17 GoodGym volunteers ran to Victoria Park to tidy the play area and the skatepark. We did some litter picking and raked the sand in the play areas. Lots of people and young families use this space and we were proud to help keep it safe and clean for all to use.

All hail Clean Mary!

We met at the leisure centre and crossed our fingers that the rain wouldn't come back! Firstly, we awarded Mary a custom t-shirt to celebrate her 200 runs milestone that she recently smashed. Now she has two 'Clean Mary' t-shirts to wear when she goes out running! Well done Mary! Keep up the running!!

I then shared running news from the past weekend. Several of took part in a fantastic Running Omnium that was part of the Top of the Gorge festival in Cheddar. It was great fun and we got really cool medals! Hopefully see some of you there next year.

We also got involved in a great Community Mission at the weekend where we ran to help out at the annual Sunday Funday organised by the team at St James and St Phillips' church.

The Great Get Together

I talked about The Great Get Together which is a project that GoodGym groups across the country are partnering with this week. The project was set up to remember Jo Cox who was killed three years ago. The aim of the initiative is to celebrate the things that bring us together and what we have in common and to reject divisive politics that tear our communities apart.

We all reflected that although we are from different walks of life the one thing we all have in common is a love of running and helping our community. We wore some stickers and wristbands to show our support for coming together and being part of an inclusive community.

After our warm-up we took the scenic route to the play park. We ran through Bath city centre, around The Circus and past the Royal Crescent. What beautiful city we get to run in!

The Rake Get Together

We made it to the park and surveyed the task ahead. After passing out the pickers some of the runners got on their way picking litter from all around the park. There hasn't been too much rubbish dropped lately because of the poor weather ... but there was still too much for us to bear and so we took action!

In for a penny in for a pound

Some of the more interesting things we found were a £1 coin, half of a lego person and a bike chain. We also found a plastic 'skate' on wheels in the bushes. Unsure exactly how this got there (or even what it is for!?) but we dug it out and safely removed it anyway!

Come and give us a sand with this work!

Lots of sand escapes from the play areas out onto the path which can make it slippery and dangerous to walk across. We shovelled a load of it from the path back into the sand pit and then raked it in.

At the end of the task we admired our hard work from the vantage point of one of the climbing frames. We climbed up and had a picture looking out across the sands.

Upcoming runs

• This Sunday there is a fun and FREE 10km race for all in GG South-West to celebrate GG Swindon's 1st birthday. More info here.
• Next week we are running to help out at Cleveland Pools
• Next Thursday we are taking part in our monthly pub quiz. Even if you just started to coming to GoodGym it is a great way to get to know other runners and have some fun!

HURRAH THE RAIN STOPPED JUST IN TIME FOR OUR RUN!

After a wet and windy day we were all delighted to get out and run during a break in the bad weather. Alison welcomed everyone then, after a quick warm up and headcount, we were speeding through Bath city centre on our way to Oldfield Baptist Church.

Our host, Paul, had laid out piles of toys from the toddler group that needed a bit of TLC. Allie, Mary and Chris L gallantly volunteered to be on dishwasher duty, and Pascale used the steamer, while the rest of the group armed themselves with spray and cloths.

Once everything was sparkling clean we helped roll up the lino and made our way back to the leisure centre.

Thanks for all your efforts tonight everyone!

Last night we were asked to run to the Nuttery in Smallcombe Vale to scythe the long grass and do some tree maintenance. There were 8 of us in our group and we managed to do a huge amount of work! We enjoyed doing some volunteering and getting some exercise on a beautiful June evening.

We met at leisure centre in town and welcomed a new runner, Nicola, to our group. Thanks for coming along last night to help us out! I hope you had fun and that we will see you again!

I shared the latest news with the group. In the monthly pub quiz at St James Wine Vaults the group came in the top third and had a really fun evening. We will be back next month to test our brain power!

Over the weekend we had lots of GoodGym events going on, including two Community Missions and a Mission.

If you are free this weekend coming up then there are two Community Missions that we have been asked to help with. We are painting shelves at a library in Moorland Road and helping at the Saltford Community Festival. This is another fantastic way to help develop our community and get some exercise at the same time!

Across the fields we go!

We ran along the canal and through Bathwick fields. We paused to enjoy a beautiful evening view over our beautiful city.

We have been to the nuttery before and we were pleased to see our hosts again. As part of the network of community gardens we have worked with them several times before in other places across Bath. Tonight we had two main tasks ahead of us.

What a scythe to behold!

Firstly, we had to cut back the overgrown grass. Over the past few months the grass has gone wild and is now waist-high which makes it hard to manage the trees. Keith showed us how to use a scythe to cut the grass. The Austrian scythes are adjustable, but they are around 5ft in height and they have a wicked curved blade on them.

Keith also demonstrated the most effective technique. We made sure to engage our core, breath in and out as we went back and forth and let the scythe do the hard work for us. We all felt the effects of this outdoors workout in our arms and our stomach muscles afterwards! What a great way to get fit and do good!

No Cow-ards here!

What has been cut must be moved, so we had to regularly drag the bags of cut grass to be tipped into the compost area. We also fed some to the curious cows that came over to say hello. These cows live in the fields managed by the National Trust. Maybe next time we can get them to come and help us volunteer so they can earn a good deed!

Tree-iffic work!

The other task was to remove wire fencing that surrounded the trees using wire cutters. The fencing was put up when the trees were very young to stop rabbits and other animals chomping away at them. Now the trees are older the new growth is all in the upper branches, so the fences aren't needed any more.

It was tricker than it first appeared as the trees has started to grow in the gaps in the fencing and had tangled themselves in it. We had to take care to extricate them without damaging them. Delicate hands and patience were needed in plentiful supply here!

Damson gin for the win!

We packed up our tools and, as as reward for our hard work and effort, were offered some refreshments. The refreshments were created by the volunteering network from sibling projects in Bath. To quench our thirst, we were offered some apple juice and some homemade cider made from the harvest in local orchards last year. We also had a nip of homemade damson gin. It was fiery but incredibly tasty, and the perfect antidote for sore muscles!

Volunteering, that's nut a bad idea!

This task was a lot of fun and time seemed to fly by quickly! Hopefully we will be back later in the year to help with the harvesting of the tasty nuts that are grown there.

Upcoming runs:

• On Saturday 8th June there is a Community Mission to paint the children's section at Moorland Road Library
• On Saturday 8th June there is also a chance to help out at the Saltford Summer Festival
• Next week Emma and Alison are leading the run to clean toys used by the toddler group at Oldfield Baptist church