It doesn't matter what your Monday's been like, GoodGym always has a way of making it brighter

Well, we made it! Our last Group Run of 2019 is IN THE BAG. What an incredible turnout for the final one!

We were paying our last visit of the year to our brilliant partner Changing Lives, the charity that supports vulnerable people to get back on their feet. They have given us so many amazing tasks this year and from the start at GoodGym Newcastle, including this year the chance to get involved in monthly visits to transform the massive back garden at Elliott House. Tonight was special as it was a different sort of task, but also due to renovations due to start at Elliott House in the New Year, it was set to be our last visit for a while.

Don't worry folks, I will find us another task up a massive hill for 2020

We started the night with a big golden celebration as it was Katy Queen of Squats 100th GoodGym Good Deed! Imagine being so brilliant, and so lovely, 100 times?! I - ahem - treated Katy to taking the intro and warm up for her 100th as I led the walking group off on a head start. Katy had colour coordinated her jacket and hair accessories with the golden wings of goodness but sadly she'd left her halo at home. Katy has done some amazing things during her time at GoodGym, going from new runner to Run Leader and Half Marathon runner, and I think you'll all agree she has the best games!

Happy 100th, Katy!

Excellent task owner Alice met us at Elliott House and led us straight up to a room where a stash of hidden gifts and nags awaited us. It was like a real Santa's grotto without plinky-plonky music. Our task was to get a production line going and in 20 minutes, to fill 50 Christmas Gift bags (again colour coordinated with Katy's wings) with presents for the Elliott House residents to open on Christmas Day. Each bag had to contain:

• A selection box

• A warm hat

• A mug

• Bar of soap

• Toothbrush

• Lynx bath set (it isn't Christmas without Lynx)

• Sweets

• Socks

Within minutes, a production line was going with bags being stuffed, passed and checked and the task was done by a record 7:04pm! It's nice to end the year with a PB! We hope the residents love their secret Santa bags as much as we loved putting them together. Quick photo session and back to Elliott House we went, where Rachel and Ross (no Friends comments please) were ready to meet us for after-run drinks.

We were so pleased to have the chance for a massive get-together at our base Hotel Indigo who are always so welcoming and accommodating to us every week. Massive thank you to all the staff there especially Adam who make us feel so welcome every week. With drinks in hand I announced the nominations for GoodGym's GoodGymer of 2019 which had been sent to me by you the runners over the course of last week.

The nominations were:

Andrew for the way he embraces everything GoodGym and the dedication he has to every good deed. Aimee for the progress she has made with her running, and the way she has embraced every area of GoodGym. Charlotte for the work she does on Instagram, and for being so passionate about GoodGym. Evan for his inspiring ultra-distance running, and arranging everything social for GGNCL. Katy for her brilliant games and for being a fantastic Run Leader whenever I'm not around.

It was really close in voting until the last few hours yesterday, then a sudden surge in voting gave Awesome Andrew a landslide victory, and he was awarded the coveted golden GoodGym dustpan and brush. You can tell by the photo how delighted he was.

I'm going to do the same face for this photo, that I've done for every photo this year

Andrew is leading a Community Mission this Saturday at St Lawrence Park which looks like the perfect chance to keep warm do good things and smash an extra good deed to stay on Santa's good list. The last Community Mission of the year takes place with Aimee on Sunday at City Stadium too, if you fancy doing a Double to end the year!

Thanks everyone for an incredible year of GoodGym Newcastle, in particular the Task Force for supporting and developing everything we get done. Every single one of you who come along whether it's once a month, every Monday, weekly visits to your coach or to every Community Mission help to make GoodGym what it is.

Our city is healthier, better and we are happier because of you

I'll leave you with Katy's brilliant poem that featured in my massive Christmas/Thank You card (thanks to everyone for their lovely messages!) and no apology that this Run Report has been epic- you get two weeks off from my rambling as a thank you.

Here it is:

GoodGym Newcastle is now 20 months old, And as 2019 comes to a close, It is time to reflect on the Good Deeds we've done, So we'll start from the top I suppose...

It all started with a painted Hoover, As we sorted through tools and toys, Paimted desks, clicking heels, cupboard and leaves, At JPR cheering the girls and boys.

Beeswax crafts, sewing and building shelves, Are all things we love to do! Litter-picks, weeding and marshallind in fog, Of those we've done quite a few!

There was painting and goat-walking, And then chopping down of trees. We made paper chains, sorted books, And were really good posties!

Scrubbed the decks, then painted them black, Can you believe I'm not even in May? Cleared a tunnel and found some rate, And remember digging in that rain?!

WERS got our help and we played in the park, Laughed and joked, everything shone. Yet more painting, we showed our pride, Delivered leaflets until there were none!

2000 good deeds was 'relay' great! Eagles and Recyke got our aid. First Centurion got his wings, then 3 more. Elliott Jouse- what a difference we've made!

But truth be told, it couldn't be done, Without someone taking a lead. Yes, you've got helpers to give you a hand, But you're who we really need.

Thank you Anji, our Queen of Drills, For your planning, playfulness and puns. 2019 has been a truly amazing year, All because of our Monday Group Runs!

• Katy

Happy Christmas one and all, See you in 2020!

Anji x

Our monthly visits to Elliott House come round so fast, and we were back there tonight!

Elliott House is a home to vulnerable men in our city, and it's a project we help out at regularly in support of our charity partner Changing Lives who do great work in Newcastle and the wider community in the North East. We have been helping to give their massive back garden a big makeover. The weeks are flying by and we started the countdown to our final run of the year tonight with a decent turn out in horrible conditions. I was so impressed to have not one but two new runners along on such a rainy miserable night. Well done Rebecca and Verity, we salute you.

You can do this, you can do anything!

We had a very quick Letters Game warm up to give Charlotte and Katy who were walking tonight a decent head start as they headed off up the famous hill of Westgate Road. Charlotte was wearing her brilliant 100 tshirt for the first time tonight, but you will have to take my word for that because it was far too cold and wet for her to take her coat off when we got there!

Brilliant task owner Alice met us with good news and bad. The bad news was we were still going to be outside for the task despite the rain, but the good news was that there were white chocolate muffins for everyone who wanted them at the end.. and they were MASSIVE. We were keen to get cracking and keep moving tonight, so it was straight on with weeding and clearing with conversations ranging from matching underwear to the best leggings for doing squats. It was brilliant to see everyone getting stuck in and as always we made a huge difference in just 25 minutes of our handy work.

What we really need for tasks like this is a GoodGym Goat. It could come to tasks on a Monday, munch through the leaves and weeds we clear, then we could take turns to look after it during the week - Debbie

Muffins collected and definitely not dropped by Katy, and we were off back into the city and on the way to our fitness session. It was so impressive to see everyone joining in on a paired activity of hills and recovery jogging, complete with high fives, heaps of encouragement and cheers from random passers-by. The effort was tremendous. We finished off with some personalised stretches for Evan's dodgy Achilles, Louise's back and Abi's .. um .. glute area. A Monday night very well spent!

We have had to make a very last minute change to the mission which was due to take place on Friday, and now has to happen TOMORROW! Please, please get involved tomorrow afternoon if you can as we deliver leaflets for Gosforth Civic Theatre from 1pm. There are a bunch of other Community Missions coming up in the next week from gardening to present wrapping so check them out and pop along if you can. All the info is here

See you next week when we are back at Newcastle Eagles for more gardening and good things.

Anji x

Time flies and it really doesn't feel that long ago that we were last at Elliott House!

We started the evening with some celebrations of a marathon kind as we cheered on Nick and Abi's awesome PBs at the Yorkshire Marathon yesterday. Top effort to come and get involved on tired legs too! There were also three super community missions to hear about, which you can catch up on here.

Congrats to Andrew for grabbing the treble and completing all three!

Debbie filled us in on the new parkrun at Jesmond Dene and we said a big hello and welcome to new runner Lauren who joined us for the first time tonight.

The Traffic Game got everyone warmed up on what felt like a chilly evening, giving Charlotte and Abi the chance to get a decent head start to the task. We haven't had a conversation topic for a while so the run out had the music related question "Which gig would you go to see, of any musician dead or alive" and we got answers ranging from Joy Division to Elvis. I still can't believe nobody said Steps!!

Our monthly visit to our friends at Changing Lives allows us to the support of their regular volunteers who have been working on transforming the large garden at the back of Elliott House which is a home for vulnerable men in our city. The aim is that in the coming months, the residents will have a safe place to enjoy and work in themselves. Alice our brilliant task owner met us and kept us organised as always as we headed straight out, collected tools from the shed and got digging. Since our last visit, the large Polytunnels have been removed and taken to Zimbabwe, and the garden now looks absolutely massive- it's amazing to think of the progress we have made in the last couple of months. There was a lot of excellent digging, a great deal of mud and it was also brilliant to see Charlotte replacing the crutches we've seen her with for the last few months, with a shovel in her hand instead! Go and give that woman a cheer!

As I had decided one massive hill wasn't quite enough for one night, we did some hill reps and a sprint off on the way back as part of tonight's fitness session which also featured Faye as the world's flashiest bike marshal at the top of the hill. Top work to Darren for smashing the final hill while Paul suffered something of a false start.

Team work!

If you'd like to get involved in a Community Mission with guaranteed tea and biscuits, check out the Saturday visit to Nunsmoor where we are popping along for our regular monthly visit. It's led by Ross, and you can sign up here for that one!

Have a great week knowing you started it doing good things. Happy running and walking, Anji x

Back to normality and back up a hill!

It was so great to be back at GoodGym Newcastle tonight after a brilliant break in Menorca. I have almost acclimatised anyway but being back with the group felt like a huge cosy hug, as we were back off to one of our favourite tasks, the monthly visit to Changing Lives where we have been helping with a huge garden renovation. Elliott House is a home to vulnerable men in our city, and the work Changing Lives do with them is quite incredible.

Now parks and gardens are usually our thing as we have done three big gardening tasks as Community Missions over the weekend, big well done to everyone who got involved in them! You will find the reports for them (and all our other tasks, too) here so check them out- there are some great photos, as always.

It was a special night for Miranda as it was her 50th good deed! Miranda has acheived so much in her short time with GoodGym Newcastle as she's become a Task Force member and run her first ever parkrun and 10K since she joined us in January. Now go and give her a massive cheer! She fully embraced the cloak and swished up and down the hill to the task like an actual superhero in amazing leggings.

We are not worthy!

We had a few last-minute changes tonight so when we arrived we were actually indoors and escaping the rain that was on the way- hurrah! Our jobs were all in the kitchen and included:

• Cleaning the ovens

• Deep clean of the cupboards

• Cleaning the large window

• Big sink scrub-up

• Mopping the floor

I also learned that they have a massive tin opening device as modelled by Andrew in the photos- you learn something new every day, eh? We had the kitchens scrubbed within just 25 minutes and just like that it was time to head off to the fitness session. Fitness sessions at the Triangle always involve an element of very fast stuff and tonight we smashed out some super-quick 20 and 40 second intervals- check out Katy's brilliant photo of the stream of runners under the Newcastle Brown Ale sign...

ICONIC

We have a brilliant new Group Run next week at Ouseburn Trust where we have lent a hand to a couple of Community Missions. You will need to bring a headtorch if you have one and as we are into darker nights now, please wear something reflective or bright. It will be great having you along as always. Sign up to that one here.

Keep up to date with happenings in our private Facebook group which you can request to join here

Have a great week running, walking and doing good things.

Anji x

Tonight was our regular visit to the brilliant Elliott House, where we are lending a hand at least once a month to volunteers from Changing Lives to make the massive gardens a nicer place for residents to hang out. Elliott House does amazing work for vulnerable young men in our city, and this partnership has been with us from the very start of GoodGym Newcastle. It was great that we had two new runners tonight, welcome to Katie and Vicki who joined us for their first experience of GoodGym and what a cracking night they had!

Well done for getting stuck in!

There were many reasons to be cheerful as always, and we had a great recap on the previous week's running and doing good things including Newcastle's newest parkrun addition and the weekend missions Yesterday and on Saturday where the brilliant Liz earned her black tshirt! Give that woman a cheer! It was my turn to lead the walking group while Katy took care of the warm up which I am assured was brilliant and a true test of Rock/Paper/Scissors skill!

Meeting at the task in perfect timing, we had a quick briefing with Alice our brilliant task owner before setting off to work. It was more weeding, clearing and tidying up, and the first time for us to road-test our brand new gloves, kindly donated to us by everyone's favourite boxing couple Katy and Ross.

Thank you Team Watson-Dobson!

We had to start the night doing a photo shoot for Andrew who needed some photos for his story in the GoodGym book celebrating 10 years, coming soon. Evan was on hand to tell him some stories, and throw potatoes at him while we got the photos done. Back in the garden, pallets were moved, weeds were pulled and we even seen an aggressive side to Tom as he raked and dug in the long grass! We were treated to some brilliant herby smells and Ross and Aimee got some brilliant wildlife photos too.

Evan even unearthed the head of a scarecrow and did his very best Worzel Gummidge impression for a photo.

Job done and back down the hill we trotted to the fitness session. It was hill repeats tonight, focusing on three areas of technique to drive up the hill with a little more of a bang. It was so great to see everyone working hard and encouraging each other.. when they got their breath back! We did the session in the shadow of St James Park, and right under the flat where Andrew used to live.. if only he'd known the weird circumstances that would bring him back!

I have to give a special shout to Rachael who promised us last week she was going to conquer the hill of Westgate Road. Despite being unable to make it tonight, Rachael went along to Westgate Rd this afternoon and ran the route solo. It's hard enough to do that hill when you HAVE to, so doing it when you don't is even more impressive. We think you're awesome Rachael - you nailed it.

There are a few new Good things happening this week!

It's our first ever Training Session at the Quayside on Wednesday tonight - please note, this is for GoodGym Members only. Come along to learn and have fun by the beautiful Quayside!

You can also get involved in a fantastic Community Mission on Thursday night as part of the Star and Shadow's big build project.

It's Bank Holiday next Monday which means Guaranteed Sunshine so come along, we are still running and walking! It's another chance to help Moving on Tyne and Wear with a big leaflet drop bonanza We are also hosting a parkrun takeover at the new Leazes parkrun in a few weeks. Find out about that and get involved here

Have a great week running, walking and doing good things. Anji

Woah! What a turn out for our monthly visit to Elliott House for Changing Lives. We have been lending a hand to this amazing home for vulnerable men in our city for the past few months, and tonight I think we got more done than ever!

There was once again a million things to catch up on, from some epic performances at a very hot and hilly Durham City Run, to Evan's victory at parkrun, to the GoodGym York camping weekend and not forgetting three fantastic Community Missions that took place over the weekend.

You can catch up on them here: Paul's solo mission to Nunsmoor A very wet one at St Lawrence Park And a duo effort at Harbottle Park

Big Kudos to Paul for ignoring the terrible weather and doing the double this weekend. Go and give that man a big cheer! Don't forget we are always looking for more Task Force members to source and lead new Community Missions, and if you've done 10 Good Deeds you are eligible to join the Task Force. Just look for the link on your dashboard.

We were impressed to see Andrew along with a very dramatic bandage on his poorly arm and a very bashed up knee after coming off his bike at the GG York camping weekend. What a trooper! It was amazing that we had three new runners long tonight too as well as welcoming back a few familiar faces we haven't seen in a while in Faye, Jon and Amy who is usually only available for weekend missions. We got warmed up with a brain twisting game of exercise, shouting out food and delivering harsh punishments to those who ended up 'out', then up the hill to Changing Lives we went.

We were met by Alice who had a big area ready for us to clear and weed and straight to work we went. A few of the residents popped out to thank us.

It's brilliant that this is your gym!

Lots of superb digging went on around some beautiful smelling herbs and thankfully there were no medical emergencies this week- although we were very careful to keep Louise away from the Insect Hotel after last week! Evan managed to find a frog which was quickly named Kevin and rescued to a safer area of the garden. Thankfully this whole incident was kept away from my sight as for some weird reason I am terrified of frogs.

You can hopefully tell from our Before and After photos that we made a big difference tonight, a job we will get finished at our next visit in a few weeks' time.

Katy led a fantastic fitness session tonight where a baton was passed around a circle, with runners on the outside chasing their way back while everyone else did a series of exercises. Check out the great photos of the session in Summerhill Park- the perfect summer's night!

I want to say a massive HIP HIP HOORAY and bye bye to GG NCL original Amy who is heading off to London to start her new job next week. We hope to have you back as a tourist in the future and we will truly miss you. Thank you for everything you have done for GoodGym in Newcastle, we think you are brilliant.

We don't have any Community Missions listed this weekend, but keep checking back in case anything pops up last minute. We'll see you back next Monday for a big clear out of the Room of Doom at Byker Community Centre where hopefully there will be no frogs.

Have a great week knowing you started it the best way doing good things.

Anji x