, Sara, Jenny! By 18:40 all miles had nearly been filled! And as always bright star Harsha suggested we try and do our miles on the same day…an idea I loved…..

Super Sunday

So, here we are on Sunday 7th June re-running the Slough Half Marathon (relay) in a pandemic under strict social distance rules (never thought these words would be used in one sentence!).

The allocation of miles was easy….everyone chose a mile near where they lived…some miles had more than one runner, but that was ok…12 weeks into a pandemic, we had all adapted our running styles and adopted new ones such as:

• The pavement edge run

• The cross over and cross back run

• The stop and let pass run

(These new running styles may even take off)

Fully briefed on mile number, runner before and runner afterwards, an estimated start time – we were on your marks set go

Your pace or mine?

Off went Ricky (running the whole half!), followed by Sandy and I.

Sandy and I both did this race in 2018 (Sandy was well equipped that day with an umbrella hat!)…but Ricky missed out…so he was on his own mission to see the sights of Slough.

We started the run in Salt hill park (one of Slough’s first outdoor spaces!)…each one of us just running our own pace to the next mile…which was up on Wellington Street to meet Pam..

Kelly’s Eye – 1 is Done

So, off went Pam up the Langley Rd (past her house!) for mile 1 to 2…Pam marshalled at the actual race in 2018…she was the first marshal we all recognised and got more cheers from us than she probably expected.

Me and you – Passed number 2

At mile 3 handover was Queen Quizzy Chrissy and Gail … Gail was also one of the fabulous marshals back in 2018…and Chrissy was running her first Half Marathon that day having trained so hard…

Cup of Tea – There goes 3

Naomi was on her virgin Slough half mile up into Langley High Street…Her mile was taking her up to Toby, but not for a carvery, but a quick selfie with Nisha and Kam

Knock at the door – That was 4

So off went Nisha and Kam to do number 4 to 5…a trip past Nisha’s house but no popping in for a baby’s nappy change or jaffa cakes this time…Nisha’s first race was the Slough Half..one she will never forget..Kam is our vetern runner…been there done that.

That was number 5 - it was Alive!

Doubling up for number 6 were Sara and Meera… Upton Court Rd…a runners paradise with our local parkrunners…plenty of space to social distance and run along here…nice to see to see you nice! Sara will remember this route well from 2018...It's where she put on the tunes and got into her zone and told me to just GO! Meera was cheerleading us that day…in the comfort of her house..

They had their Tom Mix with number 6

It was over to Rosa and I to get through Chalvey with mile seven…my final mile as I reached the end of my run today…but with Rosa and her long stride and speed, I let her go…let her go.. up to Ricky…(anyone seen Ricky? He started so he must finish…). Rosa also ran this in 2018…soaked yet smiling as always.

Thank heaven for Lucky 7

Ricky was already off on this miles, knocking them down one by one…

Shut the garden gate – he’s just completed 8

Over to Ciaran and Keira for mile 9….a trip into Manor Park and the Britwell borders…in 2018 these guys were our support team, our huggy bears....as we finished soaked and sodden, they still gave us a cuddle…

Take a line with number 9

But where is Jen whose running number 10…oh yes, I recall, she’s still in her den (running the route later on)…so over to Ricky to get that leg done..take on a gel now Ricky...

Into the lion's den...with Ricky and Jen

Running to Jenny for number 11. An injury preventing a full on sprint so a nice two wheeler version instead.

Give us a whistle for legs 11

And we are nearly home…only Harsha and Sut to go (plus Ricky)…Having run a dozen races, mile 12 was a cracking leg for our little egg. No hassle for our Hero Harsha..

Twelve with a kettlbell!

Onto the Farham Rd, on a bridge for the start for number 13...unlucky for some but not for our Super Sutyee…with just over a mile to complete into the finish line at Salt hill park…this was a breeze for our lemon squeeze..still wearing her lemon Tee, race number and medal from twenty eighteen!

As quick as a bean for number 13

WE DID IT!

What a wonderful morning….a few glimpse of our running pals…a nice leg stretcher run for everyone (and an epic sprint for Sara and Meera!)…and a creative way of showing our completed miles…(check out the photo's and you'll know what I mean)..

Well done to each and every one of you…

….but wait there’s more!

That Ealing Feeling

Remember I said that Emily and Jenni also signed up…they are part of the original Slough team but live in Ealing...so they were set a slightly different challenge.

Find a street any street as long as it spelt out : -

SLOUGH HALF MARATHON!

Well done ladies on your hunting..

Well that’s all folks!

And we didn’t even discuss the weather! Best nothing more is said about that. I think we are just grateful we didn’t start this run with trainers and socks soaked through! What a beautiful sunny day...for today's run..

Enjoy the selection of photos…suffice to say…those with us in close proximity to each other are from the actual Race back in 2018.....a few memories to share

Hosted by Quizzy (credit to Jen for the pun) and Pete

Shed, Swamp or Soil?

Pens and paper were ready from the get go for Round 1. But what does Slough mean? To shed, a swamp or ye olde word for soil. All of the above! You could Bet(jeman) the quizzers were able to answer these questions, with their sound knowledge of Slough. But where are those ‘twinned with’ signs? The next GoodGym task maybe?!

Every Step You Take..(per minute = cadence)

It was quick off the blocks and the quizzers were in a League of their Own as they all (Eli)ud a go at the answers for Round Two. This round focussed on GoodGym and running facts and figures. From Moab Red Hot in USA to Windsor Castle, the quizzers looked puzzled. Was it 28/29 on that day in July?.....

Bootscootin’ Baby was driving us Crazy..

Pete was Never Gonna Give You Up…It was a count-up (1,2,3,4) 5,6,7,8 for these Simple Minds to have a go at this Music and TV round. We all had a singalong to complete a lot of Trivia (Newton John) questions as well as some classic TV buff-stuff. Sadly, no Quiztina Aguilera songs though…

Reading or Reading?

Notably the Quizmasters favourite round as most of his pursuits are trivial….A British town linked to reading and digging through to Spain. But who knew that a Zeedonk, Silly, Billy and a Pratt would pop up. However, there weren’t any idiots in this round. Just a few Mountain Chickens….

And finally, a bonus round, to win or lose! The universally challenged Goodgymers presented their random items (a cuddly, furry, cute teddybear and a couple of elephants) and totted up their Scrabble scores. It was Festivus for the rest of us, as Quiz Queen Jen was punstobbable in regaining her winning crown – Well done Jen!

Here’s to another quiz in two weeks, when it’s the turn of second place finisher, Meera, to host!

Last night saw the third lockdown quiz for Goodgym Slough

12 of us joined (including partners) this week- thanks to everyone that got involved

We have been keeping in touch regularly via our whatsapp group and 2 weekly quiz'

This week Keira and Ciaran led the quiz. It was much ,ore technical than Milly's and we have the pleasure of a powerpoint!!

rounds included: Music General Knowledge Running and Good Gym

it was a fierce competition and I loved the questions

the winner was, our top quizzer Jen, who smashes it every week! well done Jen!!

there was some deliberation around Manjits score, its still out as to whether she was second (i believe you Manjit)

followed by Darren in third!

thank you for joining us and we will be back for Episode 4 in two weeks time, led by our winner Jen :)

Stay safe and see you soon XXX

Last night 13 of us got together via the magic of the internet for the 3rd edition of the Slough lockdown quiz!

This time, Milly took the reigns from Manjit for her first quiz experience.

After four rounds (Sport, Music, General Knowledge and the almighty Good Gym) it was time for the scores.

Jenny was smashing the answers so we thought she was going to be having a winning streak (props for your effort in the good gym round! You've been revising!)

After a few checks and additions Ciaran and Keira came out on top as our winners! Well done guys!

thank you to everyone that joined us.

we will be back in two weeks, were handing the baton to Keira for the 3rd Lockdown Quiz!

See you there

Have a lovely Easter weekend, Stay Safe, and we cant wait to see you in person very soon

XXX

Who needs a ly in on a Sunday morning anyway?

Well done to our super team of marshals who braved that wintery rainy storm that lasted all through set up and the briefings and then just as the children arrived...the warm winter sun made an appearance.

We had Ciaran and new Kid Alison using the most important part of their anatomy (their thumbs) to record the ever important times....

Sara and Pam did a quick scan of the course and made sure every junior was zapped.

Our red army of volun-cheers were Jenni Harsha Nisha Ricky Sandy Keira Emily Darren Kam Meera Brendar James and Chris ...well done for keeping the juniors motivated

Our pimped out 50 star Sutyee was on tail walker duty

Whilst Jagdeep...the only man for this job was on photo duty...he really should take photography up professionally

And lucky old me had the Pun Director role today ...

(Now this lady..is a dear friend of mine and our daughters write little love letters to each other all the time...so in keeping with this trend...here is my poem to our one and only SutYee

Love you long time

To our wonderful friend Sutyee

You are such a cutey

Always here to do your run leader duty

You are a real beauty

GG are very lucky

To have you on our teamy

You are always happy

To dig in and do any tasky

So from all of us-y

Congratulations on your fifty

(I wont give up the day job!)