This was my last group run as trainer at Goodgym Bath. A great turn out with 29 runners coming along from Bath and Bristol to send me on my way but first we have some flyers to pop through letter boxes  for Bathscape promoting the Bath Walking Festival taking place in September, maybe you would like to get involved http://www.bathscapewalkingfestival.co.uk/

Welcome to John tonight and Valeria who came all the way from Mexico to be with us, they certainly picked a crazy night to come along.

Thanks to GG Brizzle for coming along this evening, love you guys ❤️

I was instructed by Steve to head outside first and wait by the river and was soon joined by lots more Steph’s....Hahaha!! Now that was a sight for sore eyes 👀 The chuckle brothers arrived in their matching Bucharest vests now that’s the Steph nightmares are made of. I'm sure Steve enjoyed gouging out my eyes 

All masked up so off we go into the deepest darkest depths of Widcombe armed with 200 flyers, this wasn’t going to take long so it seemed only fair to spread those letter boxes out in places giving those who wanted chance for a little sprint with Matt being chief torch bearer, Pascale was herding everyone in from the rear making sure there was no escaping. The next task was to find a box to put Jack in and there just happened to be one at the bottom of Widcombe hill although he needed a little Gary style tuition to master the jump, poor guy must dread seeing me in the vicinity of a Box of any description or he secretly enjoys every moment.

TIMES UP FOLKS

The pub is calling us for a celebratory drink and GG Bath update........ My Show is Over but the show must go on as Freddie would say after 176 group runs since we launched in Bath. I'm all flyered out, I had a whole lot of loving for a handful of Runners

The Boater seemed like a perfectly located drinking hole for an update, Emma and Pascale will be looking after you all throughout August and it’s hoped GG HQ will come up with a way forward from September, so I truly hope everyone is kept in the loop, we’ve worked hard to get where we are with such a great team in Bath including our community hosts and let’s not forget B&NES Council who made it all possible in the first instance...Thank you!!!

I managed to fight back the tears 😭 during a very unexpected presentation of fine Gin and Crystal drinking vessel engraved with Lady Bath all topped off with a fabulous homemade masterpiece of a cake baked by our very talented vet Nicola...Yummy!! I even got to slice Lydia down the middle and eat her 😂 Clean Mary was definitely missed tonight but someone’s gotta keep the country ticking over.

The pun needed to be the best of the best in the west for my final group run as leader of this wonderful pack of people and GG Bristol’s Jack came up with a paronomasia to top them all.

I would like to Thank Everyone for making the last 3 years so enjoyable from runners to task hosts, I love you all dearly.

This week’s group run in Bath saw 16 runners come along for an 8k run to Action on Hearing Loss to help the wonderful Evan out in the extensive gardens at the Poolemead centre in Twerton.

Congratulations to everyone who raced/marshalled at Bath Running Festival on Sunday, you are all amazing!!

A few announcements before heading out in two groups alongside the river Avon to Twerton and our task destination in the wonderful gardens at Action on Hearing Loss.

Evan ‘Elp Us

Evan was pleased to see us arrive and we signed “HELLO” and “Welcome” as a group to show how talented we all are, we love to be inclusive at Goodgym Bath and all thanks to the fabulous Pascale on hand to give us a few lessons in signing. The dry ground gave us a challenge on this task but that was a good thing giving those arms an extra hard work out for 30 minutes, we aren`t  softies in Bath you know. We absolutely love coming here to help out and always come away buzzing with delight considering it is one of our longer group runs.

Time Up

Goodbye and farewell to Evan (sign style) with the hope of coming along someday soon for more adventure and fun in these beautiful gardens providing a great outdoor space for the residents at the centre.

We had a Puny time

Back at the leisure centre for our stretches, Gotta love Goodgym Bath and all the wonderful work these selfless runners do in their community.

We have a community mission on Saturday if anyone is free to lend a hand at Warleigh Weir but remember you make your own way, this is not a trainer led run https://www.goodgym.org/happenings/warleigh-weir-project-guardians-day-litter-pick  

Another scorching evening at Goodgym Bath, 12 rather sticky runners came along for a lifesaving hearty task checking some of the defibrillators located around the city

well done to  Emma and Joe on getting a PB at The Two Tunnels 10k on Sunday in roasting conditions. Ollie was in charge of the timing.

Congratulations to Rodie who graduates on Thursday....Good Luck In your future.

A warm up out to have a demonstration on the defibrillator located on Manvers Street so everyone is singing from the same page and there was no confusion as to what need to be done.

We split up into three teams for tonight’s task to cover as many locations as possible, checking four vital points for each one, 1.The Ready status, 2. Battery and power supply, 3. Pads connected and in date and 4.Rescue kit with defibrillator. Teams were issued with a monthly check form and pen for each defibrillator to be ticked, signed and their destinations to cover in the allotted time.

TEAM 1- LONDON ROAD- Emma, Ollie, Mark and Lydia

TEAM 2-ROYAL VICTORIA PARK/PERCY CENTRE-Steph, Mary, Pascale and Chloe

TEAM 3-WIDCOMBE/OLDFIELD PARK BAPTIST CHURCH-Alison, Sam, Steve and Rodie.

We set off in different directions to reach our required locations getting  back to the leisure centre at the agreed time of 7.45pm for stretches and discussion on the task and votes on the best pun of the evening.

Check Mate

A fab pun from Mary and Pascale, great night as always. MARK and LYDIA topped the evening off with a spot of Kayaking (at their own risk) looked fun though, if you like water sports.

   

“Ole, ole ole” who needs football when you can spend a hot summers evening in the company of 7 fantastic runners for a scenic 6 k run along the Kennett and Avon Canal to Alice Park community garden for a workout with the growing kind. A beautiful community garden it is and I’m sure you will agree with me http://apcg.co.uk/

A few shout outs before kicking off the evening group run, a warm welcome to Jonathan joining us this evening and nice to have our newly wed Mrs Chouler back from her honeymoon.

Congratulations to ALISON who completed the Costwold Way challenge 100k and took the FIRST LADY title…The girl is a steam train. Well done Sam P who did the first leg relay and to Sam O and Emily J who raced The Boat at the weekend.

Boom!! Lucy and Steve are expecting a little Goodgym Baby 👶, that’ll be a first for Goodgym Bath ....CONGRATULATIONS!!

A rather warm run along the canal with a few trees providing some dappled shade before arriving at Alice Park, Our host Kathy was eagerly awaiting us with various jobs for the group to tackle varying water trees and plants that were in much need of a drink from the water butts’ to digging out beds and thinning the trained fruit trees.

THE NAME OF THE GAME

Goal achieved we spent a solid 30 minutes sweating through the allotted tasks, chatting away like busy bees in the evening sunshine and generally having the time of our lives volunteering in this beautiful city of ours.

WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS

A hop skip and jump back to the leisure centre for a cooling stretch out and maybe a chance of watching the second half of the footie. Thanks to ROB for a fabulous pun and OLLIE for leading tonight.

Thanks to everyone who came along to support me on my Birthday 🎂 it was much appreciated.

Last chance to sign up for our “Carry on Camping” trip to Tuckers Grave this Friday and Saturday https://www.goodgym.org/happenings/a-weekend-camping-at-tuckers-grave a chance for Goodgym to get a real taste of Somerset.

What a scorcher for this evenings group run, 21 energetic runners turned up despite the heat to take part in one of two tasks tonight with a shorter route option. The warm up was more for the muscles than taking our temperatures up and the theme for our headcount was all about ice lollies, that was to psychologically cool them all down 

WELCOME to Emma, Emily (EMINEM) and Paul who will be launching Goodgym Swindon in August.

WELCOME Oliver, James and Euan to their first session at Goodgym Bath and lovely to have Tim back with us.

lovely to have CLO from GG BRISTOL tonight.

We split up in to two teams to go our separate ways. Steph taking the lead out to Peter Pan nursery with her team of 9 with PASCALE back marking and EMMA taking a team of 12 to Cleveland pools with ALISON covering the rear.

Task One--Painting the fence at Peter Pan Nursery

A slightly longer run to task number one and although it was equally important it was less physical meaning the sweat was more about the run than the workload painting outside but we did a fabulous job and promised to finish it off next month. We had a good old chat whilst working about various things including Love Island...Shame on us!

Task Two- Grass cutting and weeding at Cleveland pools

The run to Cleveland pools was the shorter option but they had a treat in store for them with the chance to develop a new skill, scything under the watchful eye of Steve who is an expert in the field (pardon the pun) gathering up of the grass and composting it along with any weeds that need removing. Widcombe Junior school will be visiting in the morning and they want it looking at its finest for the VIPs and my team didn't let Sally down with an amazing effort in the heat and they couldn't even able to jump into the pool, although Alison and Tim saved lots of little froglets, Swindon’s Emma had the tiniest broom ever to sweep up the scythed grass, and they learned about a Victorian man who used to jump from 100 feet (?) into the pool... not 100% sure on that fact though! maybe from a tree?

Time to finish off and get together again

we all agreed to arrive back to the leisure centre at 7:55 prompt for a stretch and chat about pun options for one or both tasks combined. The Pan team had to speed it up after getting carried away but made it back as the clock struck eight.

Well done everyone for working so hard in hot conditions and making another Tuesday evening such good fun.

CONGRATULATIONS to Ollie completing the 85 mile Isle of Man Parish walk and GOOD LUCK to Alison for her Cotswold way 100k challenge this weekend...Amazing stuff!!

A reminder for those not able to make The Goodgym Olympics, between Friday 22nd June to Thursday 28th June find a 1km route you would like to run, this can be anywhere, local park, up and down your road, around your garden, on your way to a mission, on a group run as long as it’s a 1km its on, and go on and run it, all the details are available right here https://www.goodgym.org/happenings/goodgym-olmpics-2018-nationwide-race-open-to-all

Oh, What a Beautiful Evenin'. "Oh, What Beautiful People" in fact 14 fabulous runners came along tonight for a lovely 4k run out to Royal Victoria Park to rake up the sand and pick up litter in the playpark and skate park after a busy weekend with glorious weather and the upcoming event being held in the Park this weekend, we want to be proud of our beautiful city.

Pub in the Park will be heading to our beautiful city of Bath from 8 - 10 June to bring a glorious three day feast with the very best food the country has to offer. Tom Kerridge and his merry band of foodie friends are chuffed to be touring the country with a line up of world-class chefs, Michelin-starred pubs, plus a selection of other top UK pubs and restaurants to serve their most popular dishes. Combined with great live music, chef demonstrations, top quality shopping and other festival fun, it has all the ingredients for the perfect foodie experience. So sit back, relax and let the 'lush vibes' kick in. https://www.pubintheparkuk.com/bath

Welcome, Welcome to Liam and Tom joining us this evening

A few announcements before we kick off this evening, Pascale is next up for that 100 t-shirt, just 9 to go. Alison obviously taking the leaderboard with distance ran so far this month 62k over the weekend alone. Joe is leading Sam by 2 deeds, come on lads!

Well Done, Mary for making an amazing Olympic torch and what a stunner it is. Our headcount had a celerity vibe to it this evening Tip Top was TOM HARDY

A nice run out to the park this warm summers evening, taking in the amazing aromas on route before arming ourselves with rakes and litter pickers to sweep through the play area like a swarm of ants.

We tackled the various sandpits and cleared the pathway of sand and weeds, Steve and Tom made a litter pick sweep of the play park and skate park. There was just enough time for some recreational activities before heading back to the leisure centre.

Reminder Alert ⛺️ 🍺

GOODGYM OLYMPICS https://www.goodgym.org/happenings/goodgym-taskforce-presents-the-goodgym-olympics-2018

We have our social camping trip coming up, it’s local, features beautiful countryside and the finest local Ciders and Ales https://www.goodgym.org/happenings/a-weekend-camping-at-tuckers-grave

Eight GoodGymmers ran 5km up to the Donkey Lane allotments above Walcot to help Sue from Transition Bath to clear paths and cut back nettles.

Hot n' Hilly

Welcome to Laura, who chose a nice hilly run on a warm May evening as her first GoodGym group run; we're pretty sure she'll come back. Becca's back from her trip to Eurovision (no she didn't see the stage invader) and the video from Ollie's talk is up online here.

We had a short warmup by the riverside before heading up past the weir, over Pultney Bridge, and up Walcot Street to Hedgemead Park. We took the short, steep stairs up through the park (Ollie and Rob helpfully pointed out that they'd done sprints up there), stopped for a photo on Camden Crescent, and headed up to Perfect View and beyond to the allotments.

We weed well when warm

Sue quickly explained where she needed us to weed and handed out sheers and butter knives (they cut through the stems like...well butter). Pascale and Ollie tackled the top path and we quickly lost sight of Pascale in the overgrowth. Marcus and Rob took the big sheers and chopped down some head-height nettles, while Becca and Laura cleared the lower path and Chris edged the weeds from the main path.

What goes up...

We made short work of the run back down with only a few complaints about our knees and stretched out by the river.

Coming up!

Good luck to Chris who is revising and to the Bucharest crew who are flying home from a successful GoodGym racing weekend in Romania.

Nicola's band Giovanni L’Immigrato is playing Party in the City on Friday night.

Next week we're back at Oldfield Park Baptist Church to clean toys. Sign up!

Not sure where the sun went but 11 super sunny runners ran 8k to help deliver news of an amazing FREE community event being held at FOXHILL and St Andrews community church on Saturday.

MADE IN FOXHILL: MEET THE MAKERS

A massive welcome to OLLIE from KILTER THEATER tonights task host joining us to deliver flyers in Foxhill and our task to help spread the word. want to know more? its all here: http://www.kiltertheatre.org/calendar_event/made-in-foxhill/

CONGRATULATIONS ALISON ON HER 50 k ultra at the weekend....GO GIRL !!

The wonderful EMMA and PASCALE led the team up through Perrymead to Foxhill whilst Steph nipped off to paint some railings at St Marks community church.

THE DREAM TEAM

Delivered 500 flyers in an amazing time of 30 minutes under the watchful eye of GG Baths super duo with Ollie directing the chosen street destinations to target as a priority.

The good news for the run back was very much the fact that it was all downhill after some speedy running to get as many flyers through letter boxes as possible.

TIME FLIES

Especially when your having fun and it certainly seemed that way as Steph packed up her brush in time to greet the others back at the leisure center for a nice little stretch and some general chit chat on The Two Tunnels race weekend just gone by.... GREAT WORK DAN and EMMA.

GREAT TEAM WORK EVERYONE

May the force be with the wonderful 13 runners who turned up this evening for a scenic 5k run out to Alice park community Garden, itself a Little Gem on the eastern side of Bath http://transitionlarkhall.uk/alice-park-community-garden/

One Task rained off

Our second task was postponed again due to the imminent rain but never fear next week will be fine.

Nice to see a few familiar faces back tonight

A warm up and headcount with chance for the individuals to tell us something interesting about themselves, a perfect way to encourage everyone to chat to each other whilst running, so this evenings run was very much a socially encouraged one. The run out was a scenic one taking in the Kennett and Avon canal for the most part to edge of London Road and across into the park itself.

Hello Kathy

Our host and lead to the many volunteers who help out in the garden during Volunteer days and in general. Kathy gave a brief insight into the community garden before setting us up with a list of jobs that needed doing at this vital part of the growing season here in the community garden.

Glove Love and Green Fingers

3 group tackling different areas of the garden. We had one group weeding through the fruit beds and mulching afterwards with grass cuttings. Another group digging in the manure before sowing their potatoes, all eyes up on this one and our final group assembling an archway for the beans to grow around.

Mayday Mayday the poles are up

30 minutes later and a whole lot achieved from our wonderful bunch of Goodgym Volunteers.

The run back consisted of those who wished doing a whole lotta sprints and looping back, Hannah was even weighed down with my backpack.... Well done guys!!     Thanks to Ally for back marking and Alison for tonights pun for our group run.

its our group social next week and we are off to the cinema to watch Skid Row Marathon, so if you fancy coming along get sign up and buy your ticket https://www.goodgym.org/happenings/a-trip-to-the-cinema-to-watch-skid-row-marathon