Radio Baa-Baa

We had the most magnificent run yesterday. No less than 43 people and 1 Radio 1 reporter met up at Vivo Gym to run over to Windmill Hill City Farm. Last week we had 40 people. Last night, 43. What next? How many more people can we get running?

It was a beautiful evening for a run, warm and dry, and we headed off in good time despite the mass of runners - having 2 sign in sheets really helped, plus Kim was on sign up wrangling duty so we set off on time to get to the farm. One hill and a bit of flat later, and we were there, with Jim from Radio 1 Newsbeat in tow - I was mightily impressed by his ability to run and interview people at the same time, serious fitness/journalism skills!

Once at the farm, it took a few moments to get the task in motion, so we all enjoyed some lunges and squats (isometric squats, if you fancy a long word to describe your squats!). I'm sure everyone was gutted when the tools turned up and everyone dived in to grab the sharpest loppers. Our task was to trim trees and hedges at the edge of the farm, as well as doing a massive litter pick - Kim grabbed some of the runners to pop over to a near by community patchwork garden to give it a little spring clean, given there were runners all over the place and we could spare a few.

As we chopped, lopped, barrowed and litter picked, Jim went around the gang, speaking to people about GoodGym - thank you so much to everyone who spoke with him (and no worries if you hid from him, we had loads of people who could chat!). Also we have been thanked by the members of the church group who meet opposite the hedge - a lady from the church came and asked me who we were, what we were doing and why, and she was ever so pleased to see the area cleaned up, plus a chap driving by asked if we needed anymore volunteers, and I could very honestly say 'thanks but no thanks!'.

With 43 people, I felt it was safe to let some of the gang have a quick look at the spring lambs that were the current attraction on the farm, but it was still a job to round everyone up for the group photo at the end.

Chris B led a faster group of runners off to do a couple of laps of Queens Square, whereas I led the regular group to do just the one (and provide cheering for the sprint at the end), then we finished in our usual corner of the square with a good stretch and an endless series of announcements, plus a strong rendition of 'Happy Birthday' for Chris L. Good luck wishes were given to all those heading off to Budapest at the weekend to join in with the massive GoodGym running team over there - although it seems that in Bristol we're a big running team anyway.

If you're a regular runner with GoodGym, then you may be sick of reading me write this: THANK YOU! If you're new, WELCOME and THANK YOU - I really am at a loss for words to describe how amazing I think you all are for coming along. Whilst I'm so proud we've had 43 runners, it's not about quantity of people, it's about quality, and you are all made of pure diamond.