January can be a tough time of year even before you throw a national Lockdown into the mix. We wanted to keep moving and keep spirits up. We also needed some motivation to go the extra mile in this year's GoodGym January Challenge, so we had a big game of running/walking Bingo!

The 25 boxes on our bingo card included tough challenges like taking a selfie with a unicorn or dinosaur, as well as classic running training sessions like hills and an out and back with a faster 'back' than 'out'.

We got creative by making Strava art flowers, we clocked some good deeds by taking items to foodbanks and plogging, and we were distantly sociable by going out for exercise with friends or neighbours who we might not otherwise have connected with, and by delivering chocolate bars to each other's doorsteps. Is there a better feeling than opening the front door and finding a surprise crunchie lying there on the mat?!

A special mention goes to Ankur for helping raise the crunchie to its now iconic status in this area:

In years to come I'll tell people I joined the GoodGym group, we do great things for people and get fit too..."so what's your contribution to the group Ankur? " Eerm, I made everyone eat crunchies."

There was definitely a healthy competitive element but there was also a lovely team spirit, with runners planning routes for each other, sharing tips on where to find the nearest horse or street beginning with 'Y', and cheering enthusiastically in the WhatsApp group when others reported back on their achievements.

In a wonderful example of the support we show one another, there was much concern for Jess when she reported running into a post. We then cheered her up in the best way we know how (after crunchies): puns!

"Let's get posting those puns!"

"You must have hit it really bollard!!!"

"Hope your post-run bruising isn't too painful"

"Royal Fail: Jess runs into a post, man!"

BINGOOOOOOOOO!

We had our first full house at 08:38 on the 22nd January. Sophie Lack claimed the winning spot in style by running a hills session at sunrise with her route-master and sister Claire Hobson.

Claire also had her own moment of glory two days later, claiming silver as she completed her card on a snowy walk with fellow GoodGym member and bingo player Paul Isherwood.

And in the last few days of the month Jess, Amy and Tara also shouted BINGO! and filled their cards with 25 ticks.

The game contributed to a particularly impressive month of running for Jess, who ran further than she's ever managed before, both in a single 11km run with Sophie, and in the whole month, which totalled an awesome 100km!

A special mention to James L, who managed to tick off the most boxes in a single run. On a 16km Thursday evening excursion he 'painted' a rose over Maidenhead town centre and ticked off a whopping 11 boxes. And in what was possibly the biggest achievement of the evening, he also took more selfies than in the rest of his life put together.

And how did we do in the January Challenge?

We are proud to report that team Kadeena Cox came second out of the 8 teams in the Challenge. We came top in our team and 4th if you look at the 58 areas individually. Together we ran an impressive 2847km, cycled 662km and walked 866km. Nice work team!

Extra kudos to Juli Wood and Sula Bransden, who covered 250km and 248km respectively, topping our local leaderboard. You two are amazing!

Now what shall we do?

If you're looking for inspiration for your runs this February, look no further! Take your chances on our month-long playing cards challenge and check out what we're cooking up for pancake day...

Windsor and Maidenhead's first Community Mission at The Baby Bank!

The Baby Bank help families in need by providing essential items such as nappies, formula, cots and clothing. They also help with special occasions like celebrating birthdays, and more recently they have been providing learning/activity packs for families struggling during Covid-19 school closures. They take referrals from partners such as charities, Social Services and Health Visitors and during the pandemic they have seen demand more than double. At the same time, the need for social distancing and a temporary hold on being able to accept donations of second hand items have put this 100% volunteer-run operation under huge pressure.

Amy, Sophie, Jess, Matt and Bev headed to The Baby Bank's storage facility this morning to help ease that pressure. There we met Rebecca, one of the charity's two founders (and a total superhero because she does this alongside a day job and looking after her own children), who showed us the ropes.

A wheel of a time

Matt arrived on two wheels and then worked wheely hard cleaning buggies and walkers so they are ready for their new owners.

Bundles of joy

Sophie, and mother-daughter team Bev and Amy sorted bundles of donated clothing by size and quality. With 10 children and 7 grandchildren between us we are no strangers to piles of baby clothes! We made a dent in a mountain of clothes that have been donated in the last week, but there is more work to be done. Watch this space for a follow-up mission...

The winning forumla

Jess isn't normally surrounded by babies or children, but she got stuck in and is now a dab hand at sorting everything from formula and baby food to nappies and tiny bear, penguin and snowman onesies. Extra kudos to Jess for running a full 10k in her round-trip to and from the task!

If you are keen to learn more about The Baby Bank or to make a donation, you can click here to follow them on Facebook and click here to see their Amazon wishlist.