Great to see everyone tonight for a sunny evening run!

Tonight we were at the Scout hut for the first time. After a quick run there we met Chris who told us all about what the Scouts do there on their 13 acres of land.

The first task was to move some pallets from the entrance, Kate and Chris then moved onto digging a tree that had not survived the winter after being planted last year. Meanwhile the rest of the group were raking and clearing an area by the fence ready to plant some holly bushes. This proved to be quite a challenge, as the ground was full of bricks and big roots from the trees! Everyone did a great job digging the four holes that were needed.

Once all the plants were in the ground, it was time to help move some slabs ready to be laid next week. To add a bit of fitness to the task I got you all squatting to pick the slabs up and to put them back down, with a sprint back to pick up another one.

While the girls where doing this, Chris was in the woods chopping back some of the overgrown bushes that had started to cover the path. He did get the short straw though and failed to avoid the mosquitoes!

As the task was a fitness session in itself, we spent longer there helping Chris out and doing some valuable work for the Scouts. We then enjoyed a nice run back to base to finish off with a quick stretch.

Next week we are back at the very first task - Newlands Bishop farm - not one to be missed!

See you then, Rob

Firstly, everyone give a warm welcome to Anish for his first Goodgym Solihull run, especially impressive on such a wet night!

For tonight’s task we were meant to be running to The Courtyard to help out in the garden but due to the wet weather over the last two days, unfortunately they had to cancel! This left us with no task planned apart from litter picking....in the rain!

After a quick chat we decided to go for a longer run and a short four minute hill session in Brueton Park. Everyone definitely pulled each other up the hills tonight, with Chris leading the way, followed by Fiona chasing him down. Rachel and Kate pushing each other hard, shortly followed by Lin and Anish.

Hill sessions are are an excellent way for runners to build strength, improve their speed, and build their mental strength and confidence in hill running.

A massive well done to everyone tonight especially with the monsoon weather we’ve had tonight and surviving their squelching trainers!

Next week normal procedure returns, and we’ll be going to the Scouts for the first time to help them.

See you next week, Rob

I’m back after a week off! I hope you all enjoyed last week with Aidan, if you are interested in becoming a (can you call in stand in or supply?) run leader in the future, please come and talk to me about how we can set this up. This will mean you’ll be able to lead group sessions if I’m not available, or lead a community mission.

For tonight’s task we were litter picking in Brueton Park for Love Solihull.

Once we had filled all of our sacks it was time for a pyramid session. This involves 30 seconds of hard running, 45 seconds of slightly easier run, 1 minute of race pace, back to 45 seconds slightly harder, and finishing off with a final 30 second hard sprinting. Each interval has a 45 second rest in between. This session is really good to help build up your stamina and the amount of oxygen in your blood. A massive well done to everyone - especially with all the injuries and illnesses going around!

Please give a warm welcome to Lin on her first run with GGSolihull!

Next week we’ll be back at The Courtyard helping out in the garden. Look forward to seeing you all then. Rob

It was great to see everyone tonight for GoodGym Solihull’s tenth run!

Tonight’s task we were back at Age UK charity shop to do some more painting. It’s really great to see how much we have achieved since our first visit to Veronica and the shop.

Once we had finished painting another wall in the shop, it was off to Tudor Grange Park to do a sprint work out. We split into two groups of three and it was a race to see who could get all their team mates from one side to the other and back again. Liam, Fiona and Rachel managed to win 2-1, so congrats to them and great work everyone!

Sprinting in short blasts helps your body build up stamina and is great if you can incorporate it into a normal run. This could be done just by adding short blasts of sprinting in between lampposts or between each crossroad.

Then it was time for a longer run back to base, lead by Chris through Brueton Park, and a quick stretch to finish off.

I am away next week, so Aidan will be leading the run in my absence when the group will be heading to Tudor Grange Park for some more litter picking. Please give him a warm welcome to GoodGym Solihull and I shall see you in two weeks!

Tonight we ran a total of 7k which is the longest run we have done so far! Everyone did a great job helping each other along the way.

Once we arrived at The Courtyard, we got our breaths back and Michelle told us about all the great work The Courtyard does for people with learning difficulties and the local community.

Tonight’s task was to shift all the logs from the trees that have been cut down to the back of the garden. Chris and John did this making sure to hold their cores for a little extra work out. Fiona helped out by rolling some of the smaller logs to the back of the garden, which left Amy and Kate weeding and turning the flower beds ready to plant the organic food garden.

Once all the logs were moved we found three little frog which is where tonight’s pun comes from!

After our photo in front of the graffiti wall, we said our goodbyes and started the long run back to base.

Just a quick shout out to Chris this week, who got a new PB of 21:38 at the Park run on Saturday!

See you all next week for a litter pick in Brueton Park helping with the Great British Spring Clean. We will be doing a fitness session next week too, so get ready for that!