Lilian

5 Goodgymers enjoyed the wonderful Commonwealth Games road race around Warwick and Leamington Spa.

It was a beautiful sunny day which made spectating at the race thoroughly enjoyable, although slightly more challenging for the athletes who were pushing themselves in the midday heat. We found a shady spot by the side of the road with a fantastic view along the course and got our clangers, bells and voices prepared for the spectacle. It was very exciting with helicopters overhead, police motorbikes leading the way followed by the peloton and then masses of support vehicles. With the course being 10 laps for the men it gave us plenty of opportunity to cheer on the cyclists as they passed.

Well done to Liz and Lil who in true Goodgym spirit ran over 10 miles through lovely Warwickshire lanes to get to the event - quite a feat at the best of times but especially in the warm weather!

On a busy Saturday in Coventry City Centre, three Goodgymers attended Coventry's Sports Fest. This event, organised by Coventry City Council, features a range of sports and well-being activities suitable for all.

The task for the day was a little different to our usual litter picking, sorting and painting, as we were spreading the word about GoodGym to members of the public, handing out leaflets and talking to people about all of the good deeds we have done across the city.

Our stall was beautifully decorated with Goodgym bunting and photos provided by Katherine, we spoke to lots of people, danced to the (rather loud!) music, and drank cups of coffee from the local indie coffee shop to keep us going!

On a sunny summer evening, members, and honorary members, met for a fun, yet fiercely competitive game of rounders. Rounders is a serious business, after all...

After a quick briefing and establishment of some vague rules, two teams were formed. One team, innovatively named "Reds" were pitted against the equally ingeniously names "Others". First Reds fielded with precision whilst Others showed off their exemplary batting skills. Roles were then reversed, with each team member batting twice. After a quick calculation of scores; it became clear a second round would be needed as both teams were closely matched.

Endurance would be key in the second round of rounders. Luckily, goodgym have plenty of this. Once again, the teams batted and fielded with flair and grit. Each player representing their team with superb sportsmanship and honed their skills as the game progressed.

Before very long, the scores were tallied and we retired to the shade of the trees for some well deserved refreshments and catch up with our wider goodgym community.

Final score: Others: 16.5 Reds; 15

Well played all. Same time next year?

This week, we had a change to our usual group run timing to be the heat.

Robert and Lilian met at our usual start location and took a leisurely run down to the canal basin. We picked two bags of rubbish and focused on the area around the basin. It was lovely to see the signets growing up. We took a little detour to give the parents some space whilst picking litter around the seating areas adjacent to the canal. We then took a walk back to the basin with the bags and spotted a more unusual piece of litter; -a jigsaw puzzle. We then took a gentle walk back through the city centre, pleased that towpath was now looking a lot tidier for everyone to enjoy .

Next week, we'll be heading over to Spencer Park for our rounders social. Details and sign up here.... https://www.goodgym.org/happenings/coventry-social-game-of-rounders

3 Goodgymers beat the heat and supported at War Memorial Park Junior Parkrun's 1st birthday event.

Given the warm weather, the theme for the event was THE BEACH (the place, not the film...) There were lilos, inflatable lamas and of course, the obligatory birthday cake!

Katherine thoroughly enjoyed making a racket with a cow bell whilst cheering on the runners and despite the heat, all 33 runners completed the course with smiles on their faces (most of the time!) Everyone certainly enjoyed the ice pops and cake at the end!

Afterwards, Lil, Nigel and Katherine decided to go for a gentle jog/walk around Warwick Uni and saw all the excitement that is setting up there ahead of the Commonwealth Games, completing a fantastic 6 miles in total. After all that running, we enjoyed an ice lolly and catch up in the garden :-)