We're wall in this together

Trainer Ben's pre-run sundance rituals worked wonders as the menacing weather stayed away for what was Goodgyms 7th Cardiff outing. Great Scott where has the time gone!

One of the biggest turnouts since the launch, we had pedestrian and pub patron heads turning as we welcomed our newest additions to the GoodGym Cardiff family: welcome Tracy, Aimee, Anne Marie, Peter, and Kirstin to your first runs - please join us again!

After a quick running brief, a lot of jogging on the spot, some jumping squats and a few open and closed gates we were thoroughly warmed up and ready to unleash our awesome powers. The mission we chose to accept was the 4km round journey to Nightingale House, a charity organisation that helps to provide temporary housing for families that require support.

Ben led out at a quick pace, followed by the peloton. A casual, chat-friendly pace was assumed by the "Back Marking Bandits" (or BMB's for those in the know) - Goodgym's latest breakaway running club cooligans. Great work Jade, Shaun, Janelle and Anne-Marie! These cool cats even managed to (almost) avoid wall sits and press ups along the way!

Daniel, the task organiser of Nightingale House gave us our mission, purpose and objective

"Paint the wall, clear the weeds - then get to the chopper if you want to live!"

Now, runners are used to hitting walls, not painting them... This Everest of walls stared at us, taunting and daring us to try painting its majestic heights. And the weeds were not just any weeds. They were "Bullrushes" (thank you our resident botanist Andie!), some sort of Octopus-Baobab hybrid capable of felling Shaun and Chris flush onto their backsides during multiple removal attempts. Sioned was among the first Goodgymmers to arm themselves with the roller, and despite her crippling task-related night terrors proved herself in fine form, leaving many bystanders to ask: "how many dudes you know roll like this? Not many, if any!"

Samador Dali, Hannanardo Da Vinci and Craigangelo all plugged away as if in a trance, choosing their palette of colours well. The chorus of 'whitewaller' brush strokes will no doubt echo beyond the wall for centuries to come. Winter is coming.

Lawrence was having his own moral, existential and philosophical dilemmas when a kamikaze bug landed in his paint. An unfortunately slightly unsuccessful attempt at retrieval left said bug injured, and being the insectarian he is Lawrence cured his misery and made him 'all in all just another brick in the wall.' All too soon it was time to leave our accomplishments behind us, down some H2O, take the obligatory group selfies and make our way back to base. We all hope the resident families of Nightingale House can enjoy painting their mural masterpieces over our blank slate handiwork in the near future.

Once again trainer Ben led a cracking pace on the way back, while the BMB's took their Tender Loving Time (TLT). Until the stair sprints and traffic island pistol squats that is. Damn! With a sprint finish and warm down back at the old library, another successful GoodGym group run came to a conclusion. There may have been a social, but as I have been counselled:

"what happens at social stays at social" and "the first rule of social is you don't talk about social". So there may not have been a social...

Despite my obvious conflict of interest I have chosen to award this weeks RunPunstiltskin award to myself! "We're wall in this together"- and we have been. Unfortunately this is Janelle and my last run with Goodgym Cardiff. We consider it an honour, a pleasure and a privilege to have run and tasked with you all - we wouldn't have kept coming back if you weren't all awesome people! Good luck for the future, Cardiff is all the better to have you.

I close with the words of another great philosopher and artist contemporary of ours Dr Seuss: "Today was good, today was fun - next week is another one!".

Don't forget to sign up! Ben & Janelle.

P.S. Click here to read a little bit about the social afterwards and to see a few of Janelle and Ben's time with us; But....sticking to the rules of the social... keep it shh, this goes no further.... "What goes no further???"... Exactly ;)

Happy Inde'paint'ence Day all!