16 GoodGymers helped fill out the volunteering roster at Woodhouse Moor parkrun in Leeds.

The temperatures had dropped, and it was a little frosty, but there was never any chance of this one being cancelled.

GoodGymers from Leeds and York came together to set-up, marshall, time, scan, cheer and more! It was fab to see so many GoodGym t-shirts around, and even better to spread the word about the great work we're doing in Leeds. Aron got up and said a few words to the 700-plus crowd before the start (although Run Director Curtis almost forgot to give him his moment in the spotlight!)

It was great that this was some people's first experience of parkrun, so hopefully they will be back. I'm sure there will be plenty more opportunities to link up GoodGym and parkrun in Leeds, so watch this space!

It feels good to be back in the swing of things, with an amazing 23 runners braving the cold and windy conditions to join our run to help out Growing Better.

We welcomed Callum on his first ever group run, so he definitely deserves a massive cheer. Monika and George were completing their 10th Good Deeds so they deserve a big cheer too! We also celebrated reaching 150 members which is unbelievable in such a short space of time! That's a whole lot of people ready to get out there and do good in Leeds!

We warmed up with a quick round of 'Aron says' before heading out on the run. Liz took up backmarking duties, with Katie leading the way, and Aron and Adam looking after the middle of the group.

After enjoying our first ever dry run to Growing Better, we got straight on with the tasks at hand. They were:

• Sawing some pallets in half to create a barrier around the allotment
• Digging a trench and fixing pallets into position
• Planting saplings on the bank

Everyone grabbed their tools, and while the sawing crew got on with cutting up pallets, everyone else made their way across the soggy field, which luckily didn't claim any fallers this time! Aron was busy showing off the new lights which hopefully you all agree make a massive difference.

We had a super friendly little helper tonight by the name of Flavia who helped point the floodlight where it was needed, and handed out saplings.

" She really wanted to see you guys in action, she didn't believe it was true!" Dorota, task owner

Some of the group were having trouble working out exactly what we needed to do, and there was some discussion about how carefully the saplings needed to be planted:

"Do we put them in perpendicular to the bank or do they need to be upright?" " I think the trees just work it out for themselves..."

I guess we'll have to wait and see if the trees do indeed work it out for themselves, but it's really great to be planting a whole load of new trees, even if it felt like we barely made a dent in their stock of over a thousand! The trees should really help to take up some of the water from the area, which in time will make the field less boggy, and help the allotment too.

Over at the allotment, the gang were discovering that all that digging and fixing the pallets into place can be pretty hard work!

"This is like a proper core workout!" Julie, Leeds GoodGymer

We've had several attempts at fencing off the allotment, and each time we go back it's amazing to see that it's all still in place, and looking pretty secure! Even this awful weather we've been having hasn't made a dent in the fencing. Dorota is convinced this is going to be really important for helping to keep the weeds out of the allotment, and to stop brambles from encroaching on the space.

With a big pile of pallets cut in half and moved, some more fencing fixed in place, and a huge number of tree planted, our time was up, and we made our way back up the hill, and finished back at the Book Club with a quick stretch.

You'll all be happy to know that we're not heading down to Kirkstall next week, which means we don't have to run back up THAT big hill. Unfortunately this is Leeds, so heading the other way means we will have another big hill to contend with! It's all part of learning to love the hills!

Thanks again for another wonderful evening, you're all great. See you at parkrun for volunteering on Saturday, if not see you next week!

GoodGym Leeds is back! After a short break that felt like absolutely ages (I missed you guys!) we're back to doing good and having a great time while we're at it.

It was a great crowd tonight for our first run of 2020, with 32 runners! We also welcomed a HUGE 7 newbies which was amazing. Sam, David, Rob, Romina, Shannen, Victoria and Karl all got stuck in and did a great job, so they definitely deserve a massive cheer!

There was loads of news to share tonight, with Jenny and Liz reaching their tenth good deeds! Well done guys! We also welcomed Helen to taskforce after she joined over the Christmas break. Taskforce is now a super strong group of six and they can help out with all sorts to make GoodGym in Leeds even better. As always, if you have any ideas for how we could be doing things better, feel free to drop me an email.

Tonight's task was to head back to the fabulous Unit 11 for Kirkstall Valley Development Trust. We had a quick warm up before heading down the hill. Heather and Katie were marshalling the back to make sure nobody was left behind.

On the run down it was lovely to be back amongst happy smiling faces, and it was even better to see all the new runners getting involved and chatting. One new runner was a little concerned about our route:

"I live in Kirkstall so the run down is fine, but I know that it means we're going to have to come back up again on the way back!" New runner Romina

After a bit of looping around to keep the group together, and some terrible traffic light decisions, we eventually reached Unit 11, where Adele was waiting for us with our task. We had to fill some small holes in the walls where they weren't too big, then one wall was being painted white (leaving the fabulous painted map well alone), while another wall was to be painted a lovely green. There were also some baubles left up from the Christmas decorations which needed to be brought down.

We quickly realised there weren't quite enough rollers and paintbrushes to keep everyone busy, so we split the group into two, and decided that one group would do a fitness session while the others painted, before swapping over halfway through. While the painters got on with their tasks I took the group through a tough but simple routine to work on their strength, balance and flexibility.

• Calf raises
• Single leg hops
• Knee raises
• Single leg touch, hop, reverse lunge, hop
• Jumping Squats
• Meet and retreat run

While the meet and retreat might need a little work (or a better explanation from me!) everyone got stuck in and there were a few complaints of tired legs on the way back so you were definitely working hard!

By the time both groups had done their fitness session, the work inside was done! The walls had been painted, , the edges tidied up, and the baubles all gone. The watching crowd were suitably impressed:

"We've just been sat here watching how amazing you all are!" Adele, task owner.

Our painting and fitness session also attracted the attention of a new recruit who signed up on the spot, so hopefully we'll see her next week!

We set out on the run back with a slight burn in our legs for some of us, but that didn't stop the speedy group, led by Tom, from powering up the hill. Everyone else went at their own pace, with Carol sweeping up the rear, before we all reconvened for a stretch back at base.

Thanks for making our return in 2020 so fabulous, you've all been great! I'd also like to say a special thanks to our Taskforce who are really stepping up to help with the running of the group, it makes my job so much easier!

See you all next week!

GoodGym Leeds is really starting to feel Christmassy! The temperatures have dropped again, but that just meant it was a great excuse for a few goodgymers to get out their Christmas jumpers and festive hats!

There was plenty of news to share as Karly ran with GoodGym for the first time, and GG York superstar Leanne joined us for a spot of tourism. Go and give them a cheer!

I also unbelievably forgot to tell everyone that Helen has reached ten good deeds! Well done Helen. She definitely deserves some extra cheers!

With a few quick partner drills, including knee tag and high fives, working on our balance, strength and just getting our bodies moving. There were a few mismatches but that's all part of the fun!

We then headed off down the now-familiar route, up towards headingley and then all the way down to Kirkstall. There had been a slight change of plan, as the wind had blown over one of the marquees, and so we were back at Unit 11, meaning a slightly shorter run.

We stayed as a fairly tight group on the run down, and arrived to find a spread of decorations for us to put up. There were strings of fairy lights, tinsel, a few nets of wall lights and a huge bag of holly and ivy. The fairy lights and tinsel needed to go up on the lengths of washing line which had been spread across the room, the wall lights needed fixing to the walls, and holly and ivy needed cutting up before slotting it in amongst the strings of lights.

Adam and Alex went straight for the big task of hammering hooks into the wall to fix the huge net of lights up. As if the pressure of such an integral feature wasn't enough, some people thought they should pile on a little more...

"It's like a real test of character whether you manage to complete it or not" Riobhne

Everyone else spread out around the room, looking for spots they could start tackling. There were different techniques, with some all action, and others putting a little more thought into it. Looking around the room there were were plenty of confused faces, but one looked particularly perplexed.

"I'm just trying to work out how to do it in an effective and efficient way" Sarah, taking her responsibility very seriously!

Meanwhile, in the kitchen, the holly and ivy was being cut up into smaller pieces and brought into the main room to be slotted in amongst the tinsel and fairy lights. The whole space was really starting to take shape, and with only two ladders, and much of the easier to reach areas now already decorated, teamwork was the order of the day. The taller people were recruited for reaching into the far corners while everyone else busied around filling the gaps.

Just thirty minutes after arriving, we'd put up all the lights, wrapped them with tinsel, filled the gaps with holly and ivy and the whole place looked much much more Christmassy. By now the yoga group had arrived, but it gave them the chance to see what we had got up to!

"You're like an army of Goodness!" Yoga teacher

For the way back we had another shot at the GoodGym Leeds pursuit, with one group leading the way, with some faster runners in a chase group behind. Heather took the lead of the first group, while the chasers prepared themselves with another run through of the partner drills, this time making sure we were all as evenly matched as we could be. The chase group didn't manage to catch the advance party last time, so the pressure was on.

After leaving a long enough gap for a suitable head start, the chase group were off! Only to be stopped at the first set of traffic lights. And almost every subsequent set. This just meant it turned into more of an interval effort. The race was close, but this time the chasers managed to catch up with a few hundred metres to go. We're now at 1-1 so we'll definitely have to carry on the rivalry.

After we'd all regrouped, Sarah led us in a nice round of stretches before we all went our separate ways, dreaming of next week's Christmas social!