Our lucky 13 runners shifted and spread 4 tonnes of top soil to help with the ground-works at Liverpool's famous Bombed Out Church, St. Luke's.

The team did a phenomenal job shifting soil in any way possible; by the bin full, by the barrow full and by dragging great big bags across ancient paving stones and even up steps. In 45 minutes they shifted 4 tonnes of the stuff. Yes that's FOUR TONNES OF SOIL! There will be some sore arms in the morning and they're all going to need to put their GoodGym t-shirts on a hot wash tonight (mud + April showers = muddy runners!) but they deserve to be very satisfied by having done such a brilliant job.

After 35 minutes, with 3.5 tonnes already shifted, I was keen to get the group moving along to the run I'd planned. But they protested that they wanted to stay and finish the job. Like any self-respecting leader, at first I said no, then I moaned a bit, then I gave in to their demands for fear of mutiny. And a few minutes later, the job was done. Ambrose who heads up the Bombed Out Church was blown away by how much the team achieve and how hard they worked.

With 20 minutes left, we didn't get the long run I'd planned, but I rewarded the group's efforts (or was it that I punished their mutinous ways?!) with a quick hill training session.

Special shouts go to newbies Matt and Anne who didn't think twice about getting muddy up to their elbows and made an admirable effort on their first hill training session.

While I can't promise sunshine next week, what I can promise is less mud and more running, when we'll be helping to promote the important services of a much-need cancer support charity. Don't forget to sign up here.

Until then, keeeeeeep running! <3 Char

The sun shone on the first GoodGym Liverpool group run with a fabulous team of 27 runners pounding the streets of L8. Nearly all of the runners were GoodGym first-timers yet they all did a fantastic job, running nearly 5km in just under 30 minutes.

After a winter dormant, Fern Grove Community Garden needed tidying, digging over and the removal of a greenhouse that had been knocked down in recent winds. In just half an hour, the hard graft of the GoodGym team filled a skip full of rubbish. This brilliant effort was thanked with applause from the local residents as we headed out.

Special shout outs go to Alice who came to GoodGym after running a marathon on Sunday, to newbie runner Bernadette who kept the pace and did a sterling job of turning over an entire vegetable bed and to GoodGym rockstar Beth who came up from London especially for our launch.

Next week is Bank Holiday Monday but GoodGym stops for no one! We are going on a longer run - 10km in total - to help a community centre in North Liverpool. Newer runners might prefer to sign-up for the following week when we’ll be at the Bombed Out Church. But don't forget to go running to work towards your personal fitness goals.

Thanks to everyone who took a chance on our launch run. I can’t wait to run with you all again soon ~ Char <3