11 runners turned up in Exeter quay this amazingly sunny morning to help Plastic Free Exeter with a litter pick. Tom W joined us for the first time. Great stuff! We hope you enjoyed it and will join us again sometime soon!

We all made our own way, running (some straight from yoga training!), cycling, jogging or walking to the quay, where we met up with volunteers from Plastic Free Exeter, to take part in the litter pick. We quickly got kitted out with litter pickers, bags and gloves and set off searching for litter. The weather was absolutely gorgeous; the sun booming from a clear blue sky! Amazing after all that rain in the week!

To begin with we mostly found small peaces of plastic wrappers, but we made sure we picked them all up, as we had been informed that these micro plastics spread really easily out into the sea and that it is important to pick up every bit of plastic, no matter how small! As we continued our walk along the quay we met some very friendly geese and swans. We also came across more and more litter...

Towards the end of our walk we found an area with prickly bushes and realised that the ground underneath was covered with bottles, cans, wrappers, plastic cutlery, takeaway boxes and all sorts of rubbish. Francesca even found a par of matching shoes! Shame they weren't running shoes.. could maybe have been useful to someone in the group! We also found a metal shopping basket (perfect for carrying the shoes in!) and Tom T found a glass full of green liquid with a straw perfectly placed in the middle.. It almost looked ready to be consumed but I am glad no-one decided to give it a go!

After an hour of litter picking, chatting and having a great time together, we walked back to the starting point to hand in 4 bin bags full of litter! Not bad at all! Some group photos followed and some price-giving for the weirdest peace of litter. Our very own GG runner Lisa got a prize for having found a pair of boots and a Christmas cracker! Congratulations!

Even though it is a bit depressing seeing how much litter is being chucked away and how much plastic there is lying around, I had the best of time walking around in the sunshine with you guys, doing good and getting fit!

Next Week we have our first really long run coming up so please feel free to share this with friends who like longer distances. We will run a total of 10k to Ellen Tinkham School and help them improve access to a classroom for children who are visibly impaired. This feels like a very important task that will benefit the children so much! Sign up here, I would love to have you along!Remember to bring a headtorch if you got one. Please also wear some layers so that you don't get cold whilst working at the task.

Can't wait to see you all soon again! Happy running till then!

17 incredible runners ran 4 k to help prepare a wildflower area in St Thomas churchyard! Welcome Claire and Lynsey who joined us for the first time! It was brilliant having you with us, we hope you come back soon again!

GETTING FIT

We started the evening with a dynamic warm up session working with a lot of different circle movement. It also included a new version of "letting the chickens out" which might sound completely crazy, but you guys now know what I am talking about and how well that opens up your hips and gently stretches out your hamstrings. After that we were ready for doing good and getting fit! YES!

We ran a total of 4 k. Whilst we re-grouped so that no-one got left behind, we did some squats, lunges and press ups.

On the return run we did a great circuit training and got fitter than ever before! Our stations consisted of the following:

• Jumping squats/squat with lateral leg lift
• Mountain climbing
• Alternating triceps dips and press ups
• Lunge clock
• Sprinting over the Millenium Bridge (when runners returned from this it was time for us to change stations)

You guys totally smashed one round of this and then amazed me by saying you wanted to do a second round! FANTASTIC ATTITUDE AND GREAT WORK!

We finished off with some stretches outside the Phoenix, paying attention to our breathing and really acknowledging what we had achieved together.

DOING GOOD

Our task this evening was helping the volunteer gardening group "Bloom'In St Thomas" prepare a wildflower area in St Thomas churchyard. It was really dark when we got there but with the help of head torches and our work lights we were able to get stuck in and worked really hard for 40 minutes.

We made hay while the sun didn't shine!

We planted flowers in the flower beds and raked a very large wildflower area behind the church. The raking gave us a fantastic work out and together we got SO MUCH DONE!

• We filled 20 large bags with old grass and leaves!
• 17 of us working for 40 minutes adds up to over 11 hours work!

Absolutely brilliant! The best thing is that we had such a great time working, you could hear chatting and laughing the whole time. This is what the GoodGym is all about- Getting fit, doing good, connecting with each other and the local community and having fun!

SHOUT OUTS

• Thank you to Helen and Sarah who back marked!
• Thank you Laura and Pete for pun and quote!
• Congratulations to Nic who completed the Great West Run last Sunday, a fantastic time too!
• HUGE shout out to all of you for being so amazing, for coming out these dark evenings to do good and get fit! You are all heroes!
• A big thank you to the Westbank for making the GoodGym possible in our area and to the Phoenix for providing us with such an excellent starting point.

NEXT WEEK

Next week we will help Exeter Communities Together with creating a community allotment by St James Chruch. Exeter Communities Together is a new project that “aims to enable Black, Asian and minority ethnic residents in Exeter to have a voice and increased visibility in the wider community”. The run will be a lovely flat 5 k, and we will have time for a fitness session too. Sign up here. We would love to see you!

Remember to bring a head torch and reflective bands/clothing if you have them. Please also wear some layers so that you don't get cold whilst working at the task.

COMMUNITY MISSION

On Sunday 27th October we have another Community Mission. VERY EXCITING! We will meet by the Waterfront in Exeter quay at 10.00 am to help the volunteer group Plastic Free Exeter with a community litter pick for 1 hour. What a brilliant initiative! This is a great chance for you to plan your own run or walk and still get that good feeling of having carried out a good deed. It's also a brilliant opportunity for us to show more people what the GoodGym is all about! I would love to see you there! Sign up here!

9 runners came walking, running and cycling along the canal path between Exeter and Exminter this stunning Saturday morning. They were on their way to join in at Exeter's first community mission at the Westbank, because it is Super Saturday today YAY!!

We were a lovely mixed group of new and experienced GoodGymers gathering at the Westbank. Welcome Francesca, Sarah Jane and Eve who joined us for their first GoodGym activity ever, we loved having you with us! We also had Deborah joining us all the way from Bristol. It was great to meet you and so nice to hear all your brilliant GoodGym stories!

At the Westbank we got stuck in with getting the allotment area ready for the autumn. We completed the following tasks:

• turned the soil in three big flower beds
• weeded
• picked raspberries, basil and carrots that can be used in the community cafe at the Westbank
• cut back the raspberry plants and other overgrowth

9 of us working for an hour made such a big difference! It looked great when we left.

We also had some GG birthday cake and our GoodGym flag made a brilliant picnic blanket! Thank you Nina at the Westbank for making tea to go with it!

The Westbank provides so many brilliant and important services in the area; support for young carers, social activities for old people, health classes, diabetes prevention, just to mention a few. They also fund the GoodGym in Exeter and work in very close partnership with us, so it felt so good that we could give them a hand with their allotment. Great work everyone!

I think we can also all agree that this was a fantastic way to start the weekend! Amazing sunny morning for running, walking or cycling, brilliant to carry out a good deed and great fun to chat to other GoodGymmers whilst eating cake. We had the best of times! This is what the GoodGym is all about! Happy continued Super Saturday Everyone!