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Goodgym gets festive.......

30 runners met up at their usual place Yr Hen Lyfrgell, in the heart of the Winter market to help Wales Millennium Centre

We headed outside for our warm up at 6.30pm, and in the twinkling christmas lights it seemed only fitting that our question this week whilst doing our headcount and jogging on the spot was...

What is your favourite Christmas song?

There were many 'different' responses, including my nan got ran over by a reindeer...???... After a warm up, and many questionable song choices (which was inevitable as there was 30 of us after all), we headed off.

Off we go......

Mikey led the way (as he works for the Centre) which freed up Ben to go ‘happy snappy’ for photos. Aimee and Samina headed off first as they wanted to take it a little easier this week, with the rest of the group following 5 minutes later. The route there was a nice straight run with the usual traffic light squats and occasional step ups.

With so many people, it was easy to talk to some new faces; we were glad to welcome to the group for the first time Jessica and Ben. We hope you guys become regular runners with GoodGym Cardiff!

Half way there and Trainer Ben decided that Jack, Mikey and Charlotte were running too fast, and so to make sure they stayed with the group, he challenged them to run to the back of the group and try and get to the front again.

Before we knew it we had arrived

Tonight we were running to help out the magnificent Wales Millennium Centre, Wales’ national centre for the arts, to help create the decorations for their magical Arctic wonderland. The Centre is a charity which strives to change the aspirations of young people throughout Wales with their outreach work, so a chance to get involved and make decorations proved a great hit. The theme this year is based on Raymond Briggs ‘The Bear’, and involves up-cycled sculptures, Christmas trees and Arctic animals. So in keeping with the theme the group were tasked with making paper chains from old marketing print and pompoms

Before heading inside to do the task, the bright lights streaming out from the letters on the front of the building provided the perfect photo opportunity... not to be missed, we seized the moment to take a group photo!

As Mikey was this weeks task organiser, he took off his metaphorical GoodGym hat and donned the WMC one... he led us out of the cold and in the centre where the task lie in waiting. Once inside we ran up two flights of stairs to the Awen bar (alcohol not included).... Mikey had everything laid out there ready for us... there were guillotines for cutting up old print, staplers for making the rings for the chains and all the pom pom wool you could need. He split runners into groups, the pom pom team wooo, shake your pom pom and then those who wished to race the chain aka... the chain team?

Who can make the longest chain?

Mikey set a challenge for runners to make the longest chain they could, and with banging Chrismas beats blaring, everyone swiftly got to work. In the midst of all the madness, staples flew, staplers broke and discussions were had over the best way to make a pom pom Again, shake your pom pom! ! Like a workshop at the North pole. the productivity was going at a fast pace, and just as fast as materials were being used they were replaced... and all were welcomed to ‘Elf’ themselves - hahaha! There was great teamwork demonstrated and Martin had chain envy...!

Before we knew it, time was up.

Working as a team, we picked up the mass of chains and made our way where there was some ample lighting for a group photo. Olivia (Duty Manager) happened past so we asked her to take a group photo so that we could all be in it - THANK YOU OLIVIA :D

So as we Got in the middle of the chain reaction, we all got a medal as we were lost in action. Olivia pointed out those she couldn’t see in the photo, who could that be?.... And after our photo-shoot we then went back up to the bar level for some mince pies and refreshing water...mmmmmmmmm.

Now it really was time to leave :( ... But we were having so much fun!

We passed the bear on the iceberg of up-cycled plastic bottles and of course had another photo.

On the way back we split into three groups. A fast paced, a moderate paced, and a relaxed paced group. We tried to maintain a constant pace in these groups until the bottom of Lloyd George Avenue. Well done runners - You all did fab!

We then regrouped and ran the last bit together... We are, after all, a social lot at GoodGym Cardiff.

After a quick warm down doing our fashionably cool standard moves, we talked about the next task and then made our way for post run drinky poos!

It may have been cold tonight but after our work in the Arctic wonderland we could take on anything......

Here's to next week... get signed up folks!

Running to help Cardiff Foodbank

• Well done to Fliss who is this weeks winner of the RunPunStiltskin award - YOU STAR!!!