🏆 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.

Tonight we had a bumper turnout for one of the favourite festive tasks of the year - present wrapping. Maybe it was also the rare treat of being indoors!

Rich led out the group to Park Grove, with Ed in the middle and Laura and Barbara back marking.

Once we arrived we celebrated James' 50th good deed, then set to work wrapping. As some gifts hadn't arrived some of the taller members of the group offered to help put up some decorations instead. Once we all finished, we packed up and fueled up with a mince pie ready for fun fitness.

We decided to make use of the gym and had a few games of dodgeball. The idea was to hit members of the opposite team to get them out. Turns out some goodgymers have quite a competitive streak!

After a few rounds we headed back to base for a stretch and run through of the tasks for the week ahead. We also asked claire to pass on congratulations to Alistair for doing 50 good deeds.

An epic turnout of 30 GoodGym Yorkies braved the soggy conditions to give us every chance of hitting our January challenge target of 500 good deeds. We started the night celebrating another milestone for Legendary Leanne who was completing her 1100(!!!) good deed. Well done Leanne. And then it was time for a rather special cheer for Louise who was presented with her trophy for winning this year's Sean Coxhead Inspiring Individual award 🏆. It felt extra special to present this award to a York GoodGymer given the meaning behind the it. Well done Louise. We're all so proud of you 👏

Then it was off to the tasks...

Does going to the pub count as a good deed - Max

Ed led one group to Back Park where we welcomed newcomer Lucy who is apparently a friend of Vicky's and so helped her tick off another January Challenge Bingo Square.

The team got to work shifting leaves, bagging them up and litter picking to make the park a lot more tidy than it was. Taskowner Kristina was suitably impressed with the number of bags we filled, but felt like she might have some explaining to do to those whose job it is yo collect them all the next day!

The debate also continued around how many holes are in a straw and took a turn that is probably not suitable for the run report, but needless to say we're no nearer a conclusion.

Mitch led the other team out to Heslington Lane and had this to say...

We braved the rain to go to Heslington Road to help St Nicks continue their task of turning a grassed verge into a wildflower meadow. The thought is turning over the grassed verge will create the ideal habitat for wildflowers, which in turns will help the biodiversity. All good stuff.

We didn't let the rain and claggy mud deter us. We got our shovels stuck in and got to work. After half an hour of graft, we managed to dig out a large area. Job well done!

Then it was back to CVS for a spot of fitness. This time featuring game that was a mix between ring of roses and touch rugby. Everyone seemed to get the gist of it pretty quickly and kudos was given to the level of danger involved!