Goodgym Brighton’s Tuesday evening run (jog, walk, crawl) to Cardinal Newman Catholic School in Hove took in, in my opinion 80% of Brighton’s steepest hills, I really did crawl at some points !

In tonight’s news…… Well done to Helena on your shiny Silver medal (for the Sussex 2019/20 Cross Country League) and also to Katharine for running further than she's ever run before. And ideas for next weeks social are most welcome (in the Whatsapp group).

Armed with feather dusters microfibre cloths in assorted colours and enough spray cleaner to rid Europe of the corona virus we set about our task of buffing the hell out of the staircases. Noticing a sign on the stairs saying UP ONLY, I could only imagine the pile up at A&E as uninitiated year 7’s figured out inventive ways of getting back downstairs.

As we chanted our mantra ‘cleanliness is next to godliness’ handrails were spruced , strings were polished, stanchions scrubbed, balustrades buffed and newel’s rendered spotless. We were so devoted to our task that many of us missed an impromptu acoustic gig taking place in the music room…….

Task completed we retired to the field to complete our exercises, good+gym =

And just a reminder that we are having a Goodgym volunteering takeover at Junior parkrun this Sunday. Sign up here.

It never rains in Brighton it….no it really never rains, at least not on a Tuesday evening. The forecast for tonight was dreadful, I was sure none of you would turn up despite the offer of soup, but as it turned out the promised deluge turned out to be a fine mist and with an indoor task we managed to stay pretty dry. Shout outs tonight went to Rosemary and David (and me!) for taking on the Mince Pie 10 on Sunday, well done us!

A slightly different format to proceedings tonight as we did the blustery run into the wind along the seafront, including hill sprints up the slopes and fast feet up the steps, followed by the fitness session before the task. Using the shelter of the i-360 we partnered up with one running whilst the other dipped, stepped and squatted and practiced some wall angels which are great for shoulder mobility and posture.

The wonderful Jo welcomed us into the warmth of the wonderful community kitchen and we set about our cleaning tasks for the evening. Ovens got cleaned, windows got washed and cupboards got wiped, 12 people working hard for just 15 minutes equals 3 hours of work and to show their appreciation of our efforts over the year Jo and the team at the Community Kitchen had prepared us some delicious carrot soup along with crusty bread and various nibbles, which we enjoyed immensely along with some wine and beer.

As Jo explained the paid cookery courses at the Kitchen fund the work they do with other communities including people with dementia and the less well off. So if you would like to spend a great evening learning how to prepare delicious food from around the world then the code GOODGYM618 will get you 20% discount. The courses make great gifts as well, what with Christmas just round the corner and all.

Don't forget its our parkrun meet up at Hove Park this Saturday, followed by a community mission, then our last task of the year next week, and the Christmas Social on Thursday.

A busy week!

Although it was a Saturday morning and not a Tuesday evening, it was business as usual as 11 keen runners, some fresh from parkrun, continued the getting fit by doing good by assisisting Sussex Homeless Support with cleaning their bus that provide shelter for homeless people.

We cleared, wiped, scrubbed, mopped, emptied bins, helped to fit new windows, admired a cute dog with a large tongue and left the bus clean and ready for the people, who in the absence of their own home, make this their temporary one.

This was Brighton's first Community Mission, where we meet at a task, normally something organised by an organisation outside of Goodgym, and help them as a one off. The format is a lot looser than the normal Tuesday group run, you make your own way there and back and there is alas no fitness session!

If you have any ideas for community missions then let me or any of our Task Force members know or why not become Task Force yourself and then you can host your own!

On a damp and chilly November evening,with the wind rustling our hair, for those of us who have it, and the streets full of election fever, 18 of us sped out into the inky black night to put right the wrongs of the world and show Boris and Harrods that community spirit doesn't cost a dime....oooerr..getting a bit political. Sorry!

No newbies tonight but a full compliment of the usual suspects all ready to give it their best. We arrived in the Hanover ward where Councillor David Gibson was waiting to meet us. We split into groups, with a group of 8 heading up Elm Grove towards the Pankhurst estate while the other 10 stayed behind at the alms houses.

Planting bulbs was the order of the day at Pankhurst to hopefully beautify a rather nondescript patch of grass that straddles a fork in the road. Some inventive creation took place including a heart shaped area dug out by those present. This writer wished his bulbs good luck over the winter and hoped to see them in the spring. Prince Charles eat your heart out!

Those who stayed at the alms houses cleared excess vegetation and litter picked but were sadly met by an excess of needles which suffice to say rendered the task more hazardous.

Task done,on to the Level to run laps followed by a short burst of tabitas when this writer thought it would be a good idea to climb up on a table and perform. Not one of his finer moments!

We then congregated at The Eagle for our monthly social where politics, jazz and embarrassing speeches were discussed..at my end of the table anyway. Another wonderful night in the pantheon of Goodgym nights.

It was back to school tonight as we visited Cardinal Newman High School, one of the biggest in Brighton, to help them keep on top of keeping the vast school grounds tidy.

We welcomed Andy tonight, whom many of us have met before when he offered his considerable gardening expertise when we replanted the garden at Sloane Court, but this was the first time he had the full Brighton Goodgym experience. We are very happy to have you (and your ability to tell the difference between a plant and a weed!) on board. In the absence of any PBs or racing news I might have accidentally let slip that I got my pic in Athletics Weekly this week, its really not a big deal but page 55 if you happen to have a spare 5 minutes in WH Smiths!

A mostly uphill 3km to get to our destination where we split into two groups. One group tackled sweeping up dead leaves and weeds from outside the school gate and also cut back some overhanging ivy from the front wall. Group two headed to a quadrant at the back of the school where we swept up loads of dead leaves and moss from the brick patio as well as loads of litter. Working in the dark it wasn't possible to get some good before and after photos but we scraped several bags of moss and leaves and left both areas looking considerably better than before.

As you'd already worked so hard on the run and the task we kept the fitness session fairly sedate working on balance and stability with some lunges, plank taps and a bit of Warrior III pose. These are all great moves for runners and easy to practice at home or even in the office. Go on...do some now!!

It was much easier to get back to base running by a different but mostly downhill route. A quick stretch and another week of getting fit by doing good done! See you next week for a new destination at the Brighton Table Tennis Club and it will be monthly social time after.

So we’ve taken a collaborative approach to run report writing this week. We went to the pub after the run, drank some alcohol and took turns to write the following unedited run report, the work of Rosie, Roy, Dennis & Katherine. The only thing I (Tara) have to add is welcome to Emma, joining us for the first time and actually I’ll be eligible in 1925!!....

There was a distinctly autumnal nip in the air last night when we visited Tony (and his double entendres) at Sloane Court - the nicest seniors’ home in Brighton. (So nice that some of us have asked to put our names down for some time in the 2030’s (Tara) or 2040’s (everyone else)).

Following Tara’s obligatory - and fascinating - health and safety announcements, we discovered the old adage “no news is good news” is not always true, as none of us had anything to share except the unfortunate and literally breaking news that Michael has broken a metatarsal, in his attempts to make the Southampton squad for next week’s game against Liverpool.

On to tonight’s task: barrow-fulls of weeds were cleared under the watchful eye of Andy, an expert gardener who kindly gave up his time to tell us weed from plant.

Dennis confessed a new fondness for slugs and snails since becoming a good gymer, but is still acquiring the skill of determining plants from weeds - you’re not alone there Dennis.

Tara then had us entertaining the residents who peered from their windows as we completed an “I went to the supermarket and bought...” style fitness session with crunches, mountain climbing, burpees etc - like that game you play on a wet family holiday, except with joint and muscle aches.

But no matter, because we had pain-relieving beers and 2 for 1 cocktails to look forward to at our monthly social, along with Jay’s far-fetched Worthing GoodGym stories, where health and safety and general admin are foolishly overlooked and replaced by fitness sessions - no thanks!