0 Month Streak
Tue 12th Apr 2016 at 6:25pm
We had the most magnificent run yesterday. No less than 43 people and 1 Radio 1 reporter met up at Vivo Gym to run over to Windmill Hill City Farm. Last week we had 40 people. Last night, 43. What next? How many more people can we get running?
It was a beautiful evening for a run, warm and dry, and we headed off in good time despite the mass of runners - having 2 sign in sheets really helped, plus Kim was on sign up wrangling duty so we set off on time to get to the farm. One hill and a bit of flat later, and we were there, with Jim from Radio 1 Newsbeat in tow - I was mightily impressed by his ability to run and interview people at the same time, serious fitness/journalism skills!
Once at the farm, it took a few moments to get the task in motion, so we all enjoyed some lunges and squats (isometric squats, if you fancy a long word to describe your squats!). I'm sure everyone was gutted when the tools turned up and everyone dived in to grab the sharpest loppers. Our task was to trim trees and hedges at the edge of the farm, as well as doing a massive litter pick - Kim grabbed some of the runners to pop over to a near by community patchwork garden to give it a little spring clean, given there were runners all over the place and we could spare a few.
As we chopped, lopped, barrowed and litter picked, Jim went around the gang, speaking to people about GoodGym - thank you so much to everyone who spoke with him (and no worries if you hid from him, we had loads of people who could chat!). Also we have been thanked by the members of the church group who meet opposite the hedge - a lady from the church came and asked me who we were, what we were doing and why, and she was ever so pleased to see the area cleaned up, plus a chap driving by asked if we needed anymore volunteers, and I could very honestly say 'thanks but no thanks!'.
With 43 people, I felt it was safe to let some of the gang have a quick look at the spring lambs that were the current attraction on the farm, but it was still a job to round everyone up for the group photo at the end.
Chris B led a faster group of runners off to do a couple of laps of Queens Square, whereas I led the regular group to do just the one (and provide cheering for the sprint at the end), then we finished in our usual corner of the square with a good stretch and an endless series of announcements, plus a strong rendition of 'Happy Birthday' for Chris L. Good luck wishes were given to all those heading off to Budapest at the weekend to join in with the massive GoodGym running team over there - although it seems that in Bristol we're a big running team anyway.
If you're a regular runner with GoodGym, then you may be sick of reading me write this: THANK YOU! If you're new, WELCOME and THANK YOU - I really am at a loss for words to describe how amazing I think you all are for coming along. Whilst I'm so proud we've had 43 runners, it's not about quantity of people, it's about quality, and you are all made of pure diamond.
Tuesday 22nd March 2016
Denzil has done their first good deed with GoodGym.
Denzil is a now a fully fledged GoodGym runner. They've just run to do good for the first time. They are out there making amazing things happen and getting fit at the same time.
Tue 22nd Mar 2016 at 6:25pm
Our run was small but perfectly formed tonight. We met up as usual at Vivo Sports Club, 26 strong in number, including newbies Chloe, Denzel and Hoodi (yes, really). Big welcome guys!
We only ran 1km but almost all of it was up, up and more up. Fraser, who is both part of GoodGym and the Friends of Brandon Hill was our task master for the night; we were given the mission to strip a lot of ivy from the walls at the bottom of the park.
There was such a lot, but we made short work of it of ivy and worked our way up the side of the park too, where a massive toad was found nestled in the ivy. He was given a new home in the near by shrubbery.
As we had loads of time to help the Friends of Brandon Hill, we headed up the hill to the base of an old Civil War defensive wall. Rocks and boulders from the wall have been falling off for years, and it means that the grass at the base of the wall cannot be mown; thanks to the 40 hands of GoodGym, we picked up as many rocks as possible and made a pile at the foot of the wall.
As we headed back to Vivo, we came across a large amount of broken polystyrene that needed picking up, so we whizzed around to pick as much up as possible, leaving the park a little cleaner.
Back close to Vivo, we traveled the last few meters in a way that would help make us better runners - walking lunges and then crab squats. Not a long set of work but useful to help our muscles cope with the forces and stresses that they have to face on our runs!
After a lovely stretch, we moseyed back to Vivo, but not before a few announcements; we've got a mission this weekend, so if you've been DBS checked, you can come along and help Ms M with her garden! Check out the Events part of the website for more info!
Lastly, do make sure I can read your email addresses, otherwise you're not going to get credit for your runs!