🏅 A gaggle of excellent GoodGymmers gathered for our weekly group run. First of all, we heard about some incredible running over the weekend. David Barrett won a race and not just any race, a (very) extended bleep test! Much kudos to David! Meanwhile, Matt won a parkrun (not a race, apparently...) And Ed did a Hardmoors half (but sadly got injured partway round, and still completed it, somehow!)

🦸 Next, it was time to celebrate 3 more heroes, of the 50 good deed variety. Huge well done to Jen, Matt and Jamie, who got to split the 50 cape between them!

🪏 After a quick warm-up, it was time to start running/cycling to Greenfields Garden for some (slightly) guerrilla gardening. We were helping the no-dig crew tonight, digging up grass to put on layers of cardboard to mulch down onto the bed below. There were a few tool options available to assist, including spades and loppers, or some of us used our hands...

🦗 A few grasshoppers/crickets were spotted (hence the pun), leading to a discussion about how to tell one from the other. It turned out no one was quite sure how to tell them apart but the internet tells me that crickets have longer antennae and are nocturnal. So we probably saw grasshoppers...

🍎 Anyway, it was hard work digging up grass so when we given the option to search the orchard for windfalls, many of us took it with open arms.

💪 Soon, it was time to down tools and start fitness with Nick. He claimed to find a way to make squats and planks fun and was almost right, though our moving tunnels of planks ended up in some particularly itchy grass!

🍪 Time to head back to base for a cool-down stretch and birthday biscuit-beer combo at the pub (thanks Nick!) We heard about lots of fun things coming up this week so plenty to get involved with. Thanks everyone!

There was lots to celebrate tonight following the weekends goings on. First up we had the wedding of Vicky and Neil (congratulations guys!) followed by a fair few members completing Thorp Perrrow parkrun dressed in wedding attire, including what could possibly be the first ever parkrun P1 featuring a chap in a dress carrying a handbag (classic Mitch). We then carried on the celebrations by numbering off whilst listing our favourite things about weddings, including lots of mentions of the various foods!

After that it was time to venture to Greenfields in a Woollard sandwich with Ed leading the run out and Amy backmarking. Meanwhile Vicky led a cycling group. Upon arrival at Greenfields the guys were organised promptly into 5 different groups and then led off by a volunteer from Greenfields to get stuck into their task. The following is the best recollection Ed can possibly give of what each different group was doing, without actually bothering to take the time to ask...

The first group were near the entrance and appeared to be hacking away at grass with relatively blunt instruments. Amy in particular seemed to be struggling to actually get any of the grass cut and every time Ed returned she'd swapped her instrument for one that she thought might be sharper. I think Michael may have actually managed to get some grass cut with a sickle but I can't be sure. He just looks like someone who can cut grass reasonably well.

The next 3 groups all seemed to be around the same sort of area. I think they were cutting grass near the raised beds or possibly even weeding in the beds, but I can't be sure. Mitch was asleep on the floor for a bit and Abigail was absolutely covered in stuff out of the beds which meant Babs had to get rather familiar with Abigail to help clear her backside! Steve constantly had a wheelbarrow. Laura was definitely removing grass from the side of a raised bed but didn't really seem to know why. Mitch had a wee in a bush. Abigail kept making faces. Jake and Matt appeared to genuinely be getting some work done, but I'm not sure if it was useful or not.

The final group were rather conveniently placed near the fruit trees and I honestly have no idea what they were doing. Rich had a rake but was leaning on it quite a bit. Lucy was very well hidden deep into the bushes. I think she was just hiding so that she could eat the fruit. I think I saw Neil and J cut some grass but I could be wrong.

After all that hard work it was time for a classic Greenfields symmetrical photo before a quick wedding themed fitness session, but only after Amy had reminded Ed that it was supposed to be wedding themed! There were some squats to start the wedding day, some lunges up the aisle, some very questionable dancing including the macarena and a little lie down at the end of the wedding featuring some burpees.

All in all a fab session at Greenfields and we'll be back again soon!

🥶 25 GoodGymmers gathered for this evening’s two-task group run, the first genuinely chilly one of the season.

👋 We were thrilled to welcome Megan for her first task with us, and to congratulate Carl for his 200th (slightly belatedly but he got to wear the cape at last!) 🦸‍♂️

💪 More congratulations were in order for everyone who ran the marathon and 10-mile races yesterday, including some who ran PBs and/or their furthest distance yet! Some even walk/ran/cycled tonight, so impressive!

🎨 We named, numbered and warmed up while discussing our favourite GoodGym tasks. Painting featured highly, along with various forms of (constructive?) destruction.

🍎 Ed led half the group to Greenfield’s Garden. Here’s what he had to say:

🗺️ After a bit of an extended run out to the task, thanks to Ed forgetting his way around York, we arrived at the task and split into two teams. Team A were armed with forks and loppers and got to work on shifting some piles of cuttings and cutting up some larger branches. Team B were armed with sickles, forks and spades and made light work turning over the compost bays and clearing the area of nettles and brambles.

🏠 Not before too long it was time for the fitness session, which featured Lyndsey showing everyone how she bungalows and then everyone else deciding how they bungalowed too.

🚚 The rest of us headed to West Bank Park where we were soil-shovelling with Kristina. We were greeted by a big skip and told that some people could get in it! We didn’t need telling twice and had some very willing volunteers hop straight in. The enthusiasm increased yet further when Abigail realised how warm the soil was!

🦺 There were also six wheelbarrows that were filled and taken (a fair distance) to the rose garden, for a big new flowerbed. This involved crossing a road so Kristina had brought hi-viz so we could do so safely.

🌹 We had a few people stay up at the flowerbed, some to rake the soil as it brought up, some to tamp down other areas up there. There was some discussion on how to maximise efficiency, both this evening and for future tasks, of which there will be a few given the amount of soil left and the prospect of another skip being ordered to fill a second new flowerbed. I think the answer was more wheelbarrows (always) and possibly a relay system!? Watch this space as I’m hoping Leanne’s elaborate plan will be complete for the next equivalent task!

🥳 After a quick cones of joy-based fitness session, it was time to head back to base, on foot or wheels then on to the pub for some and home to warm up for others.

🙌 21 excellent GoodGymmers, undeterred from the recent rain shower met for our weekly group run, and were rewarded by no further rain for the evening 🌦️

👋 We were thrilled to welcome Lizzy for her first GoodGym session. We hope you had fun and would love to see you again 😁

👑 We were also delighted to welcome Ivo who founded GoodGym who visited us from London 🏙️

🥳 There were celebrations aplenty for some brilliant efforts at the Vale of York half marathon on Sunday, which was Laura's first half, a PB for Ed and Nicky and excellently run by Vicky and David. Well done to everyone for getting back out on tired legs tonight 🏅

🍫 We named, numbered and warmed up while discussing our favourite chocolate bars/snacks. From dark chocolate Bounties to salted caramel Twixes and the classic Milky Way, it was an enlightening (if not mouthwatering) experience 🤤

🏃‍♀️🚲🚶 It was then time to head off to Greenfields, with running, run-walking and cycling options. We were greeted with an introduction to the space and quickly split into four teams to get to work 💪

🍓 Some people were lopping brambles while others were neatening up the compost piles. We also had a scything and raking team, giving Ivo his first experience of scything (maybe a new life skill to take back to London?!) 👨‍🌾

⏰ Time flew with the fun that was had so it was time to finish up in no time. After gathering for the obligatory symmetrical(ish) photo, we said farewell to our run-walkers. Tonight's fitness session combined the cones of joy with (two different) dice of doom and some appropriate fitness music to create something that could be adapted to the soreness levels of the legs 😴

🤩 After that, it was time to head back to base to stretch off, cool down and hear about all the exciting sessions we've got coming up, before heading to home or the pub 🍻

🙈 Sorry for the poor pun tonight, my inspiration levels were low 🤦🏼‍♀️

👋19 brilliant GoodGymmers met on a bank holiday Monday to round off the long weekend with a lovely group run 🌟

🙌 We were thrilled to welcome Lindsay to her first GoodGym session, and also to hear about people's exciting running adventures this weekend 👌

⛱️ We named, numbered and warmed up while disclosing our favourite beach activity. There were lots of sandcastle-builders and brave swimmers and also the odd ice cream-eater and person-burier 🍦

🥭 After a quick running warm up, we set off for Greenfields Garden. On arrival, we quickly set to work gathering plums, both from the tree and from the ground. A variety of instruments were available to do this, along with our bare (well, gloved) hands! Apparently, we picked over 57kg! Once that was done, we set to work gathering the rotten windfalls to be composted. Some of us also went hunting other produce, including courgettes/marrows (if anyone can confirm at what point a courgette becomes a marrow, that would be greatly appreciated) and some interesting (yet unidentified) squash/marrow mystery veg 🥒

📸 Once the turning composter had been turned, we posed for our highly choreographed mirror image group photo (which has to be done at this task). We did some companionable birthday squats for Barbara's birthday tomorrow before a quick Mitch-inspired fitness session of never have I ever, featuring the fitness dice of doom/fun (depending on your perspective) 🎲

🥳 Before we knew it, it was time to head back to base to stretch off, cool down and enjoy some of Barbara's very yummily gooey birthday brownies 🍫

👍 Thank you everyone, and hopefully see you again soon 😁

🌠 Credit to Mitch for the pun 💪

🌫️ 24 glorious GoodGymmers met on a mildly muggy Monday for our group run this evening, several of whom were on an impressive double good deed quest, having done a pre-group run community mission at a nearby community garden 🍈

🤓 We chatted about our bumper week coming up, with many more opportunities to get fit and do good 👌

👸🤴We named and numbered off while saying what period of history we'd have liked to have lived in, given the choice. There was much contentment with the present, dreams of the future, nostalgia for the recent past and desires to walk with dinosaurs and forage with the Romans 🦕

🏃‍♀️🏃‍♂️ Pete led the run to Greenfields Community Garden where Louise swiftly set us to work, dividing is into two groups to conquer tonight's tasks 👍

🥭 Some people were armed with litter-pickers to pick not litter (slightly confusingly - some people had already started doing just that as it appears to be an automatic conditioned response as a GoodGymmer, to start picking litter the moment a litter picker appears) but plums. A successful haul was gathered that will be distributed to the local community and food banks, with only a few disappearing (with permission) into GoodGym stomachs 😋

💪 Meanwhile, the other group were building their arm muscles moving the compost heap from one side of the garden to the other. Some people were armed with forks, shifting the compost into wheelbarrows, which were then barrowed to the new compost heaps by the barrowers. The question of why is (almost) always good to ask of a GoodGym task and Louise was able to offer multiple explanations. Firstly, it was a good opportunity to turn the compost, which is a positive thing anyway. Secondly, there has been a recent rat infestation in the nearby streets and although Louise was confident (and our work also supported) that these weren't originating from the compost heap, it was good to be able to show this and thus maintain good relationships with the neighbours 🙌 Oh, and despite the lack of rats, there was a notably huge spider uncovered, generating different emotions among nearby GoodGymmers 🕷️

🥒 When people had finished their official tasks, Louise sent some of us on some unofficial foraging (for ripe courgettes) and/or tasting (of mulberries) missions. There were some mixed reactions to mulberries but the overall verdict was probably positive and the impromptu renditions of "Here we go round the mulberry bush" made any slight tart taste bud explosions all worthwhile 🎶

🎤 At some points, this delightful nursery rhyme was the soundtrack to tonight's fitness season (once we'd remembered the words and tune). Fitness was a mash up of plank musical chairs with the addition of the fitness dice of doom for anyone not planking plus a few cones of joy activity. I'm not entirely sure if a sense of joy or doom dominated but it was hopefully a good workout at least 💪

⌚ And with that, it was time to head back to base and on to the pub for many of us 🍻

👏 Thank you for some brilliant work tonight everyone, and hopefully see you at one of our other sessions this week 🥳

🎉 Credit to James S for tonight's pun.