Sergiu Radu

Icey Icey Baby! After a beautiful morning the temps took a dive up north, so we were keen to get going tonight! After a quick count up and group photo we got on our way past the closed footpaths and over obstacles. We even took in some 'suicide sprints' and some extended loops in order to keep us all together on the way there.

Once at the park we met with our mate Parky Rob who gave us the brief for the nights task which was to cut back the hedges on the triangular section of parkland on Midhill Road.

We birfurcated into 3 teams to manage the areas most effectively and got straight to it, cutting back, filling and unloading tonne bags all with happy faces!

Once time was up, we downed tools and headed to the U-Mix centre for a little look at technique.

We took to the sprint track and focused on lifting our heels up into the underneath of our bums to mimic good technique and get some nice kinesthetic feedback to refer us back to in our own future runs. We also got three sets of squat jumps in to get some conditioning and took a little look at good squat technique also.

Once home we stretched off and headed inside for drinks and to find out more about the councils consultation and plans for active leisure - Find out more below:

https://sheffield.citizenspace.com/place/sport-leisure-strategy-consultation

A big welcome to Katie and Sam who came along to their first GG run tonight!

It was looking grim out today, but true to form the GG SHF crew would not have their spirits dampened, we had leaves to sweep!

After intros and photos we headed up up up (yes three) to meet SUSTRANS Simon who is the Sheffield Lead Ranger and volunteer coordinator for SUSTRANS and does a fantastic job with other volunteers in keeping the National Cycle Network (NCN) in good order for all types of users to enjoy.

We wanted to help so with good stiff bristled brushes in hand we got to work on the Manor Way section of the NCN where a huge amount of leaves have fallen onto the path, creating a slipping hazard for anyone using the path. We swept a huge portion of the path clear for future users to enjoy safely alongside some litter picking, branch moving and stone rolling.

Once we had loaded the brushes back into Simon's van and said our goodbyes it was time to go down down (in an earlier round) whilst taking in the heat from a rather dangerous looking front garden fire. Once at Ponds Forge steps we got a couple of rounds of stair based activities in before heading home via the Zebra crossings where we lunged and channeled our inner Beatles. Once back to base we stretched off and headed inside to the warm for some drinks and chats.

Brrrrrrrrrrilliant to see a new face coming along to tonights run.

Please welcome, cheer and support James who has moved up to the Steel city from Brent.

On a rather chilly eve we headed up to help our good friend Rob the parky from Heeley People's Park to help him with the final layers of wood chip spreading and turning on the children's playground. This task does need doing regularly to keep the playground at it's best and safe for the users of the equipment. It's a huge job for Rob to do on his tod so we chipped and helped with the efforts.

Rob brilliantly laid out the GG red buckets for us and got us straight onto task with some filling barrows and buckets whilst others carried the chip up the hill to the playground where others were spreading and turning. It was a well oiled machine by the end of the task with all components working well together with regular changes to keep people warm and occupied.

After a good session we made a huge dent in the wood chip pile and Rob was very appreciative, as were we of his fantastic Movember mustache (keep it Rob, keep it!).

Once we had left tools tidy for Rob we said ta-ra and headed over to the U-Mix center for some fun fitness. This week we had x4 30s rounds of:

Hanging knee or leg lifts Step up'd or box jumps

Once back we stretched off to relieve our achy muscles whilst others nearby relieved themselves in other ways. Once cooled downed we headed into the Showroom for chats, drinks, food and discovered each others nicknames. Always a dangerous but interesting one...

Until next time, happy running! :)

5 years, 7012 good deeds, 154 missions, 540 group runs, 997 coach visits. Worth a celebration!

Happy Birthday to us! We turned 5 years old!

This week it was Max's 50th deed so he got the honor of the now customary GG red bow tie (bit easier to run in than the 100 cape!). Congrats Max!

It was great to welcome Ivo (GG's founder) and also Levi Ashton from Sheffield City Council who came to see us in action and think about how we might be able to work together more in the future.

This week we were off to Lynwood Gardens to help Sustrans Simons to clear a connecting path of the National Cycle Network (NCN) that is a key link, helping cyclists to avoid the traffic on Glossop Road.

There was plenty to go at from slippy mud build up to overgrown trees and weeds, sweeping slippery leaves off the path and more. Within our alloted time, the path looked unrecognizable at the end becoming safer, wider and much more usable. Top work team!

On the way back we took in some strategic stairs where we took on the QUAD KILLER, which involved the following:

• x2 sets of 1-2 stair squats
• x2 sets of high knees
• x2 sets of wall sits

After a fantastic effort from all we headed back to base to stretch off and get ready for the birthday celebrations!

We headed to Chakra Lounge for some delicious food where we were all filled to the brim!

BIG THANKS to Celine for fantastic organization and Rachel for making the fantastic GG cake!

Here's to another 5 years!