On a chilly but gorgeous winter's morning, something strange was stirring in the new York Community Woodland. A group of runners, marshals, timekeepers and walkers had made their way to help support a dress rehearsal for a new community based running event that will soon be coming regularly to this spot

The event had a very familiar feel to it and everyone seemed to know exactly what was required of them but surely that was just a coincidence

Goodgymers took up spots at various marshalling points as the community based running event got underway. In classic Goodgym fashion Tristan forgot to start his watch, Mitch arrived late and Fergie got passed around between various walkers, marshals and runners

All in all, the event was a huge success. So much so that I can definitely see this kind of thing catching on at other places!

Now we all know that community based running events aren't a race, but the top spots on this occasion were taken by both of the Woollards who can, for a few weeks at least, be crowned the power couple of the York community woodland community running event!

What a fab morning to be part of the York running community ❤️

On a freezing Saturday, 9 GoodGymers continued their weekend of good deeding. We went back to the York Railway Bowls and Social Club and helped with their ongoing project to maintain their raised beds. We were tasked with moving large bits of brick and mortar from a levelled site and used them to fill in a gap underneath a fence. That way we could stop rubbish being shoved onto the plants.

We got to work with lifting, digging and moving. Some people approached it like a puzzle, where each piece was painstakingly chosen and slotted correctly...some of us roughly shoved bricks in and called it a day. Regardless after 45 minutes of hard graft, and plenty of innuendo's which I shan't repeat here, we were able to seal up most of the gap in the fence.

We were treated afterwards to tea and cake...now that is great service!!

Theatre@41 is an independent theatre in York in a beautiful old church. Perhaps just a touch more beautiful in the outside than the inside - some of the back stage areas need a bit of TLC. In classic GoodGym fashion we made it look way worse before hopefully someone else makes it look better again.

We were tasked with stripping all the peeling paint we could reach in the green room and a stairwell. I say "green room" it was either brown or purple depending on who you asked but definitely not green. Either way, the paint was held on the wall only by force of habit and came off in sheets with the lightest on touches - in some areas not even needing a paint scrapper, it could be brushed off with a broom. For the team on the stairs it was more a case of knowing when to quit: it was a blurry line between peeling paint and crumbling plaster.

In much less than the alloted hour we'd stripped the paint from everything we could reach and turned to sweeping up, cheered along by Michael playing if you're happy and you know it on the piano. Then Nikki brought out her delicious banana and date cake before a team photo on the stairs like the bunch of luvvies that we are.