Huw and I welcomed Liam to his very first Goodgym task. We, in turn, were given a warm welcome by the staff. With 3 of us it really didn't take long to get the tables up and chairs out. As the staff are unable to set up the event for themselves, they were very grateful for our help. This Age UK day club has a 'Huw -ge', positive impact to those who come along. As this photo shows, I realised I was in the company of true giants! Thank you Huw and Liam!

Tonight was all about the amazing exploits of all our runners at the Yorkshire Marathon and 10 Miler on Sunday. Well done to everyone who took part either by running or supporting at the water station. An extra shout out to Carys, Sanjay and Lucy who had all run the 10 miler and made it along to tonight's session, and very special mention for Michael and David who had both completed the marathon and still felt like they couldn't possibly miss an epic GG session!

We were back off to Heworth Holme, a site of an awful lot of previous GoodGym group runs, however tonight was nothing to do with laying the path through the middle and instead was all about raking up an awful lot of cuttings from a grassy area. We met Maria from St Nicks at the task who gave a brief overview to the team who soon got to work. There was a mix of rakers, pirchforkers and draggers as the GG crew got stuck in and shifted an awful lot of the grass cuttings in no time at all and with remarkably few complaints from those who may have been carrying tired legs from the weekend!

After a good 45mins of some serious raking we stopped for a team photo around our marathon heroes before a quick fitness session which put them in the middle of our group and relied on them to guess who was leading the choreographing of the exercises. David picked out Paul Kelly in absolutely no time at all, whereas Michael probably could still be guessing now and would have no idea that Nikki was in charge of the exercises when he was in the middle! To be fair Michael took his punishment of a single star jump remarkably well.

It was then back to base with Ed leading the run and Neil backmarking, and with the slightly longer distance than usual we were very grateful for some of Jenna's delicious apple and cinnamon cake when we returned!

It was glorious Yorkshire Marathon Day. A day people count down all year for. Wait up all night in anticipation for. A day of greats, of victories, swollen knees and sweaty faces.

The weather Gods were smiling down on us. It was a crisp and sunny morning. The Goodgymmer’s came rolling in two by two hurrah hurrah! Some of a bit more cheery than others…

As Chief today, I knew I needed to motivate everyone with the lure of points. The rules were: impress me and you get points, be sassy with me and you’ll soon see those points tumbling away!

After a brief briefing - where we found out there were no bacon sandwiches on the way - we got to work. Everyone pitched in, carrying the water, stacking it on the tables, opening the lids ready for the runners. We were quick. Well some of us were quicker than others. Jane was a pro at flipping the lids, but she mocked my lip flipping skills which lost her many many points. Hannah and Jenna had lid flipping tips so they were +15 each! Laura was quietly efficient, +10!

We were so quick at the prep, there was even time for a few shop runs for pain au chocolates in lieu of the bacon sarnies. Max delivered the first round and then Nick came with the bakery goods. This earned them both 30 points!

Then the countdown to the first runners was getting closer. We discussed tactics, we checked our reserves, we got into formation. Nick had the good intentions of bringing a speaker (+20) but alas, the speaker’s charge didn’t even last a whole song (-5).

Then the runners came, slow at first. The speedier, but still very polite and thankful, runners came through. Then it hit. Thousands of runners, desperate for our water, came pouring in. We couldn’t hand it out fast enough. We couldn’t restock. It was chaos! Max turned into a genuinely helpful goodgymmer and replenished our water reserves so fast (+20)!

I was pulled away from the action to help an injured runner and missed all the fun. Leanne described it as “the most chaotic ever!” So everyone can have +50 for being superstars during the madness.

Some respite came soon after where we got into some water fights. Ed lost most his points at this stage. Rule of life: never anger the Point Giver-Outer. Lionel won many many points for having my back.

Final Points Tally: 1. Jane: -80 (far too sassy!) 2. Ed: -33 (work ethic was sub optimal. Also attacked me with water!) 3. Helen: -13 (disobeyed orders!!) 4. Paul Kelly: +15 (obeyed my orders, even if reluctantly) 5. Leanne: +20 (there was a lot of sass, but general work ethic was good) 6. Neil: +64 (is married to someone cooking me a roast) 7. Laura: +72 (for being clever with blister plasters!) 8. Hayden: +77 (the sun god) 9. Nicky: +83 (star helper) 10. Lisa: +94 (It was lovely to meet you, but minus points for being related to James.. sorry!) 11. Rebecca: +97 (efficiency pro) 12. Emma: +99 (water queen!) 13. Max: +101 (gave me food!) 14. Amy: +102 (extra points for being an Acorn) 15. Nick: +103 (gave me better food!) 16. Hannah: +104 (great lid flipping tips) 17. Jenna: +107 (also good lid flipping) 18. Sam: +112 (Acorn and defended my honour) 19. Vicky: +146 (is currently cooking me a roast dinner so I have to be nice) 20. Lionel: +1063 (THE LEGEND)

Five Goodgymers had a lovely morning working alongside other volunteers to clear the beds and plant a new sensory garden at Huntington Library. Lyndsey and Kirsty started out by liberating a neglected quince bush from the weeds (and uncovering hidden treasure in the form of a £20 note!), while Rachel, Jenna and Lucy got stuck in digging over the beds and hauling manure. We watched the expert gardener lay out the plants according to her plan, then helped settle them all in nicely to their new positions, where they will provide bright colouring and lovely scents for library visitors. We were then treated to snacks and a cup of tea - thanks for having us!