Tristan Got the Sack

On a beautifully warm and sunny evening in York - a big bunch of runners turned out to help with lots of different tasks!

Amongst them was a GoodGym tourist, Clare from Lewisham, so let's make sure we give her a big ol' Yorkshire cheer for joining us. We also need to give some massive cheers to Nick, who ran the 55 mile ultra, Race to the King, at the weekend. Nick very sensibly volunteered to be our walking back marker and give his legs a bit of a well-earned rest.

Leanne, Tim and Lizzie each led out a flyering team allocated to a different zone. Our challenge was to deliver 1500 leaflets to the South Bank/Fishergate area advertising the Millennium Field Summer Fair. Each leader had to photographically memorise their zones from the master map and had nothing but a piece of paper listing the streets they needed to flyer but they were unfazed by the challenge.

The rest of us ran to Rowntree Park to meet Beki and Rosemary. Our jobs were:

• To clear/wheelbarrow 3 x 1 tonne sacks of soil and deliver to trenches in the playpark
• To bag up a big pile of green waste into sacks
• Plant begonias in raised beds (which we dug in a few weeks ago)

errr.. and..

• The technical challenge of undoing an access gate using a sprocket set.

With 35 minutes on the clock, the challenge begun. Wheelbarrows of soil were swiftly loaded and waited outside the fence whilst Paul Kelly and Debs battled the technical challenge. There was talk of team lifting the heavy barrows over but we decided to be safe (and patient) instead.

Over at the big pile of stuff, one bag was filled quickly and Huw, Helen and Carl were busy breaking down as much as possible whilst Tristan was sent off on a sack-finding mission. He succeeded and the team were able to continue their excellent work.

Lizzie's flyering team were first back, with the other teams not far behind. As they all arrived back, runners were diverted to digging, wheelbarrowing, sack-filling and begonia planting. Beki was running back and forth like a proper GoodGymer, checking what was happening and making sure we were filling all the right holes.

With everyone back, the pace picked up and we cleared all the soil with five minutes to spare; just enough time for everyone to do lots of good stamping to bed it in.

Cones of Joy!

What better way to celebrate a good deed than with a brilliant fitness session?! Max hadn't fully understood what was happening and had managed to sneak off and get his very own cone of joy in the shape of a massive ice cream, but he did manage to demonstrate sit ups whilst holding it, which was very impressive.

Everyone else paired off and mentally prepared for the challenge ahead. Beki - who is now officially an honourary GG Yorkie, even joined in to make up even numbers. 25 stations of fitness. 15 minutes. Best stations included:

• Crab kicks (yes, Nick, crabs do kick like that!)
• Laying down cycling
• The cheering cone
• The dancing cone (may have to be renamed 'the rave cone')
• Sit down/Stand up

There were serious things like squats and lunges too, and everyone enjoyed a bit of sleeping lions before we composed ourselves for a big group piccie and a gentle run/walk back.

Next week is another double tasker - long or short, you decide!