It was our coldest run of the year, but that didn't stop 18 Swindon GoodGym'ers rocking up at the Oasis in their finest clothing ready to run to Christ Church halloween-style. Yes - we had some strange looks as we gathered outside the Oasis, with Fran dressed as a cheeky red devil complete with tinsel (classy); Paul as a (gender neutral) witch (the hat was £1 from Wilko apparently - go and grab a bargain before they sell out?!); Kirsty dressed as a cat with full on face paint; Owen sporting some boggly eyes on the top of his head (amazingly they did not fall off during the run - were they stuck on somehow? Will he be wearing them to work today?!); and, the lovely Tracey looking skeletal (sporting the finest white t-shirt complete with Rib Cage)! Thanks to Helen for bringing the glow sticks. I was rather pleased with my purple bat bracelet; I just can't quite work out why it isn't working today?!

So, we stood about for a while, chatted, welcomed our newbies, Sharon (who I met at parkrun the other day) and Chris (who I've known for years, who once said to me that running was a 'no go', has since lost 2 stone and completed a marathon) and went round the circle for a head count (while those running late joined the circle out of breath, sweating and unable to speak - Graham, for example, had been on the squash court just minutes before. Squash, running and volunteering Graham - I am officially impressed!). The headcount theme was 'scariest movie ever watched'; the responses were interesting and varied, particularly Richard's response of Little Shop of Horrors - a classic film from the 1980's, only the 40+ years would remember. Quite a few of you had never heard of it?! I am starting to feel old...! The good thing about GoodGym? Age is no barrier! LOL!

It was getting cold and we needed to get going, but I had Strava to sort out as well as a bat bracelet to put on! What a nightmare (on Elm Street - Chris?!) Sorry for the delay everyone! Oh dear - I really must start looking more professional at this...?! So, we left the Oasis, passed Swindon College, went under the bridge that numerous lorries have got stuck under, ran past the motorbike dealer that now seems to have three shops (when did that happen?!), and made our way past the Wyvern Theatre. It then dawned upon the GG crew the route we were taking, and it was at this point the comments about THAT HILL started. Some of them positive; many of them negative. Hill climbing is good for the soul (it is Halloween after all), so it was onwards and upwards with Jason at the rear shouting words of encouragement and praise. Good job Jason! Everyone got to the top with a smile (or perhaps a grimace) on their faces?!

We turned the corner and there she was - the Old Lady on the Hill (our last visit was in August to do some weeding in the Rose Garden). Today the task was something more suitable for this time of year - painting (in the warm) inside the Community Centre next to the church. Chris, marathon runner AND Centre Manager, led us to the front door, keen for us to crack on with the painting. There was a lot to do - we had a hallway (with a very high ceiling) to paint! Yikes! Thank goodness we have GG'ers like Owen and Dan who are so tall, they can reach places that the rest of us can't. And Ellie, who was a dab hand with the long roller that I kept breaking, seemed to reach the ceiling with it?! The dust sheets were down, the paint was out and everyone grabbed a roller (except Jo who was excellent with a paintbrush) keen to get on with it after spotting some donuts on display - a post GG treat for those that finished first! So the race began; who was going to be the first to grab a donut? Being a dab hand at taking photos (!), I have photographic evidence that it was Dan - the Tall Man. I must say - it was good to see GG grafter Steve enjoying the post GG delights; he had burned quite a few calories that evening going up and down that ladder!

We said our goodbyes to Chris, prepared ourselves for the Big Freeze outside, and re-set our watches. We stepped outside, started running but before we knew it, we were doing some shuttle runs, kindly set by Drill Master Emily Crazy Legs earlier on that day via a WhatsApp conversation. She wasn't there in body, but she was in spirit (how spooky!). In two teams, GG'ers did their shuttle runs; some like Sam sprinting so fast, I didn't think she was going to stop. What energy! Yes - trick or treat sweets were promised to the winning team. I will bring them the next time I'm at GoodGym, for everyone to have of course!

We had a nice downward run back to the Oasis, with Andrew and I at the front discussing suitable puns for the Run Report. Andrew is very good at puns; I am not, hence the reason I always ask for a pun when I'm leading a run! What team work! And what a fabulous evening with the GG Swindon Crew. Why not join us again next week? With Paul leading the run, we will be heading to the Open Door Centre to paint their toilets! More painting?! Fantastic. We're almost semi-professionals at this now. Just click here to sign up to next week's run And if you would like to join our WhatApp group for all of the latest GG Swindon chat and gossip, just click here!

Another great turnout for this week’s task with a nice mix of regulars and new faces. A very warm welcome to Ros, Annie, Joe and Owen.

Ros just completed her run leading training with England Athletics and will be joining the run leader pool in the near future. Brilliant news since unfortunately Lewis is still out injured, get better soon! It was great to see those who have not been able to come for a while back with their red t-shirts on. The report writer admits a very large smile at the sight of Helen jogging in (late) 😊

For our intro this week we learnt what DIY tasks were on people’s to do list. Turns out we have quite a lot of DIY to do but are too busy doing GG to get round to completing it, especially in the bathroom.

Up we went to Pinehurst, tapping the Beatbox on the way to meet Alex Jackson from the Parish Council and collect the bags. Then started the game of find the rubbish as it turned out that Pinehurst was much cleaner than expected. We started to suspect that another GoodGym group had beaten us to it, surely not Slough, Sheffield or Stockport but maybe one of the local walking groups perhaps?

There was talk of packing up a little early and heading back to the community centre to give blood since there was blood donation going on but we did finally detect the detritus, locate the litter, corral the clutter and recover the rubbish. Must be the comedy animal rubbish bins that encourage tidiness.

We made time for a pyramid fitness session round the trees 1,2,3,2,1, before heading back down to the Oasis. Well done one and all. Remember to look out for those Task Force emails in the next few weeks as people soon reach the 10 milestone and we need votes on social dates which has been posted on Whatsapp by Kirsty. Link to Whatsapp group if you have not yet joined, just click here!

Emily 'Crazy Legs' will be leading the group to the wonderful venue that is Toothill Farmhouse to do some indoor painting in the warm with tea and biscuits! Does this sound like your cup of tea?! If so, please join us and sign up here! No good at painting? Don't worry about it; everyone is welcome. Just don't spill paint on those red GoodGym t-shirts!

Today 24 GoodGymers ran 2k to the Swindon NightShelter where we sorted food donations for distribution across Swindon’s charities. GoodGym Swindon’s 10th task and the largest turn out since the GG launch! The group was a great mix of regulars and first timers, the GoodGym word is still spreading!

A vegetable themed intro now means at least one GoodGymer has a new nickname; Mr Potato 😂

Not a long run today and in a flash we were at the NightShelter! Steve taking in back marker duties. Karen met us and gave us a run down of the tasks; supermarket crate sorting, food sorting, van loading and van driving.

In a supermarket sweep the empty crates were sorted, loaded and trolled off to the van. Mr Van Can Stuart took on driving duties. Pump Trolly Daniel on angry loading duties 😂

O crate I now need to find a pun for the food sorting....! It turniped out we were wheely good at it!! All the tasks were wrapped up and done in record time - a perfect example of why GoodGym is so effective and brilliant at this sort of thing!

A big thank you from Karen and back to the Oasis! Plenty of time in hand, what to do? Maybe an early finish and home for dinner? O no! It was time for a beasting and Crazy Legs’ 10 x 10 celebratory 10th task work out 😂

If someone had told you, you’d be blasting out 550 exercise reps today, would you have believed that?! Well you totally did - awesome work (and good luck with walking). Tomorrow everyone will be wobbly Mr Potato 😂

We don’t need Hippo-crates or So-crates to think we did a good task - we totally know we GoodGym smashed it ❤

Next week we will be plogging in Pinehurst with Paul (!); litter picking around Pinetrees Community Centre and the Circle. Please come and join us! Click here for all the details and to sign up.

Today we ran to the Penhill Haven; a second visit to the community wildlife corridor to lend a helping hand to the lovely Glynis.

We had a new member and welcomed Andrew to GoodGym for his first group run! Andrew’s special skill is the speedy bathing of his 3 boys - in 20 minutes! Impressive dad skillz 👊

Other talents that we must see out on a GoodGym social are Kirsty cutting a grape into 16 pieces in 10 seconds and Simon eating a standard sized apple in 4 bites (has to be standard sized and it is everything except the woody bit).

It was an Up(pen)Hill struggle to get there, literally it is all up hill to get there, so we broke the run up with a couple of stops at the Beat The Street boxes on the way. Stuart kindly took on the role of back marker, which he did need reminding of a couple of times 😂

Glynis gave us a lovely welcome and explained The Haven to the newbies. We then cracked on with our tasks! Scarifying the grass, painting and wildflower planting. Simon,the greenkeeper, went off with what looked like a Medieval instrument of war to attack the grass. Mike found a different instrument to handle this evening in the form of a paint brush rather than his guitar.

Lily and Steve did an amazing job painting up two planters - no Mario Kart skills needed there! Charles got dug into the raised bed painting. I also heard him pipe up on the run back that the Run Lead (me Crazy Legs) is bossy - I’ve got your number Charles 😂😉

Daniel proved that he is always photo ready by posing perfectly for every shot and said his best feature is his bum, no guesses what I snapped next! Paul attempted some carpentry, he says next time he is bringing power tools. We may reach a point where we need a GG support car with all our equipment in 😂

Jason’s mind control failed again and he had to physically perform the tasks this evening, something Wynspecialskill does so well; a man who can always spot a job that needs doing!

Next week we will be heading to Swindon's Shock Wheelchair Basketball Team, to do some wheelchair maintenance. Do you need wheelchair maintenance skills? Not at all! There will be someone there to give help and advice, so give it a go! Sign up today!