Banishing bindweed in Victoria Park was tonight’s task and we had a go at some ivy whilst we were at it!

We ran a steady 2 km run to Victoria Park, during which Gill told us about the Lunatic marathon she completed at the weekend. Named as such as it is run at night by the light of the moon! Crazy if you ask me!! But blimmin' well done to Gill for doing it and loving every minute of it.

We were met by Duncan & Heather who set us to work on what looked like a solid hedge of bindweed. But 30 minutes and 2 huge builder’s sacks of bindweed later the shrub emerged from underneath. As did a toad, spotted by newly qualified run leader Beth.

We spent some time thinking of the pun which in the end was a group effort, I think Belinda came up with ‘Ivy damned’ and on someone suggesting we get Victoria in there, we emerged Victoria’s with tonight’s effort. That meant my brain was released from the toil of endless searching for rhymes and puns (bind, mind, find, weed, need seed, ties that bind…don’t bind if i do… bind over matter… hmm.. worthy Worthing, swerving over to Worthing…..) ah sweet release!!!

As Gill was understandably a bit cream crackered from the weekend and Belinda’s foot is a bit dodge we decided to keep the run short and go for some fitness work in the park. We worked on our balance and stability with some one legged squats, single leg deadlifts and what I call Impatient Ponies! They really helped us keep stable! (Thanks Beth!) Then some core work courtesy of Mr Tabata we headed back the way we came with a couple of extra efforts for the fresh legged Michelle & Beth.

And we stopped for some angelic photos on the way back.

Thanks for having me Worthing, please come and see us in Brighton soon.

GoodGym winged runner arrives on the South Coast

On a sunny and blustery evening in Costa del Worthing we were delighted to welcome Debs from Bristol who wore her much sought after 50 task, black t shirt. She confided in us that she also has a 100 task winged version that is kept tucked away for extra special occasions. I can't wait to see one of these!

Massive GG cheer to you lovely lady for your fun and dedication supporting us today, and Brighton on their launch tomorrow.We hope you enjoyed your GG south coast experience notching up some more good deeds to your ever expanding portfolio.

Victorious in Victoria Park

After an extended relaxed warm up run my elite team arrived in one of our local community parks where we returned to the site of our first ever GG task known as the 'Winter garden' Since we last visited in March this area has developed a wild side and needed a lot of taming this evening. Our friendly park ranger Duncan was there to guide and support us with our task.

It was lovely to have Belinda back this evening with her smile and energy and getting right into the heart of the task getting covered in debris too. Special mention to Gill too who is carrying a niggly ankle injury but still turned out this evening.

As ever, the amount of work achieved in such a short amount of time was truly miraculous .You all had your wings on this evening.

Try try try again Rafa

As a fun fitness session we introduced a rugby ball into the mix this evening. With it came running, sprinting,jumping and passing drills led by head coach Nick .Watch this space as a new breed of British Lionesses' may have been made tonight!

Should I mention that for some this was the first time they had held this strange shaped ball ? Nooo way !

Queen of the multi tasking was Beth with a wonderful synergy of rugby, running,taking photos and providing live updates on the progress of the one and only Mr Nadal, Sadly for Beth but happily for Murray and Muller fans it was the wrong result but wait ! Weren't we all taught that its not the winning its the taking part that counts !?

Seas The Day

It would have been rude not to have shown Debs our lovely view of the sea and pier on the way back to base so after a scenic coastal route we finished up with tricep dips ,stretches , updates and farewells.

Thank you for another very happy Monday you wonderful people.

A massive GoodGym Worthing heart coated cheer to you all

Julia X

A fearless five faced the feisty fickle elements to go back to our roots this evening

Massive kudos to my intrepid GG runners tonight . Despite windy, wet and quite extreme coastal conditions 5 of us ran back to the scene of our first ever Worthing GoodGym task in Victoria Park to give some GG energy and gardening makeover skills to an overgrown area that has plans to be transformed into a grass area with a park bench for relaxing and enjoying a tranquil park feel.

There was news to catch up on whilst we weeded , hoed and pruned under the careful supervision of Keith our regular Park Ranger. It always is a great surprise to me every week just how much can be achieved when a small group work together with such enthusiasm and natural gardening skills!However although fairly sheltered it was damp and drippy under the trees. Beth takes the extra Kudos for her elf like 100% rain absorbent hoodie she was modelling tonight!

Massive GG cheers to the following

• Michelle for completing an ultra 35 mile run from London towards Brighton on 27th May
• Beth for getting a Park run PB in Worthing on Saturday followed by a great time at Worthing 10 k on Sunday followed by a game of tennis. Nutter!
• Gill for doing 17 miles on Friday in preparation for the Lunartic marathon followed by the Worthing 10 k on Sunday.
• Karina for her her continuing commitment to her fitness including running to the start today and for encouraging her son and husband to join us to take photos

** A change of plan running back **

I had planned that we would run back along the seafront to compete some much loved lamp post interval training. However bearing in mind we couldn't stand up when we got to the prom we adopted plan B and did a steady run back through the deserted precinct back to base,

Your commitment totally rocked tonight ! Thanks so much to you all.

Much GG Love :)

Wow ! What an amazing vibe we had tonight with the launch of GoodGym Worthing.

Meeting at our new weekly home ,Splashpoint Leisure Centre , we were delighted to see so many local dignitaries , Adur -Worthing officers and councillors putting their weight and presence behind such an amazing concept.

After a welcome from Val Turner,Councillor for Wellbeing and Ivo Gormley founder of GoodGym, together with plenty of professional and personal photos taken, the trusty and newly formed GoodGym Worthing runners set off along the prom with near perfect weather conditions and the bonus of a wonderful ,warm Worthing sunset.

We arrived at Victoria Park a short time later to a welcoming committee who were a sight for sore eyes! The Conservation Volunteers ,Park Rangers together with Friends of Victoria Park were cheering us on and even offering platters of sliced fresh oranges reminiscent of hockey and football half time treats.

With a swift safety briefing from our friendly Park Rangers, GoodGymers picked up their tools and headtorches and pioneered their first task for an incredibly rewarding and productive 30 minutes of 'raking the dead' , 'sweeping up appearances' and 'pruning everything but the kitchen sink ' There were mutters of 'this is very therapeutic' together with other great banter from all concerned as we carried out the task. Please accept a GoodGym BIG CHEER to all of you! After waving a typically warm GG goodbye we headed back to the seafront where, under the light of the moon, there was the choice of either a steady run or 'licence to sprint' lamp post training.

We stopped briefly for a ' before you can say jack crocodile' fitness session followed by an easy run back to base for stretches and an interactive QA session.

Next week we already have the promise of cup cakes from GGWorthing Martin's amazing Mum , for after the session, so sign up now for the ' Sunset run and beach clean task.,,,,and cake eating!