Originally we were going to run to the Foodbank this week but we had to change that as there weren't enough donations for us to go and help out with.....so we need to start donating more food!

Instead Jane at St Peter's Church was happy to have us over and help her with the upkeep of their iconic church.

We welcomed back Abi, Mark, Sean, Sarah and Janet after all had been away for at least a few weeks. Great to have them back!

We also had Mark come along for his first taste of GoodGym after signing up way back when it all got started in Bournemouth, almost three years ago! Glad you decided to come and see what it is like rather than observe from a distance! See you next week!

After introductions and learning what makes each of us happy, from music to chocolate, we set off through the gardens for a mellow run to allow us all to catch up. Fredrika, as back marker, making sure no one was left behind. Thank you and well done for joining the Task Force and getting involved straight away!

We spotted some stylish looking logs next to the stream so stopped for a photo and then turned back towards town and headed down to the beach and the lovely BIC hill. Here we gathered and spoke about a little workout we were going to do. For those willing and able we were going to do 6 second hill repeats and only 4 of them. Enough to get a little workout out in and work on our fast twitch muscle fibers. Despite most of the gang dreading it they realised that 24 seconds of discomfort wasn't that bad at all.

With that done, and feeling looser, the gang headed up towards St Peters Church and arrived having already completed 5km.

Jane was there to welcome us and introduce us to the Team Proctor Ian, who was very happy to have us helping out.

The gang split up into groups, some taking on clearing the water drainage channels of weeds and rubbish, lifting heavy slabs of concrete and allowing water to have a easy path to freedom. Others headed out around the grounds, starting off near to the church and collecting cigarette butts and rubbish. Gradually moving away and into the bushes the gang managed to collect so much rubbish, mostly cans and bottles. Caprice, Sarah and Neil also ventured to the edges of the graveyard and found all types of abandoned stuff....sleeping bags...pillows....pants....jacket.....and even a whole bag of unopened needles...that's a first!

Thanks to Mark we also learned where Mary Shelley's grave was....someone had left some plastic poppies in a Jaegermeister bottle by her grave. Very thoughtful...speaking of thoughtful, Neil and I deliberated whether or not to try and put up a massive gravestone that had fallen over....after discussing the morality of it and worrying if Anges would haunt us forever....gave it a go but found that the stone was so heavy that we couldn't shift it.... Sorry Agnes, our intentions were pure!

After filling lots of bags and losing Roshana.....not for the first time in the evening....we may need to start bringing in back markers for the actual task........we gathered and took pictures with our haul before setting off back to Flirt Cafe where we stretched and then half of us headed to the pub for a few drinks and a chat!

Congratulations to Mark for reaching

25 Good deeds

a great achievement, so make sure you give him a cheer!

Next week we are doing a flyer drop for the YMCA. Sign up here. It'll be a longer run....no hill workout on the agenda either.

This weeks group run took us to see Alex at Bournemouth Foodbank who is always really grateful that we come and help which makes us want to go and visit even more! It was amazing to have Heather back after she was kidnapped by her work.....we were willing to pay the ransom but were never given a drop off location....so we had to wait patiently!

Megan's commute was finally kind to her and as a result we were lucky enough to have her smiley face back with us again! We are super grateful that you guys are back!

Congratulations Grace on reaching your 10th good deed tonight!!!!

Annnnnd I'm really happy 8 of you guys came out tonight despite how horrible the weather had been throughout the day! It turned out to be a really nice evening and we managed to work up a sweat on the way back!

The route out took us up our favourite overcliff climb but then along the top of the cliff so we could chat with wave sounds in the background and no car noises at all. We ran in pairs pretty much all at different speeds catching up and discussing things that happened since last week.

It was Megan's first time at the Foodbank so after quickly getting to grips with how the dates worked out and the sorting we were all grabbing boxes and finding use by dates....some are incredibly hard to find....and then once you have found it...your brain freezes and can no longer figure out if that date it before or after a January 2019 and so on....does it have 6 months left, no...well then that goes somewhere special.....very complicated at times but with Alex guiding us and double checking with others we usually find the right categories!

It felt like we had to leave so soon today and it's one of our favourite tasks....I think for our next visit in the first week of December we may meet up a bit sooner than usual to get more done!

The way back saw Neil and Lee lead the way and make it back in time to grab everyone's bags etc.....I'm sure the hill at the end was steeper today!!!

Well done everyone! I hope you feel better for getting out tonight, getting some fresh air and doing some good in the community! Back again next week!!!

This week we ran to Boscombe to check out Bournemouth Foodbank's new warehouse location. A great turn out with Daryl back from a well earned break and Caprice back again after a busy few weeks. Also great to have Esther back again! Dan joined us again after traveling Japan for a couple weeks! What a cool bunch of jet=setters!!

Our run took us down the gardens towards the beach and then up a steep climb and onto the Overcliff...not a friendly start at all but a great photo op at the top overlooking the coast. Then we dropped in through and up Boscombe garden and back into Boscombe high street....SOOOOO many HILLS!!! And it was so muggy again.

After an introduction from Ed the team split up into sorters, shop fitters, cardboard box builders, cutters and flag folders! Our 30mins flew by and we felt like we wanted to stay and do more! But as you can see from the photos we had a lot of fun. And every time we sort through donations at the Foodbank we end up so hungry!! The way back took us along the Prom and soon a conversation about cheese broke out and by the time we got back to Flirt, everyone was starving! Well done everyone, great turnout! Next week we are painting playground fences in Boscombe and after we are having drinks....just because we can!! See you then and thank you Lee for some great photos and Neil and Grace for the team work on the pun!!

All good things come to those who wait some say....well, we were made to wait for the harvest season to hit the Foodbank before being able to return to one of our favourite tasks...and it felt like a long time....

....not as long as we had to wait to have Andrew back with us though!!! HURRAH!!!! Welcome back stranger! Great to see you!!

GoodGym's outsourcing of the t-shirt delivery service is working a treat too! Laurie getting her t-shirt super quick and looks great in it too!!!

Tonight the lovely Matt at Brewhouse and Kitchen welcomed us with open arms and gave us a place to meet on Wednesday and we're very grateful!

The run to the Foodbank was a healthy 4km each way and we were happy to go at an easy pace tonight, nice not to have to stress about getting back!

Lauren had volunteered to open up for us and make sure we were kept to task. The gang scattered and soon were squirreling away sorting donations and making food parcels.

35 minutes later, with lots of crates emptied and 7 food parcels made up, it was time for us to gather again and set off back again.

Awesome effort everyone! Special thanks to Hannah for back marking expertly!

Well done to Keith for completing his grueling OCR on the weekend and still making it to the group run!!

See you all next week!!

For one reason or another we had missed out on running to help out at the Foodbank for what felt like ages! With the weather nice and toasty and beautiful sunshine in the sky, those of us with fair skin were looking forward to sheltering indoors in the safety of the Foodbank warehouse...only to realise that it was warmer in there than on the mean street of Boscombe!

We had Sean back on our side after a spying mission to GoodGym Poole...(I'm joking!!!) ...I'm surprised he came back really! He won't say it of course but I know he missed us....and we missed him!

Andrew surprised us at the last possible second and then was elated to find out that the Foodbank task was still on! Marianne was back after taking some sensible time off to rest her knee, and was rewarded by it feeling much better this week

Caprice has suffered from a niggle in her foot so took last week off, super missed us and was back again this week back marking like the legend that she is.

It was also great to have Chris and Becca back after a near miss last week!

After introduction and finding out everyone's favourite flavour of ice creams....most voted were Mint Chocolate Chip (4) and Pistachio (4). Mint Choc was winning until we met up with Amber and she added her vote to Pistachio on our way back!

Alex was super happy to see us and had quite a few jobs for us to do. Hannah, Amber and Marianne went to sort through baby clothes donations and managed to strike some great poses along the way. Becca and Chris had to bring up empty crates from downstairs and stack them back in the right places and then set about sorting through donations on their first visit to the Foodbank.

Andrew led the cardboard box recycling effort and the rest of the gang got into making food parcels and sorting through donations. They managed to make up

11 PARCELS

weighed them, Neil breaking the machine, and then stacking them on a shelf ready to be collected in the next few days. After 30 minutes our time was up and we had to make our way back to Flirt the most direct route to try and shave some time off the clock and get there before 8pm.

Lovely evening for a run, helping another great organisation and hanging out with friends! Next week we're hoping to do a little more gardening so come along!

A great turnout tonight saw 19 lovely people get together in Bournemouth wanting to do good and feel good as a result!

We had lots of lovely new faces Seun and Sophie came along to their first group run and we hope they come to many more. They did a great job making up food parcels for families.

We also welcomed back Chloe who brought her friend along Cassandre, who is visiting from France. They were also part of the food parcel team, along with Georgie who was also down for her first group run after often having it clash with her work. Hope you guys enjoyed it and will come back again soon.

Clarice was a long time follower and was finally able to come along and be a doer and show off her GoodGym t-shirt! You all did great and mixed in so well with the regulars!

We took a slightly scenic route to the Foodbank to get in a couple of hills and photo opportunities too. Along the overcliff with wide ranging views of the coastline...pretty special place we live in. After a couple of pit stops to allow the group to gather together again we set off in a large blur of red....probably scaring a lot of people...but we did look very impressive too!

When we arrived Alex let us know that we had a few jobs to take care of. Sophie, Seun, Georgie, John, Sarah, Chloe, Cassandre and Fredrika were looking after the food parcels. These are made up for single people and up to families of 5. Meal combinations to last them around 4 days or so. The gang managed to make up 9 of them! Awesome work! The parcels will go out tomorrow to families in crisis.

Another team of Chris, Caprice, Grace, Claire, Daryl, Phil and Sarah were tasked with shifting boxes full of food ready to be collected. After they were done with their job...which they obviously finished quickly because they are super hard working...they helped Mark, Andrea, Clarice, Jodie and myself break down cardboard boxes ready to be taken to recycling and also sorted through some more food donations too.

After a 35 minute blitz the gang managed to finish off all their jobs and even have time to pose on stage like true superstars!

We went the more direct route home and some still had enough energy in the tank to sprint up the the steep hill to the meeting location at Flirt Cafe! After a stretch and a team talk we all set off home...

Great work everyone!!! Alex loves you guys and is always super grateful for all that you do!

Thank you Chris for backmarking, great to see you again! Hope you're travels to South America are epic!! Look forward to hearing about it when you're back!

Next week we are helping out a charity called Creative Kids, move from one unit to another. Come along!