Tonight was another big night of celebrations as we kicked off with a round of applause for Amy W's 30th Birthday. The applause didn't last long though as it got Fergie the dog over-excited, so we then did a big round of jazz hands for all the weekend runners, especially Rich who completed the Lake District Mountain Trail whilst the rest of us were busy eating sausage rolls and drinking Gin at the Marathon du Malton. But the biggest cheer of the night was reserved for Barbara who has been part of GG York since day one and earlier in the week had completed her 600th(!) good deed. What a legend! 🎉

We then numbered off by naming our favourite style of potato featuring hash browns, curly fries and roasties. Then it was off to the task with Ed leading the meaning group, backmarked by Claire. Nikki, Amy W and Tess were the walking group whilst Vicky and Abi run/walked. After a brief pause for some wall squats we arrived at the task to be greeted by Maeve from St Nicks who set us off promptly with scything, raking and digging to spruce up this area of New Walk. Amy H and Tess were having their first scything experience so received a bot of extra tuition from Maeve whilst the old pros were hacking away like there was no tomorrow.

I feel like I should be topless doing this - Rich

The cuttings soon piled up and the dumping area was a fair trek away so we set off some speedy folk to be in charge of shifting the cuttings using a tarp, a wheelbarrow and also a ton bag on top of a plank with some coasters on it. Unfortunately it did mean that there was a bit of hanging around at the end of the task, but that gave us some time to sing happy birthday to Amy W whilst doing some birthday squats. In fact, there was enough time to do it twice so Vicky could record us!

Then it was off to Tower Gardens for tonight's fitness. This time out we played a game of rock, paper, scissors that involved jumping forward when you win or going back to the start if you lost. In classic GoodGym style half the people absolutely nailed it whilst confusion reigned over the over half. After several games (more than enough time to get a handle on the rules) Abigail and the boys were declared the overall winners despite some dubious jumping going on.

Whilst all this was happening Michal had also arrived with a cake delivery to compliment the delicious brownies that Babs had brought along, so there was no shortage of sweet treats available when we got back to CVS. We then said it our goodbyes whilst some people headed off to the pub

We had loads to celebrate tonight on what felt like the first proper summer evening group run of the year. So first off it was a round of applause for Jenna for braving the early morning Run/Swim at DeerShed festival. Then it was a shout out to Nicola for a course best at Heslington parkrun and Richard for a seasons best as well, although clapping was delayed until they finally arrived at the task! We also celebrated Jackie taking part in her 100th Good Deed! But the biggest cheer of the night was reserved for the most amazing news that Vicky and Neil got engaged at the weekend and we could not be happier for them both💍

So after all the wonderful weekend news, we celebrated the start of the Paris Olympics by numbering off with the event that we would add to the Olympics if we could. If only the 40m zig-zag was an actual sport, Paul Kelly would be a shoo-in for a gold medal, whilst it was also good to see Carl back himself in ultimate frisbee!

Then it was off to the task with Ed leading and clearly not realising there are quicker ways to get to Fishergate Trianlge than the route that leaves you stranded on a traffic island! At the task we Maeve from St Nicks who dished out the instructions and set us off to work on pulling up the grass and weeds before they overtake the whole space, which is starting to become a lovely little nature spot

The focus was on the bigger clumps of grass at the top end of the triangle, so most of the hard work went into ripping up that, whilst other people took more leisurely approach sitting on the wall and pulling out the dandelions. Before too long it became clear that the hot weather and close surroundings were sapping the energy put of the group and encouraging lots of chit chat, so the decision was made to stop 5mins early and make a start on the hill reps!

After a quick team photo, the walking group headed back to CVS whilst the rest of the gang went the long way round to Blue Bridge Lane for some sprints up and down the hill. Each rep had a different person shouting 'go' just to keep everyone on their toes. But that stop everyone from putting in maximum effort on each rep. Top running guys!

Then it was back to CVS for some stretches and baked goods courtesy of Jackie and Vicky

See you all next week 👋

T'was a quiet mid week July evening meet

When two goodgymer's came out to play

In the muggy yet somewhat pleasant heat

They were met by St Nick's Maeve

Who explained grass was the goal

Amy quickly got to work

Whilst Lyndsey got confused - ohh

But soon we came together

and dug and pulled and cleared

In the humid mid week July weather

When Maeve from St Nicks got in touch to ask if we could help with the infamous Fishergate Triangle it didn't take much convincing for us to wrangle together a few keen goodgymer's.

The 5 of us met Maeve who started explaining what plants we should and shouldn't weed. It was quickly agreed that we could all identify dandelions, thistles and grass so we kept to these.

There were a few wildflowers that had successfully grown since last year including some lavender. Hopefully in a few years the wildflowers will be able to fully bloom - but they might require out support a few more times to weed out all those pesky thistles!

This week was our 3rd and final session getting rid of Balsam at Fulford Ings, but before celebrating the finale of our Balsam bashing trilogy we had some serious celebrating of our own to do with plenty of epic achievements since our last outing. Firstly we had the tired legs crew who had conquered the Swaledale Marathon at the weekend - well done Barbara, Lucy and Amy (as well as several others who couldn't make it tonight) ⛰️. Then it was cheers to Mitch, who had been on the sauce on Saturday, winning the Beer Mile 🍺. Plus all our summer series runners who had put some serious effort in at the Knavesmire last Tuesday with a few PBs thrown in for good measure. Well done everyone 👏

After a quick warm up in honour of National Ballpoint Pen day, we headed off with Abigail and Pete brining up the rear and Amy leading our walking crew. We even had time for a few tricep dips in the sun as we went over Millenium Bridge. What a glorious evening this was going to be.... or so we thought 🤔

Things started well with the our intrepid GGers picking up where they'd left off last time and making good progress, uprooting Balsam left, right and centre. But before too long a figure emerged out from the bushes and took exception to our efforts. Obviously we can't please everyone with our Goodness, and Nicola from St Nicks handled the situation admirably, but the grey clouds had started to gather on tonight's task both figuratively and literally!

To placate the disgruntled resident, we focused our efforts further down the Ings and were soon back into our rhythm with Craig looking particularly pleased with the size of the Balsam he had pulled, whilst Leanne was starting to make a rather impressive pile!

But with time running out and the wind picking up, it was time to set off for a quick fitness sesh on Millenium Fields. We managed approximately 2mins worth of fitness before getting absolutely pelted by some seriously chunky hailstones and deciding to pack it in and hide under a tree. We understandably lost a few runners who beat a hasty retreat to the safety of their homes, before finally arriving back at CVS.

There was something for everyone at this week's Group Run with cycling, walking, steady and faster options on offer for a fantastic 24 GGers. We started by welcoming first timer Sophie who set off with Vicky et al as part of the walking crew 👋. We also announced the first half of the GoodGymmer of the month award with Mitch getting his turn in the frame for getting stuck in to a load of Good deeds and leading some missions. Well done Mitch 👏

Before setting off, we warmed up with a nod to World Bicycle Day (according to Amy's Garmin) by pretending to ride our imaginary bicycles around the CVS car park, much to the dismay of the more avid cyclists amongst us 🚲. Then it was off the Fulford Ings for Balsam Bashing Round 2!

At the task we were joined by Emma and a rather late Ben, who looked like he'd put in some serious effort to try and catch up with the running crew🏃‍♂! Nicola from St Nicks gave out a brief overview to those who were making their Balsam Bashing debut whilst the more seasoned veterans got stuck straight in.

Anna and Sophie made a fab start and soon got to work pulling out what they thought was Balsam left, right and centre, before Ed pointed out that what they had been pulling out was unfortunately something else! Don't worry guys, there were a few others making the same mistake

There's not too much else that can be said about Balsam that hasn't been said before, but there was much debate over the correct method as well as plenty of new pun options for future run reports. By the way, this week's genius word play came from Abi, not me!

Before too long it was time to head back to base, but not before a quick plank race on millennium field, with some very questionable planks and some very eager plankers

When we got back to CVS we were able to dish out the second half of our GGer of the month award to Lyndsey who had also completed a shed load of Good Deeds over the last couple of months as well as keeping the Friday Lunch Hill Rep Club alive 💪

Fab sesh everyone. See you next week for the third and final bash