It was a cold November evening and many of us met at the task wrapped up in as many layers as possible. Sophie, Sallyann and Aatefa braved the cold and ran to the task. Here we met Khan who asked us to do some targetted weeding and litter picking. We formed into different groups. Miriam took on weeding the tree; Sophie and Jit (a very warm welcome Jit) took on weeding at the bottom of the community garden. Heetu took on weeding the perimeter. While Sallyann, Bekah, Aatefa, Craig, and I took on litter picking and clearing some rubbish. During the litter pick we found some interesting items including a bath, some cups and interestingly a bag of lentils. Aatefa and I continued to litter pick the area while the others went to support with weeding. Heetu and Craig made light work of tidying the weeds around the garden - making the entraceways look much neater. We posed for a photo and tried our best to show our goodgym tshirts. We also realised it had an interesting light, not too far off from the colour of the lentils we'd found earlier. During the weeding we learnt that Jit grows his own fruit and veg and knows quite a bit a about weeds. Excellent knowledge to have as I, for one, am often unsure. We also found out he is a writer so we were all talking about reports for Goodgym - we hope to read your first report soon Jit. Well done everyone for an excellent job on a cold November evening. Congratulations also to Craig on the 15th task!

The Bronte centre really lies in the heart of Liverpool, tucked away behind the new Liverpool John Moores campus, a short walk from Lime Street station next to the famous Bullring. It started in the 1960s as a boxing club and grew to be a hub for local youth and the community. Sallyann had met David at the Everton Park Gardens Summer auction, he had been the auctioneer and they chatted about what Goodgym does and what the Bronte do and how Goodgym could help the Bronte with a Monday evening task. So this was our first time at this venue. It was our biggest turnout of the year with fourteen in attendance. Six Goodgymmers; Sallyann, Heetu, Dike, Laura, Max and Aatefa ran from the suitcases on Hope Street, others walked and we met David who showed us what needed to be done. We had some stones to shift, some brambles to uproot and a front garden to tidy. We set off in three groups:

Group 1, the brambles: Miriam, Heetu, Tsi Tsi and Leo were in the bramble attack team. Tsi Tsi and Miriam had both bought bramble proof gloves along with them so they were keen to get stuck in. At one point we had an enormous turnip situation where we all pulled on the stubborn bramble until it gave way, honestly it was the biggest bramble we had ever seen with a trunk like a small tree.

Group 2, the rocks: Meanwhile Ellie, Steph, Laura and Sophie got stuck into clearing the rocks and bricks to make the outdoor space more usable. As the shortest member of the team, Laura volunteered to climb into the storage cage, whilst the others got to work doing the heavy lifting. What started off as a neatly stacked and layered pile, utilising advanced Tetris skills, soon became a precariously balanced mound of rubble! Either way, by the end of the hour 90% of the material had been successfully transported to its new home, leaving the lawn corner much clearer and ready to be put to better use.

Group 3, the front: Liam, Max, Dika, Sallyann, Bekah and Aatefa were assigned the important mission of clearing the front garden and entrance area of the youth centre. The front area had clearly been enjoying a little too much autumn decoration! Fallen leaves had covered the grass and hidden some of the beautiful plants, while litter had also decided to make itself at home. Armed with rakes, brushes and plenty of determination, they got straight to work. They raked away the thick layers of leaves, collected the scattered litter and carefully cleared the areas around the plants. Little by little, the greenery started making an appearance again. The plants were finally free from their leafy blankets and could enjoy a little sunshine! They continued by gathering the collected leaves and rubbish, brushing the pathways and tidying the surrounding areas. By the time they had finished, the entrance looked considerably cleaner, brighter and much more welcoming. It was lovely to see how much difference six pairs of hands could make in such a short time. The leaves may have put up a good fight, but the GoodGymers certainly won this round!

Afterwards David seemed impressed and booked in a return visit with Sallyann. They very kindly made us drinks and we congregated for a short while in the seating area at the centre where we said congratulations to Sal on her 200th mission…

Sallyann joined in June 2019 so has been a part of Goodgym for 7 years. She's undertaken sessions in 3 areas, is a member of Taskforce, and a trained Run Leader.

What the 200 tasks doesn't show is all the work and effort she does behind the scenes: the tasks organised, the time spent with task owners, helping others, supporting member's running journeys, arranging socials, being a welcome committee for GG tourists, welcoming new people, ensuring everyone feels comfortable and included, encouraging people to engage further with both GG and their running, organisation of admin, and, of course, she's the architect of the phenomenon that is Sticker Saturday.

So a massive well done on your 200th task, and thank you Sallyann for everything you do for Goodgym and the people in it.

After completing our task, Heetu, Ellie, Leo, Laura and Aatefa set off on their run back to Suitcases. With another community task completed, a little exercise under our belts and plenty of smiles, we brought a beautiful GoodGym session to a close. What a lovely way to combine running, teamwork and giving something back to the community!

This report was a collaborative effort by Miriam, Laura, Aatefa and Bekah

Amina, Steph, Sallyann and me all carpooled to Sutton Manor parkrun. Many thanks to Sallyann for driving us. When we arrived we started to see some very impressive halloween costumes and all volunteers had dressed up to cheer us on and mark the route (as always thanks to volunteers who really make parkruns so special). We soon realised this was a significantly smaller parkrun than we are used to, as there were only 66 people taking part for today's parkrun. It was a misty, cold morning - everyone, but me, had wrapped up well, Steph especially. This course was absolutely beautiful, especially considering how close it is to the motorway. It is also a very challenging course with lots of hills but this also gives some quite amazing views across Cheshire and Merseyside with the Dream statue at the heart. The Dream is a sculpture by Jaume Plensa and developed under the Big Art Project by Channel 4 in 2008. It depicts a girl dreaming. The council alongside residents who also included some original miners who used to work at the Sutton Manor Colliery were involved in its design. The white dolomite was deliberately chosen to contrast coal. The base of the plinth is shaped like a miner's tally (the metal disc that miners would use to log in/out of the pit). It was orginally titled Ex Terra Lucem (from the ground, light) to reflect St Helen's motto. The mist started to lift as we walked and ran our way round. The mix of colours also felt very autumnal. Amina was super speedy making light work of the course. Once we all got round, we then turned our thoughts to the all important breakfast and chat. We dropped Amina at the train station and Sallyann, Steph and me headed to Harefield barn for a breakfast. We were delighted to be joined by Liam who was sporting his new wings 100 task Goodgym t-shirt for its first outing. Over breakfast, we started to plan more parkrun on holiday events to continue to make our way through the alphabet. Thanks everyone for a fab morning - definitely a Halloween Dream.

In the lovely dry dark night four of us ran from suitcases to Everton Park Community Gardens meeting some others at the task.

John from Everton park explained that we needed to dismantle a bed into another as they needed to make space for the building to be extended.

Inside the current building de-wallpapering was required of a previous mystic blue art design from an open evening that John hosts at the gardens. Therefore Sallyann and Amina had to test various concoctions to determine which was most effective at demystifying the art paper. They concluded that good soaking and elbow grease was the answer.

While de-bedding the whole team tried to crack the nut stuck in the side of the bed but the de-screwing tool refused to take purchase and we decided more light needed to be shed on this stubborn nut!

Meanwhile Amina and Sallyann had removed several layers of wallpaper and agreed to continue the task in the new year.
Checkout the earliest session on JANUARY 11th 2027 which will lift the curfew on Everton usual opening sessions!

Bidding a fond farewell and goodnight to the beds at Everton for 2026 xxx

On a lovely, crisp autumn Monday evening our team donned headtorches and hi viz and gathered for another session in Princes Park. Sallyann, Heetu and Ellie were raring to get stuck in and make a visible difference to one of our favourite local green spaces.

Joining forces with the Friends of Princes Park, our small but mighty team of Sallyann, Heetu, Ellie, and (eventually after being fashionably late) Liam set to work along a key lakeside path. Overgrown branches and heavy layers of accumulated leaves had encroached on the walkway, making passage tricky for park visitors.

Though our numbers were lower than usual, we made light work of the task, cutting back the branches and cleared the path edge to edge, tucking a surprisingly large mound of swept leaves (see pics) neatly out of the way so parkgoers could enjoy a safe, accessible route once again.

To round off the evening, we had a special milestone to mark! At the end of the task, the team presented Liam with gifts to celebrate his 100th GoodGym task. As the moon emerged to light up our final wrap-up, it made for a wonderful finish to a lovely evening.

Extra message from Liam:

When I first signed up to Goodgym, it took me about 6 months to actually sign up for a task and attend. Like a lot of people I'd fallen put of the habit of getting out and seeing people during Covid and wasn't sure what to expect or whether I'd like it.

From my first task (shoutout to Sallyann, Heetu and Laura from GG Liverpool!) I was made to feel really welcome and valued, alleviating the nerves I'd felt and making me want to keep going and helping all of the great causes that we support across the city. Soon, Mondays became something to look forward to, especially after a hard or stressful day.

I would say to anyone thinking of joining Goodgym is that you always feel better after attending a task, spending time with warm and friendly people and making a positive difference to your community.

Abergele was the lovely destination this time for goodgym to tackle another 5km and 10km race.

Sallyann and Vikky arrived early for the 5km and after a quick dabble in the arcades, headed off to do their 5kms. Soon after, the 10 kers arrived ( Eleanor, Bekah, Liam and Laura) just in time to watch Sallyann finish in the bright morning sun. We all gathered together soon after to greet each other and congratulate the race finishers. Despite being an organised double race, it wasn't a huge event which meant it had a calmer atmosphere which we all appreciated. And despite the chilly air temperature, the bright sun meant we could warm our backs in the sun (and some even found it too warm for running!).

The 10km race soon started and we all set off at our own paces. While Bekah and Liam were seasoned runners, it was Laura's first 10km in several years and Ellie's first! We ran along the seafront to the sound of seabirds and waves until a rather steep (and surprise) hill! Not long after was the turning point which meant runners at the front could high five those running the opposite direction which was a nice uplift on a long run. The 10kers all finished the race within the dreaded 1.5 hour cut off time and everyone was pleased with their result.

In the meantime, Sallyann and Vikky were enticed into the arcades once more and became well acquainted with the 2p machine, so much so that they managed to win a bunch of tickets! Unfortunately this was only enough for a fraction of a small fluffy key ring so they kindly donated them to a family with a young child nearby. Luckily aftwards there was still time to snap some photos of the 10kers as we neared the finish line.

After collecting medals and discussing the course, we headed out together to Llandudno for a well deserved lunch. We had a quick (and notably uphill) walk round the sites before choosing our favourite Welsh cafe for a delicious lunch. Afterwards we parted ways and went in various car shares back home for some R&R till next year!