Tonight twelve runners took the short run to one of our favourite local tasks. Why our favourite? Well it definitely has nothing to do with the free cakes on offer! We've been going to the Community Kitchen run by the Brighton and Hove Food Partnership since the kitchen began and they are always ready with some great cleaning tasks to get the kitchen ready for classes.

Amaryllis and Rosie set to the tough but rewarding job of bringing the ovens back to life, it was a grease ridden nightmare but they made them look fantastic by the end.

Jane started the evening in horror at the scale of mis matched utensils in cupboards, after calming down she soon made light work of the mess!

Fresh from their Worthing half-marathon heroics Angela and Ben polished up the dining table and chairs.

The rest of us busied ourselves with general cleaning around the kitchen until the whole place was sparkling! For all our hard work we were rewarded with some amazing cakes.

It was lovely to see some old faces tonight and big thank you to Frances for sharing the tasks around us all.

Today I received a magazine about Artificial Intelligence (AI). Being an overthinker, I couldn't stop thinking about one question: Can AI take over my job in the future?

Making my way to the Goodgym task I started feeling the anxiety building up, thinking how can I cope in an ever-changing world. As soon as I reached the Goodgym meeting point and was welcomed with friendly faces, my worries were suddenly on pause.

Thirteen Goodgymers braved the cold today and made their way to The Fitzherbert Community Hub that has recently opened its doors and we met Katherine, the newly appointed manager, who explained to us about this multi-partners endeavor and what help was needed by Real Junk Food Project in their venue for tonight. We all started sweeping, mopping, cleaning tables, arranging cups and there's always a few that did more chatting than cleaning!! (not naming names but do check the photos for evidence!).

We were done quickly with today's task and Angela had the great idea of having pancakes since its Pancake Tuesday! So we made our way to Munchie's Craft in the Laines where the owner was kind enough to keep the cafe open till late and served us delicious pancakes ! We took over the whole cafe and ordered sweet and savoury pancakes and some waffles by mistake! Some opted for fancy cocktails for the gram.

It was a fun social and as we said our goodbyes, I went back home with one thought in mind; AI can and will probably take over my job in the future, but it will never be able to take over the sense of joy and contentment of completing another Goodgym task :)

I asked ChatGPT (An AI platform that is taking the world by storm) to write a rap song about Goodgym and here is what it came up with! I let you be the judge of who raps better wink wink

It's Pancake Tuesday and the crew's all here,

Brighton GoodGym in the house, let's make it clear,

Lace up our sneakers, we're on the move,

Gonna help the community with a groove.

We sprint down the road, with a purpose in mind,

Helping the elderly, leaving no one behind,

We shovel snow and rake the leaves,

Making the neighborhood shine before we leave.

We finish the job, time to celebrate,

But we're not done yet, it's time to create,

A stack of pancakes, fluffy and sweet,

To enjoy with friends, while we kick up our feet.

We sit down to eat, with smiles all around,

Good food, good company, in a great town,

Brighton GoodGym, Pancake Tuesday,

A day to remember, in every single way.

Brighton GoodGym, we're the ones to beat,

Pancake Tuesday, let's get to the street,

We'll run and help, no task too tough,

We'll get it done and never enough.

Running, snow, frost, hills, a visitor from afar (London, John) hot chocolate, chips, mulled wine and Frances dressed as a Christmas tree, what more could you want from a Goodgym Christmas trail run!

12 runners braved the wintry weather to tackle a hilly route around Stanmer park. After starting from Coldean Lane we made our way up and over to Stanmer Park picking up a Helena en route before running a full loop of the park. The weather was cold and the ground hard, perfect winter running weather! We made quick progress around the park taking in the dormant trees and dodging all the walkers. We finished in good time and had a quick stretch back at the start before catching the bus back to Brighton.

We then celebrated our winter run in style at the Pavilion Ice Rink! As the snow started to come down we warmed up (a bit) with hot chocolates and mulled wine before tucking into lots of well deserved warm treats. We had a quick photo in front of the Pavilion and all the ice skaters before speedily heading home to warm up. Thank you all for coming, I've really enjoyed these trail runs this year, see you for more in the New Year!

With the nights drawing in, we met for an indoor task in central Brighton, where the Real Junk Food Project rescue good food from going to landfill and serve it in their pay-as-you-feel cafe, The Gardner. Armed with Cillit Bang and yellow cloths, we got to work cleaning all those awkward areas that get missed in routine cleans: under tables, behind radiators, and along skirting boards.

Jason put in an admirable effort cleaning the scuffs off the main staircase, while Jane purposefully dealt with the downstairs tables. With such a great team on the task (and Barry Scott on our side), we made short work of the dust and grime, and left the cafe looking its best. The Real Junk Food Project are planning to open a new venue in November, and we're looking forward to helping out there in future!

Our fitness session tonight involved a unilateral bicep workout, thanks to an impromptu social down at the Fountainhead, where some runners sampled their first mulled wine of 2022. Yes, winter is coming, but there's plenty to look forward to for Brighton GoodGym, including weekend trail runs and a Christmas social on the cards. See you out there soon!