A small but mighty crew headed down to the riverside this evening to tackle a familiar invasive foe: Himalayan balsam.

After a run or cycle to the task location, we split up along the riverbank and got stuck into pulling up the plants before they have a chance to spread their seeds. The recent weather had left the ground soft, making it satisfying work as roots and all came free with a gentle tug.

Working our way along the path, we soon created impressive piles of balsam and opened up space for native plants to thrive.

With plenty of plants removed and the area looking noticeably clearer, we gathered for a group photo before heading to the memorial gardens for fitness, feeling pleased with another practical contribution to keeping our local green spaces in great shape.

Tonight we did some exercises around the circle then froze into different positions. It was then back to base for a stretch out.

We also congratulated all the impressive runners who completed races and relays over the weekend, cheered Mitch for doing his 600th deed and Neil his 100th, and welcomed Yashodh and Nada to their first group run.

Great effort from everyone involved!

It was another hot one in Paradise City (aka York), but that didn't deter us - a whopping 31 GGers ran, walked and biked to West Office Gardens, fuelled by our Appetite for (vegetative) Destruction. Jake and Ruth joined us for their second time - nice to see you both again - and it was Una's numero uno run out with us - welcome!

Having been given our brief on which plants should Live and which we should Let Die we got to it, clearing the area of overgrown vegetation to make space for a new planting scheme. We made quick work of the weeds, but the buddleia and other large shrubs gave us a run for our money: we Slashed them with saws, Duffed them up with spades, but it took heavy metal mattocks and Raw Power to really shift them. Martin twisted the roots, Jake heaved at them, and Kit tried pogoing on his spade, just for funsies. Vicky, Jamie, David and James showed great Patience cleaning up everyone else's mess, running around after us all with brooms and wheelbarrows. We were also tasked with trimming an oversized bush: Laura, Jenna, Scarlett and Jane tamed its frizzy locks, turning them from an out of control mullet to a tidy crewcut.

What had seemed at the outset an insurmountable task was actually completed very quickly - It's So Easy when there's a lot of you. Skip filled to the brim, we downed tools and laid out cones in preparation for fun and games. Ed led us in a round of competitive Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes - featuring an unseemly amount of squatting - culminating in a tiebreaker showdown between Jamie and George. The day went to Jamie, but he sportingly joined George in his second place burpees - Nice, Boys.

It was a scorching hot May evening, but it takes more than that to dim our Lust for Life. Fifteen hot, sweaty, mildly-dehydrated Good Gymers ran and cycled to St Aelreds to Search and Destroy weeds in their raised beds - that's My Idea of Fun. There was talk of going shirtless like Iggy Pop, but lacking his leathery charm we decided to stick to our GG tops. We were joined by Jo, a first timer, and Ali, a very new member - welcome!

Delving through the undergrowth we encountered no less than ten frogs of varying colours and sizes. Uncertain of the collective noun for frogs (army, chorus, colony or knot if anyone wondered) we settled on referring to then as the Flurry of Frogs. To protect them from harm (i.e. our haphazard digging and hacking) we compassionately rehomed them in the overgrown area at the back of the field, where they fro(g)licked happily. That was after we'd actually caught the little blighters, which was a task in itself - Naughty Little Froggie!

Once the beds were clear of weeds and frogs we filled them with Dirt, Mud and compost. With only one wheelbarrow we were forced to improvise - the Prime Movers were Nick with a traffic cone and Mitch with his toy dumper truck.

After the task we repaired to the sun deck for some (sadly alcohol-free) beer and a round of birthday squats to celebrate Leanne's big day. One of our longest serving members, Leanne is no stranger to getting in amongst the the weeds - she's a Real Wild Child. Oh yeah, she's a wild one.

Hotter, sweater, and still fairly dehydrated, we headed back to The Ackhorne for further liquid refreshment and a Real Cool Time in the shady beer garden.

🏆 A mega (post-COVID record-breaking) 40 people attended tonight’s group run. We kicked off December with a bang and donned our Christmassy cheer for some present-wrapping fun.

💪 But first, it was time to celebrate some excellent Goodgymmers. James T was named GoodGymmer of the month for his sterling work leading clothes swap and book sale tasks very regularly. Then we had not one but two PBs to celebrate from the weekend - Charlotte with a 5k and Matt with a 10k at the Abbey Dash. Amazing stuff everyone!

🎄 Next up, we had a Christmassy warm-up in the shape of (an abbreviated version of) the 12 squats of Christmas (a different exercise for each day of Christmas). Pete led the walking crew while Ed led and Laura backmarked the runners to Park Grove School.

🦁 Vicky met us there with our instructions - to wrap whatever was in front of us. For some people, that was incredibly cute teddy lions, for others it was keyrings.

🍭 And for others (not for the faint-hearted), it was pass the parcel. Wrapping up to 30 layers of paper and making sure there was a lollipop in each layer (cue lots of double-checking for lollies) was quite the challenge, but one that was impressively tackled by Team Parcel.

🍫 And if that pass the parcel wasn’t enough, once we’d finished wrapping, it was time for Vicky’s special fitness pass the parcel. With a different fitness challenge for each layer and the ultimate reward of a Crunchie for the winner, it was the perfect way to finish our task (especially for Alex who won the golden Crunchie).

☔️ Although the rain had held off on our run out, it wasn’t so kind for the return journey. The walkers therefore made the sensible decision to head straight to the pub where lots of the runners joined afterwards for a meeting to discuss the January Challenge. And with some exciting plans being made, there’s lots to be looking forward to (and some more fun group runs in the meantime).

👏 Thanks to Vicky for a really fun task, and to everyone for coming along.

The cold weather has arrived in earnest but it didn't stop a hardy team of goodgymers rock up ready to go off to the trenches for their weekly workout.

We started the session by celebrating Barbarapassing her 700th good deed and Laura her 50th, and welcoming new comer Alex to the group.

Vicky set off first with the party pace group and were met at Glen Allotments by an enthusiastic team. Ed's group arrived very soon after and we were all armed with spades and set to work.

The task was to dig one trench of 30 metres and another 20 metres, in preparation for a water pipe. There was some discussion about how deep 18 inches is - quite deep it turns out! No problem for our crew, who rose to the challenge! Within our alloted time we'd completed the task and were rewarded with home made flapjack.

Vicky set of back with the party gang whilst Ed's group did a spot of fun fitness.

Back at base we were rewarded by more delicious homemade biscuits courtesy of Laura!

A very enjoyable task!