*The sun shines on GoodGym Worthing

On a sunny and breezy evening we all convened at Splashpoint for a pre run chat and catch up . It was especially nice to welcome some familiar faces back in the shape of Elisa ,Roisin and Duncan together with 3 new ones, Sue ,Alex and Martin . A special mention to my top regular duo Belinda and Gill who were unavoidably detained at the last minute . You were both missed . A huge GG cheer is coming to all of you good people :)

*Dying to get there

Wowser ! After a warm up round through the town the group arrived promptly and eagerly awaiting our first visit to Heene Cemetery in St Michael's road. We were given a warm welcome from Sue and Peter who are organisers of the friends of Heene cemetery and also from our trusty park ranger , Duncan.

*There was a lot of soul searching and 'raking the dead ( grass)'

There were plenty of tasks and plenty of people this evening which was a joy for me to be part of. We set about raking the recently strimmed grass with plenty of wheelbarrow shuttles to dispose of the grass. This was combined with chopping up previous pruning activity as well as sieving soil for back filling of the graves which have subsided in time.

*Everyone, including the locals entered into the spirit of the task

There was the usual warm glow from everyone this evening and absolutely no grave talk whatsoever :) Beth was up to her usual antics climbing in to a wheelbarrow for a ride with Nick encouraging her!

After a busy and fruitful 35 mins we finished with some group photos , applause and thanks before setting off for a run back along the seafront culminating in a fitness session in Beach house gardens.

• Stars in the making

The fitness session was short but sharp this evening with a series of lamppost and tree sprints together with some slippery mountain climbers , star jumps , squats and plank work with some dodgy hip mobility moves thrown in for fun.

Many thanks to all my team this evening ! Another wonderful GG experience .

You all make my Mondays ! Looking forward to the next one already and I hope to see you all there.

Julia

:) :) :)

[*This evening was another epic GoodGym Monday for many reasons *]

We set off from Splashpoint for our longest run to date west along a sun drenched promenade soaking up the beautiful warmth and not even a breath of wind to slow us down. We arrived at Kamelia Kids day nursery where we were warmly welcomed by cheif exec Dottie and set to work on tidying up their front garden !

We set to work pruning and weeding with the help of a set of tools kindly supplied by Peter at Adur - Worthing Council . True to GG form we achieved a great make over in just 30 minutes.

We then set off for the 5k run back to Splashpoint waving goodbye to Elisa and Karina en route and timely interval sessions along the way.

Some true highlights that made tonight epic

• Welcome to Sam on his first GG run ! A huge Worthing welcome and GG cheer to you Sam
• Amazeballs running from Belinda covering the furthest that she has run for 20 YEARS ! 3 big cheers to you Belinda! You are one amazing lady.
• Stupendous performance from Elisa smashing her fitness goal by running further than she has done in 4 years
• Our first task for Kamelia Kids , Worthing
• Energetic endurance and fitness sprints from Gill, Beth ,Duncan and also Sam, our new member who got put through his his paces and arrive back with a big smile.
• Well done to Karina who is continuing her fitness outside of GG all week to work towards her goals. Big cheer for your dedication and smile !
• Another task completed by our mini GG Worthing participant , Fernando.
• Fantastic photos from Paul Mansfield ,our volunteer photographer- Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

What more can I say.....

We came ,we ran ,we gardened ,we ran home and we conquered tonight

Massive congratulations and GG love to you all !

8 GoodGymers set out on a short balmy warm up run westwards along the prom before returning to Splashpoint for part 2 of removing bamboo from community flower beds and replacing it with wild flower seeds.

It was a delight to meet up with Peter and Ranger Duncan from Adur -Worthing who supplied the resource and materials for the task.

Right from the outset Belinda had suggested a 'seed off' competition 2 beds 2 teams 30 minute makeover The teams got to immediate work like a mission ( not) impossible !

The bamboo was certainly challenging to remove with snake like roots that went deep but its amazing what can be achieved with 2 great teams ,the right tools and a time target! For the 2nd week running we managed a 'double double soil and trouble' and the beds magically transformed!

The 'Bingos of the day' were the winning team Peter ,Duncan (non ranger) , Gill , Karina and Michelle who take the kudos for the fastest prettiest and smallest bed ! Tee hee !

However the funniest moment and GG chuckle of the evening goes to the other team consisting of Belinda , Beth , Elisa and Duncan ( ranger ) when they captured Beth in the bag of discarded bamboo . Have a look at the photo!

We then headed out east along the beach for a 5k run managing to keep our feet fairly dry. We incorporated some challenging sprints along the stones and a relaxed trot back to our starting point stopping for some breakwater posing shots and creating one of my favourite GG photos to date.

Wow Wow Wowzer !

Where do I start with reporting tonight's task,run and all round GG feelgood vibe . It was such an all round happy one.

There are so many people to mention tonight ,but wait! I'm forgetting my manners ! GG Worthing was delighted to welcome Steph from GG HQ who was on a day trip to Worthing to meet with our nominated charity Guildcare in the pursuit of helping lonely and isolated old people locally.

Can we all give Belinda a massive GG CHEER who achieved a PB at park run Worthing on Saturday. A great example of how Park Run and GG work so well in partnership together.

Also a special mention to Duncan and Beth who were new members this week . Team red !

This evening we met with our friends John from The Conservation Volunteers and park ranger Keith to embark on path sweeping of Beach House Grounds to help ensure they are ready for the bowls season together with the eagerly pursued green flag award. Brand new brooms meant magical powers with sweeping.

We then headed down for an idyllic beach run with a setting sun , lowtide , rising moon and horses. Ed was on photo duty and so nice to have Elisa back after her week off for Birthday celebrations.

Steph has now messaged GG central requesting a transfer to Sunny Worthing ! Yay !!!

We finished with a sprint training fitness session on the stones and another idyllic saunder back for stretches on the breakwaters at Splashpoint.

A clean sweep with Goodgym good clean fun!

Thanks everyone . you guys rock :)

Wow ! We totally raked it in tonight !

Sunshine , sunset, smashing out good deeds with a hoe and saying a swift hello to Sammy swan

A small but determined group of GoodGym Worthing runners set off on a glorious spring evening in Sunny Worthing.

We arrived at Windsor Lawns to be met by the team from The Conservation Volunteers and we set about our task with great gusto and enthusiasm and fun banter.

The transformation from scruffy weeds to slick soil had to be seen to be believed! Check out the photos to see the achievements.

We then had a beautiful 4 mile run along the seafront around Brooklands lake where we stopped for photo opportunities. Big cheer to new runner and photographer Ed for leading on the photos. We finished off we a fun fitness session at the outdoor gym at Windsor lawns . We waved a goodbye to Tess who was visiting from Brighton and really hope we will see you again soon. Also a special mention to Martin who was under the weather today and couldn't make it today. We missed you !