John and Liz, local 'Walk Wheel Cycle Trust' (the organisation previously known as 'Sustrans' - more details below) volunteers kindly met us on a dark, drizzly evening with a car full of tools. With a few bright lights in position, after a good uphill run for some, we were soon clearing the leaves, mud and ivy off the cycle path to help keep the path clear and help prevent people skidding. A few walkers and a bike came through so nice to see the path is used. We had a good catchup and didn't want to leave(s) but we managed to make an impact on the path.

We learnt that...

The active travel charity Sustrans has officially changed its name to the Walk Wheel Cycle Trust. The name change was implemented after a year of research to create a clearer and more accessible brand that immediately explains the charity's purpose. Along with the new name and branding, the organisation also launched a new five-year strategy focused on building and improving communities for walking, wheeling, and cycling. With a mission to deliver more joy per journey, more peace per pedal, more smiles per mile.

We look forward to continuing to work with The Walk Wheel Cycle Trust to contribute to improving our local communities to walk, wheel and cycle!

With Karen away this week, we met with Malcolm in Spital Hill which he informed us is statistically the poorest area in Sheffield, so a good area to contribute towards and try and do some good!

We got tooled up and headed uphill, filling bags with as much litter as we could find.

Before we knew it the bags were brimming and it was time to head back and down tools with Malolm and head home to The Showroom.

It was a pacey one tonight, with a really strong average pace, so well done to everyone for getting a faster one in!

Until next time, happy running! :)

No need for a gym session today. Mammoth garden clearance was workout enough!

Today I helped out at local community garden Common Ground with their annual autumn garden clearance. They had 2 skips on site ready to be filled.

We spent a good couple of hours cutting back overgrown plants and clearing unused waste from the basement storage, punctuated by coffee and cake, provided by a next door neighbour. My main jobs were buddleia pruner, ferryer of cut branches to skip and chief "jump on skip contents to squash down and make space for more"-er

3 Goodgymmers joined other volunteers from Don Catchment Rivers trust to clean up a particularly grotty spot of the River Don.

We started with a safety brief and getting kitted out with wellies, high vis, life jackets, gloves and litter pickers. We then spent 3 hours picking litter and cutting back vegetation (with a well catered tea break in the middle)

Waterways clear once more for all the wildlife including fish, birdlife and otters! 🦆 🐟 🦦

A HUGE congratulations to GGSHF LEGEND Rachel for completing her 400th good deed!

Rachel donned the GGSHF cape and wore it in style last night as we headed just around the corner and up the hill from The Showroom to join our very welcoming friends at Common Thread.

With many donations building up we were on hand to help sort.

Labels were created and bags of clothes were thrown onto the floor for us to sort and sift through into categories ready for the next Common Thread event where people bring their own unwanted clothes to donated and swap them for a bag of clothes that they do want!

A great alternative to fast fashion and unnecessary consumerism.

We got through an elevator full of bags of clothes and said our goodbyes to the CT gang.

Some of us went to nearby food fave Mexican Street Food Chef to celebrate Rachel's achievements which was really nice!

Until next time, happy running! :)

The Parkwood springs lantern festival is a yearly celebration of the community, bringing in light, fire, drums, fun and joy to this beacon of the cityscape.

Friends of Parkwood Springs organise the event, with the participation of super creative lantern makers.

This year the theme was "under the sea" and us Goodgymers - Celine, Ellie, Michael and Joseph - were tasked with helping to carry the fish from the top of the hill - the old beacon - back down to the playing fields at the end of the procession.

Welcome to Michael whose first Goodgym good deeds it was!

I did not know it would be so much more fin, sorry fun!

First of all the big fish was biiig! it was about 5 metres from nose to tail of gloriously stunningly bright colours, with even an articulated head and tail.

Then, after a long drum roll from the famous Sheffield samba band, its belly was opened upwards on both sides to reveal ... a shadow puppet theatre!

To the delight of what felt like hundreds of children, an impromptu puppet show was performed by the children coming behind the scenes and moving shadow puppets on the screen; it felt like gently organised chaos, and all children who wanted to take part took part, sometimes multiple times!

When the procession left the beacon, we waited for all to have left so we could safely carry the fish - a mere 9 people! - down the slope, avoiding the trees as best we could.

A very successful festival!