Sticker Saturday happens once a month, and yet it comes around so quickly. Today it was the first of two Goodgym events as we had a community task starting at midday. As always there is no obligation to attend both events but we will always time it so that option is available.

Today was a crisp, lovely autumnal morning, perfect for our regular Sticker Saturday outing to Princes parkrun and parkwalk. Amina, Aatefa, Clara, Leo and Sallyann joined together for our familiar route.

Princes parkrun is a busy course, but one we all know well. As we made our way around, we were greeted with plenty of shouts of “Good to see you!” and “GoodGym!” It’s lovely to feel part of the parkrun community, particularly in a park where we do so much volunteering. We’ll be back there on Monday, helping the Friends of Princes Park, who work so hard to maintain this wonderful green space.

Parkrun is about taking part, not just chasing times, but there were some achievements worth celebrating today.

A huge shout-out to Aatefa! She has recently become one of our fabulous new run leaders and started doing parkrun in January this year. In just ten months, her times have improved by just over 22% — phenomenal progress! Aatefa and Amina are regulars at Princes Parkrun, attending most weeks, and it’s inspiring to see their continued commitment.

Congratulations to Amina on getting a PB today. Amina usually has to dash off after Sticker Saturday, missing out on brunch and the social side of things. Today, though, she deserves extra kudos: she headed home to continue with her tasks and then returned for a later community mission. Brilliant commitment, Amina.

Suren deserves a special mention, too. He ran to parkrun, completed the course, ran home and then headed off to play football. Now that’s making the most of a Saturday morning!

Clara walks at a phenomenal pace and has been parkwalking all over the country, so it was lovely that today she could enjoy her home parkwalk at Princes Park with us.

Fantastic to have Leo back with us, too. His joyful presence has been missed at Sticker Saturday. As per usual, he had mislaid his loyalty card and needed a replacement. How many cards is that now, Leo? See if you can make it a hat trick next month.

Steph W joined us after running a 10K in the Wirral last week. Steph just quietly keeps moving forward with her running journey nonchantly doing 10ks after her her half a few months ago. Its just wonderful to see and it was great to catch up with her.

After parkrun, Aatefa, Clara, Leo and Sallyann headed down to Squash Community Café, where our very own Sticker Guardian, Steph H was waiting for us.

She had prepared a fantastic display: a squash on the table, surrounded by loyalty cards. What a brilliant advertisement for GoodGym! There was absolutely no doubt which table belonged to us.

We were also joined by Max. A very warm welcome! It was his first session with us, and he managed to squeeze in not one but two sessions today. A double whammy on your very first day — well done!

Breakfast at Squash was, as always, gorgeous, and conversation flowed. There was even some discussion about next year's loyalty card design. Our Sticker Guardian assures us she has some ideas up her sleeve, and I'm delighted that she is happy to remain in post for another year. We clearly couldn't manage without her!

All too soon, it was time to disband. Some of us then headed off to our next session at the Bonded Church. You'll have to read that session's report to find out how we got on and who reached their 20th Goodgym task.

If you fancy trying out Sticker Saturday, we have two more sessions before the end of the year. And it's never too late to win a prize in one of our special categories!

There are still secret categories up for grabs, and nobody knows which ones remain to be won. Intrigued? You'll have to come along and find out!

Why not join us in November? We'd love to see you there. Stickers, parkrun, good company and a gorgeous brunch — what's not to love?

It was a drizzly morning with all the hallmarks of an autumnal one but minus golden leaves and dropped temperature. It was still so mild for September and after all the rain the once bleached grass was back to healthy bright green. I saw Suren at the meeting point, it was good to meet up, I hadn’t seen him for a couple of months. Then Bekah joined us and we saw Sophie walking up. We walked over to the start line and got instruction from a very competent shouter of a martial, I have never heard someone project so well across a large crowd! There must’ve been about 300 people it was really crowded considering the recent bad weather. I ran/walked a lap and a half and then bowed out to wait for the others. Sophie had finished around 27mins, then we saw Aatefa, then Leo at a respectable 33mins. Bekah was not so happy with her finish time but this is the big build up for her now to running the London marathon next April so very soon our park run will literally be a walk in the park for her. Amina said she’d run/walked and couldn’t join us for breakfast but wanted to get in the picture as proof of her attendance for the coveted sticker. Suren must have run and left as we couldn’t find him but he had told me at the start that he wasn’t joining for breakfast. We got a message from sticker guardian Steph that she had reserved a table at our new breakfast spot, Golden Brunch. Myself, Leo, Bekah and Aatefa walked from the park to join her. The food was amazing! Very generous portions, a good variety and great quality. Possibly a contender for our new favourite. Then we all went our separate ways in the rain.

Some GoodGym sessions have you running. Some have you gardening. And every so often, if you’re lucky, you get both in one evening. That’s exactly how six GoodGymers ended up trading trainers for trowels, joining Hope and Adrian to give the planters along Smithdown Road some care and attention. The brief was simple: weed, tidy, top up the soil and pick up any litter along the way. Liam, Fred and I started the evening with a run from the Liverpool Women’s Hospital area towards the traffic island where Ullet Road meets Smithdown Road, where the rest of the group was waiting. Once everyone had gathered, Liam took us through the safety guidance, making sure we all knew how to work safely around the traffic. Hope then talked to us through the task and explained what needed to be done. With the safety briefing complete, the instructions clear and the gloves on, we were ready to get stuck in. We started at the traffic island itself, coaxing the planters back from “a bit wild” to something genuinely lovely. We pulled out the weeds, added fresh soil, and gave everything a proper tidy. From there, we worked our way along Smithdown Road, planter by planter, weeding, trimming and maintaining the plants, while also clearing litter from the surrounding areas. Ten planters later, the road was looking noticeably brighter for it. There was a small milestone worth mentioning too: Amina turned up with her own new pair of gardening gloves for the very first time! A proper GoodGym rite of passage. The gloves were on, the weeds were warned, and there was no turning back. A Blooming Good Session It really was a good bloom session. There’s something quietly uplifting about working your way along a row of flowerbeds. The more we cleared, the more colour seemed to spring back to life around us, as though the plants were paying us back in kind for the attention. We’d started at a traffic island, but happily there wasn’t a hint of a jam. Instead, there was steady progress from planter to planter, with soil under our nails and the road looking better with every stop. The plants were putting down roots, while the GoodGymers were putting in the graft. And as for the weeds? They never stood a chance. Wrong place, wrong time, and definitely not part of the plan. Between pulling weeds, hauling soil, trimming plants and picking up litter, everyone found their part in the effort. There was plenty of enthusiasm throughout, and by the time we moved further along the road, Smithdown was beginning to look as though it was smiling back at us. The flowers may have been the ones doing the blooming, but there were plenty of smiles blooming among the GoodGymers too. Putting Down Roots, Then Running Home We wrapped up a few minutes ahead of schedule, with 10 planters looking brighter, the surrounding pavements tidier, and Hope and Adrian’s Smithdown in Bloom project given another helping hand. With the gardening done and the weeds well and truly defeated, it was time to swap the trowels back for trainers. Liam and I ran back to the area where we had started, bringing the evening neatly full circle. We had begun by running towards Smithdown, spent the middle of the session among the flowerbeds, and finished by running back with that satisfying kind of tiredness that comes from knowing you’ve left somewhere a little better than you found it. A big thank you to Hope and Adrian for organising and guiding us through the task, and to Liam for taking us through the safety guidance and keeping everything running smoothly. And, of course, a big well done to everyone who turned up, got their hands dirty and helped make the evening such a good one. It’s a nice reminder that small deeds can add up to something real: a few pairs of gloves, some fresh soil, a group willing to get stuck in, and a stretch of road that feels a little brighter for everyone who walks past it. We arrived on foot, stayed to dig in, put down some roots, pulled out a few weeds, and left Smithdown blooming. From sole to soil and back again, not a bad way to spend an evening.