BEANS, Biceps, and Bavarian Barmaids? Another SOUPer Night with CRATE Company!

It was a busy night for Good Gym Swindon, with 16 runners heading out to the Swindon Food Collective. First up, as the 45th Good Gym our task was to spell out forty (or maybe farty...more about beans to come) five in human form for the Good Gym 50 challenge. As we assembled against the backdrop of the Oasis dome, the question was, who would take on the tricky challenge of being the "I"? Thankfully Andrew stepped up to the plate, having had a practice run the previous week, leaving the rest of us to contort ourselves, with Jo and Carly having a GG hug to form a slightly mis-shapen O (or was it an A?), and Paul managing to have a quick lie down as part of the E with Ashleigh stretching out (must be all that Pilates) to form the other half of the final letter of our formation.

Once the pics had been snapped by Emma the Trainer, she gathered us for tonight's ice breaker - what's the worst hair cut you've ever had? Soon all sorts of hair-raising tales were being told - including Mike and his pink streaks (photographic evidence has been requested) and Emily who once tried to dye her hair with shoe polish. Don't try that at home, kids! It was good to meet Effie who joined us for the first time, having bumped into a mystery man in Old Town wearing a Good Gym shirt. Whoever you are, we're glad that you are out on a Good Gym recruitment mission!

And then it was time to head out for a 3km run along the Western Flyer to the Swindon Food Collective, where we would meet Kirsty - nothing was going to stand in her way of joining us on the task. As always, there was a lot of chatter as we ran along, with a lot of excitement about running in the light - spring is in the air - and a lot of relief that that the wind was blowing the right way as we passed the water treatment works.

The Swindon Food Collective supports over 5000 people in Swindon, with over 60 tonnes of food being donated and distributed each year. It's a mammoth operation and we were soon put to work under the direction of Helen and Cher with our task being to help with the stock rotation, moving crates of baked (not runner) beans, tinned fish, soup, and pasta. We worked like a well-oiled machine - human chains moving crates from the top shelves - with Charles leading the way from the top of the ladder - onto pallets ready for packing into boxes to distribute. The careful labelling of the boxes was a hit with those of us - and there are many, including Sam - that like things to be organised and ordered. We certainly got a good work out on this task - with Helen and Tracey declaring that benching boxes of beans has given them the biceps of Bavarian barmaids. Prosit, as they say in Germany!

It was amazing how much work we got through - team work really does make the dream work - and it was soon time to head back to the Oasis. As usual, the chat on the run back was mostly about food - especially after all that sorting - and how much we had all enjoyed the souper task. There's nothing like a hump and dump task to lift the spirits, it seems! After a stretch, it was time for some to head off home and others, led by Richard, to head inside for a cuppa and a chat - a great way to get to know people better and tonight, ahead of our Good Gym social on Saturday, get some top tips on Laser Quest from Jason. As always time flew by - do join us for a natter next week if you can.

And that was it for another week - next week, we are doing it all again with our first outdoor task of 2019 at Prince Rupert Court. You can sign up here!