Thank goodness its February

January is always a long month and today we saw a glimmer of hope for longer days with the daylight stretching out just a tiny bit at both ends.

However ,January wasn't all bad! GG Worthing had the most successful challenge month we had ever had ! I had set challenging targets for both tasks and distance ( 65 good deeds and 2500 km) but we managed to plough on through both ending on a scintillating 99 and 2746 respectively. Many congratulations and thank you to each and every one of you that contributed your time and effort. I'm so proud of our achievements 😇❤️

Byron Road

Turning Tides, our local homeless charity offer a hostel at Byron Road and had requested we do a tidy up of the front garden.

Tonight the group split into two groups with Paul Megan and Sarah heading down to the prom for some fitness and JohnAnneRoxyRyan and Paula cracking on with the task. Special welcome back to Paula - we are so pleased you have returned to your GG family 😀

The fitness team did a combination of sprint drills and functional moves to support running - I absolutely know that Paulis going to be taking my name in vain when he wakes up in the morning for his Tuesday bike ride 😅 Both Sarah and Megan and Paul, all agreed that the interval training is not something they would do on their own so if you fancy getting some training in then come along on a Monday evening!

We returned to pitch in with the tidy up where we filled 4 bags of debris. There was pruning , lots of sweeping , weeding and general debris in the bags which Paula and I subsequently dropped off at the seafront bins where the refuse team will pick them up.

Photos done - thank you to Johns phone, we all headed back to our snug homes! I can't wait for light evenings again ☀️

It’s my life

We all know a runner can never have enough kit, just not enough space to store it all. A runners wardrobe, bursting at the seams, can act like a personal museum of their running journey. Memories of the ups, and the downs. Showing the shape we were, the shape we want to be. Helping us to hold on to our aims and aspirations, remembering where we started and hinting at where we’d like to be.

Just lace up and run

Running is popular due to its simplicity, accessibility, health benefits, and the ability to fit into various lifestyles and fitness levels. It has often been said that at its simplest running is the cheapest way to get fit. Just lace up and run. But not everyone is in the position to be able to access even the most basic of kit.

Community Support

Who better to approach to support disadvantaged groups being able to participate in physical activity than those who both value exercise, and support their communities. GoodGymers never disappoint. 190 items (literally enabling kitting out from head to toe) have been donated, all of which have sufficient life and wear in them to support someone starting out on their fitness journey.

And come on, own up, who has already got their eye on replacements to fill those wardrobe gaps!

January Saturdays have become parkrun support days for Worthing GoodGym. Today saw six of us turning out in the cold to support with setup, barcode scanning, number checking and Tail Walking.

Wedded bliss

Of the set up three, two knew they had volunteered, but one who wasn't so sure declared “I guess this is what married life will be like”! Our two GoodGym tailwalkers on the other hand squabbled like they’d been married for years.

Getting Going

On setup we had three GoodGymers. With limited damage to equipment and minimal supervision necessary Sarah and Ryan set up the finish funnel and erected the flag.

What a nit!

Paul had prepared properly for his number checking role wearing a hat he had knitted himself. The hidden talents of our GoodGym friends never ceases to amaze.

Not a time keeper

Slightly less well prepared late arrival Anne was fortunately on barcode scanning, so tardiness was of little concern. In fact Anne may have demonstrated a level of wiseness way above the rest of us. She spent less time out in the cold.

A rather feathery tail

Gulliver, the Worthing parkrun mascot, had offered to tailwalk with the capable, nay outstandingly able, support team of John and Belinda - the latter forced out of her wheelchair so that Gulliver could travel in style.

Running the distance

Ryan and Sarah ran the course, joined by Jay meaning we racked up another 25K towards the January challenge. How's that for a maths puzzle?

Making the finish line

Not the parkrun finish, the finish of this run report! If you’ve made it this far, well done. The important news to share here is that one of the six volunteers celebrated their 300th Good Deed today. Well, not exactly celebrated. More just got on with things as normal. Monday is the right time to celebrate.