17 people ran 6k to Suited for Success to drop off donations

On a freeeeeezing night in Brum it was awesome to have another big attendance of 17 runners braving the elements! We welcomed three newbies, John, Tom and Jeanette, it is great to have you all on board. After the introductions we were on our way to Suited for Success. It was just a short jaunt of half a mile, so we were there in no time. On arrival we were warmly greeted by Janice who was appreciative as ever of our donations. It was also great to hear her tell the group some heart-warming stories of how the donations help people get back into work.

back into the cold

It was now time to get back outside to get the rest of the run done. Outside was Taz from run Birmingham, who took a quick video of the group to show the Run Birmingham crew what we do. Check it out on the Run Birmingham Facebook page. We were now on our way again, Rob leading the way as he knows the ‘none dark bit of the canal route’ back very well! We then joined the canal on the lit part, before eventually arriving in St Paul’s square.

press ups, dips, sprints

Once in the square the group did a few sets of press ups and dips on the benches. Everyone working well. John put in a good stint on his first GG run, Morena and Lee smashed out the reverse dips and John H worked as hard as ever. Once that was done the group did laps around the church alternating between a ‘sprint lap’ and a ‘jog lap’. With the tight corners this was great training for any cross-country runners. The group did eight in total with the last two laps being a double sprint! Rob, Aaron, Aidan and Sam led the way, with Karin, Paige and Abbie putting in a good effort pushing each other round. Once done we had the short run back to base.

Goodbye Ken ☹

On a slightly sad note, it was Ken’s last GoodGym run for at least a while, as he is heading back to Malaysia next week. Ken has been a great member of the group, taking part in many group runs, joining us at parkruns and the Mo Run, so he will be greatly missed. Have a safe flight and if you are ever back in Birmingham you know where we are 😊

Next week we will be out doing good again, this will be our ‘long run’ of just over 10k to Fareshare, it would be great if you could join us sign up here.

21 people ran 4k to Birmingham Mission Care Centre to give mince pies to the homeless and then have a Christmas party

Last night was our GG Brum ‘Christmas run’. The group came dressed in Santa hats, with boxes of mince pies to feed the homeless at Birmingham Mission. It was great to get another good attendance and to see Luke back with us after a long injury spell.

The Mission

Once the intros were done it was on our way to the mission. On arrival we were warmly greeted by John. Four of the group went upstairs to help Maureen sort some clothes out were as the rest of the group helped serve the food. Bhaskar even gave his woolly hat away to one of the attendees who was more than happy to have a photo. After the main meal was done the group served all their mince pies, which were thoroughly enjoyed by everyone at the centre.

German market

Once we had finished at the centre we all headed back to 1000 Trades splitting up into two groups, one group running back slightly quicker than the other. I went with the quicker group. Aaron and David were the front markers and I ‘hung around’ in the middle with Dionne putting in a great run back. Once back at our base we waited for everyone to return before heading to the German market. The fitness session this week was arm work, bicep curling our drinks 😉 Well it is Chritsmas! The group had a great time at the market, with plenty of sausages, beer and mulled wine. It was a great way to round off the GG year for me as I’m away next week. Hopefully there are no sore heads this morning! I hope you all have a fantastic Christmas and I will see you all in the new year.

Next week will be the last GG Brum group run of 2017, with the group in Aidan’s capable hands. It would be great if you could join him sign up here.