Tracey, Paul, Simon and I thought that we'd do one good turn for the Friends of Normanton Park (who are a superb group of people) on their Family Fun Day. We started by putting some gazebos up in the world. There was a crooked man trying to put some giant games together but having trouble with the square peg and the round hole: it was me! The children loved the games, and as long as they're happy, we are too.

It was just my luck that we managed to speak to many organizations that are interested in our services. The man of the moment though was one of Paul and Simon's friends, who was so pleased to see us!

We helped to carry equipment to the stall holders, and had a look at the stalls as we did so. Our time to follow a star led us back to them later for samosas, pakoras and Indian salads.

There was a bit of trouble in store as we packed away the equipment, but we managed despite the wonky floor and the broken glass. We were treated to free ice creams by the friends as a lovely thank you!

We said fond farewells to our new friends, two of whom had to press for time because they were off to Australia tomorrow!

There was magic everywhere in Alvaston Park as dreams (of two new run leaders) hung in the air.

Ashley and Gwyn had completed the academic side of their England Athletics training, and today, as the sunshine filled our hair, we were put through our paces as they led us through warm-up exercises and training sessions for their Leader in Running Fitness (LiRF) training. Simon is a qualified Leader so as well as exercising with us, was acting in a supervisory role on behalf of England Athletics. Other GoodGym members, Jenny, Naomi and Tracey took part, and in times like this when you need a friend (or two), neighbours and family members also came along and joined in the fun!

The event had to be filmed, which isn’t an easy task when the sun’s in your eyes, but we got two successful sets of recordings from the evening.

Ash’s warm-up had us alternating between walking, running and stretching, all seemingly simple until we needed to rotate one arm forwards and the other backwards - no need to laugh or cry at the faces we pulled whilst trying to coordinate this! Gwyn got us warmed up with a slightly different mix of walking and running, adding a bit of skipping, some bounces and “high-knees” running on the spot.

For his main session, Ashley split us in two relay teams, wisely choosing team members so that the contest didn’t feel unfair and was a close-run race. Gwyn’s main session focused on technique – we were all standing up straight in the sunshine as if we had a balloon pulling our head up, and running with high hips and high toes. No need to run to try this posture, it’s useful for walking, too.

Simon gave some very positive feedback on the evening, and added some bits of advice that he’d picked up from his experience. All in all, it was a wonderful, wonderful LiRF, and we hope that England Athletics agree when they view the recordings.

Apologies to anyone who was hoping for film rather than song references – I’ve not actually seen the film... yet (that's my homework for this week!)

Today's mission was to support the spectacular SHOUTaboutSEND event - an inclusive 2.5k and 5k race organised by Derby special schools St Martin's and St Andrew's.

Ashley, Tracy, Pete and Naomi were joined by Johanna on her first task and Simon on his second. What a great opportunity to show new members how much fun GoodGymers have!

After a briefing and photo shoot (minus Simon as he was busy warming up for the race ... don't worry, I snapped him on the route!), we set off to our marshal points. The loopy 2.5k route, run twice for those braving the tropical temperatures and aiming for a 5k, took runners through fields around the rugby club on grass and paths.

Simon and Ashley ran, supporting participants around the course, while Tracy, Pete, Johanna and Naomi cheered, whooped, clapped and encouraged runners from their marshal points, whilst pointing everyone in the right direction.

A super event, a glorious day, a fabulous team 👏 Thank you everyone!

Our next Group Run is taking us to St Matthew's Church in Darley Abbey - there's still time to sign up!

On Tuesday night Naomi and Rachel were joined by Simon for a litter picking session at Darley Park. This was Simon's first time at GoodGym and the group walked 5km during 90 minutes. Simon had impressively run to the session from work and was making his own way back home on foot too.

Simon got to hear all about GoodGym Derby and some upcoming tasks whilst the group picked up discarded facemasks, tissues, food packaging, cans and some clothing items like an old glove or a sock.

It was great to once again see Derby Rowing Club members out in force on the river and the whole session was in daylight for once so the group could enjoy the park's scenery.

A great session where the team made Darley Park a little cleaner for local residents to enjoy. Thanks to everyone who made the session.