For tonight's run Goodgym teamed up with East of England Co-op to host a special run celebrating Co-operatives Fortnight 2018

We didn't see any new friends from the Co-op but the task tonight was a shining example of how working together can achieve a lot!

Our destination was the fabulous Activ Lives People's Community Garden, where Danny and his team were beginning preparations for their Big Garden 10th Birthday Party on the 21st July.

On arrival we split into two groups working at opposite ends of the vast PCG. One group began weeding between the flagstones on a pinic bench area and watering plants in the poly tunnels, while the second group headed to the top end to transport and lay bark chippings on a worn path and paint some garden furniture.

The weeding group were straight in with the (surprisingly effective) screwdrivers provided to scrape weeds from between the stones, while Robin, Sally and Daniela took on the badly needed chore of watering. Work was swift and with the debris swept away and picnic benches back in situ, the weeding gang moved on to clearing, sweeping and weeding inside one of the poly tunnels before more watering and then some onion picking.

The "faraway" gang split into two smaller groups Irene, Andrew, Sue and Ashok alongside Danny made huge progress with barrow loads of bark chippings being laid and raked to form a new surface along a worn path. Steve, Kerry and a "topless" Keith made a grand job of painting big cotton reel seats.

The return run incorporated our fitness session with sprint intervals along the far side of the river using lamposts as markers - there was some serious speed as Alex and Andrew led the way before completing the segment and looping backing to pick up our back markers. A final surge at everyone's own speed choice along the Waterfront completed the run home.

So a great task and hot run done! - a reminder of the Big Garden 10th Birthday Party - Danny says we're all invited so make a note of 21st July for a tremendous family event.

Phew, what a scorcher!

A hot summer evening and we started tonight's run by charging up one of steepest hills in Ipswich - everyone was so pleased with my choice of route! Apologies - particularly to Daniela who was joined us for the first time tonight!

With Bishops Hill conquered it was an easy paced, flat run of another mile or so to get to Fresh Start, New Beginnings where we met Patsy, who gave us the instructions for tonight's task. Window cleaning - inside & out with general cleaning required in the offices and consultations rooms.

The windows were given priority, with an inside and outside team working their way through the rooms, while a small team were dispatched to the spring clean the kitchen and others grabbed polish and the vaccum cleaner.

It wasn't long before the smell of polish and cleaning products permeated the corridors and the windows were gleaming in a whirlwind of red shirts. With chores completed we headed outside to the play area for the obligatory team photo........ tonight we had a childrens' slide as a prop!

#GGOlympic2018

With photos done we headed back to the Waterfront.......enjoying the dowhill this time. The night was not quite finished as there was an optional #GGOlympic2018 1 km time trial. I had measured the route earlier - planning a flat and potentially quick, 1 lap course.

With 5k already run some opted for the role of bag supervisor, rather than tear round and additional km. But several of us had a go, with Alex leading the way. Great effort from everyone - Don't forget to use #GGOlympic2018 if you upload your run to strava to be with a chance to claiming a prize - MORE DETAILS HERE

Next week we will return to the Activ Lives - Peoples Community Garden as GoodGym is teaming up with East of England Co-op to host a special run as part of Co-operatives Fortnight 2018.

Just like GoodGym, co-ops make a difference to people’s lives in communities around the country. East of England Co-op share part of their profit every year with their members and invest in communities to make Ipswich an even better place to live.

We’re inviting East of England Co-op members to join us for a run to do some good in Ipswich. Sign-up to the run here to save your place.

The run will be around 5k in total, with the added bonus of no hills!

Kudos to all those that came along to tonight's run, with traffic issues causing chaos around Ipswich and the temptation of a sunny summer evening with England playing their first World Cup match.

Even bigger kudos to Deb who travelled from Bristol for some Goodgym uber tourism. Ipswich is the 38th location for the Bristol based Goodgymmer.

We also welcomed Alex who joined us on group run for the first time

The streets were earily quiet as we made our way across town on our 2 mile outbound run - something to do with the football perhaps? We almost missed the vicarage as we arrived and found our way into ab expansive garden through a small gate.

Once inside we were greeted by Rev Jutta who explained the plan to clear heavily overgrown areas of the garden in preparation for a community barbeque at the week end.

With a range of cutting and chopping instruments available we split into small groups attacking different areas of the garden. Pulling up and chopping down swathes of thistles, ivy, weeds and trimming back bushes.

Two green waste bins were filled very quickly and two huge piles of weedy debris were soon growing by the shed, making a huge impact on the look and size of the garden. On completion of the task we said goodbye to Rev Jutta and headed out for our return run.

Passing a few pubs we tried to guage the feeling and what the score might be, but the general quietness indicated nothing very much!

Irene and Deb had set out on the return run a little earlier so we had a target to chase!. We caught them with around 1/2 mile to go - so they had set a good pace - and may not have reeled them in at all, had they not stopped to offer assistance to a young man who had over indulged in celebrating the football and was sitting sadly on footpath - 2nd Good Deed of the night!

We welcomed 4 first timers tonight on one of our longest and most challenging runs. Chelsea, Adam, Carey and Adrian joined us for their inaugural runs taking us through the Belstead Hills to Gusford School for tonight's task.

Before we left we acknowledged the efforts of all those who had participated in the Twilight 5k races which took place along the Waterfront throughout Saturday with a number of PBs being achieved.

The run out to the school was 2.5 miles and included a few inclines but they were happily embraced by everyone as we all know hills are good for us!

On arrival at Gusford school we were greeted by Rebecca and Pip, teachers at the school, and Rebecca explained the task was to clear a massively overgrown garden so the school could reclaim the area for learning and give the pupils an area to enjoy and chill.

Several of the school staff had also volunteered to help with the project so we had many hands to get stuck into what appeared to be a huge task..... but in true Goodgym style we achieved a huge amount, taking down massively overgrown bushes, weeds, grass and clearing old plant pots and accumulated litter. The only downside of the evening was discovering a deceased hedgehog among the debris, which Paul later reported to the Suffolk Wildlife Trust.

With a great deal done and the gratitude of Rebecca and Pip sending us off on the return leg of the run , we remembered the school was at the bottom of a viciously steep hill we had to climb immediately....what fun!

At least the main part of the return run was now downhill and we kept a steadily comfortable pace all the way back to base to complete a round trip of 5 miles.

Next week's run is much shorter as we return to Brickmakers Wood - find out more and sign up HERE

Tonight's run report could be quite brief........

** Due to a breakdown in communication by the organiser our task fell through so we went to the pub**

However, that's not quite the whole story. We were due to carry out a task for Teapot Project taking unsold food (past it's best before date) from M & S to the YMCA, which unfortunately didn't materialise. It appears that the bank holiday opening hours caused a miscommunication and there was no one to meet us when we arrived at the M & S. Despite a number of phone calls and text messages we had no response and made the decision to abandon the task and head off to the nearby Christchurch Park.

On a beautiful warm bank holiday late evening the park looked amazing and was still fairly busy. Christchurch park is well know in the running community for 2 things - it is the winter/spring home to Ipswich parkrun and it is very hilly!

As it was Monday evening, rather than Saturday morning....... we were there for the hills! An initial "own pace" run up to the top of the park followed by some shorter hill intervals in the sun.

Once the hill session was completed we followed part of the parkrun course around the park and then wound our way back to to base.

With the sun going down over the boats the opportunity to see out the bank holiday weekend with a drink on the Waterfront couldn't be missed and we headed for the nearest pub.... stopping only for a group photo during which Steve made friends with a passing dog!.

So an evening that got off to a poor start at least ended on a high!

*Update: - message from Mischa at the Teapot Project : please accept my apologies. We're an entirely voluntary organisation working with limited resources and mistakes happen more frequent as a result of that; we're juggling so much, so we really appreciate your patience.

Last week we thought summer had arrived but this Monday it was like summer and autumn had been fast tracked straight through to winter.

With heavy rain falling all day accompanied by strong winds and the forecast of more rain into this evening we agreed with Activ Lives to postpone tonight's task at the Walled Garden in Chantry Park due to the weather and unfavourable conditions.

However, we did still have a run incorporating a challenging trio of fitness elements. It was a small but hardy bunch who assembled - the cancelled task message had been circulated and this along with a nasty forecast dented numbers!

We welcomed Adeline to her first Group Run and congratulated Sue on an epic bike ride from Nottingham to Ipswich, before setting out. Ironically it had stopped raining as we warmed up with a dynamic stretch routine, before setting of for route familarisation for the first leg of tonight's treble session - a 1km time tri-al.

The route was flat and relatively simple, but best of all the wind would be behind us for the first and last parts. The group set off with the aim of setting a target time for future sessions. A flying Robin was first back just as Keith suddenly appeared having taken a short cut, leading Sue and Adeline astray too ! Tom and Irene weren't far behind having completed the full route!

After a short recovery we ran a large loop to get to the location of the 2nd leg of tonight's trinity - a gentle slope (some might say hill). the challenge was to jog easily to the bottom before turning and running at pace back up again - 3 times. We picked up a friend during this part of the session when a young lad about 11 years old tried to keep pace - he managed pretty well but didn't quite grasp the recovery element!

For the third and final leg of the triplicate session we found some indoor space at our meeting point in the University of Suffolk Waterfront Building. This was ideals for a challenging circuit of core strength and balance exercises. 45 secs for each set with 15 secs recovery - plank variations, squats, lunges and running (wo)man poses - how we all love a plank (specially the shoulder, knees and toes version!)

So no task tonight but an epic three legged run/fitness - kudos to those that made it to the end of the triology!

Hopefully summer will return next week. We have a task with the Teapot Project lined up - please bring a small backpack. Find out more

A big welcome to Jason and Will who joined us tonight for their first Goodgym Ipswich Group Run.

It was another rainy Monday evening - we've had a few those recently!

Congratulations were handed to those who had successful weekends with a whole host of events including the Manchester Marathon and Bromley 10k, but pride of place goes to Sue and Andrew who carried out the first Goodgym Ipswich mission on Saturday - you can read all about it here

Undeterred by the falling rain we set off for a 2.5 mile run across town to Highfield Nursery. This was our second visit to the nursery with the task of painting a room that hosts 2-4 year olds on a regular day.

Andrew and Carl met us and were well prepared with dust sheets, brushes, rollers and paint all laid out ready to go. And immediately everyone set to work. Almost naturally the group divides into "rollers" & "brushes" with "brushes" cutting in and taking on the intricate areas while the "rollers" cover the large expanses quickly and efficiently - there was some fabulous team work and the whole room was completed in around 30 minutes - Robin even had time for a short break in one of the children's chairs.

With the job complete we headed back on the return leg of the run completing just over 5 miles in total - with a longer run the additional fitness had to be saved for another day.

The return run was even wetter than the outward leg but there were no complaints as we splashed and chatted the whole way back.

Next week's run is a similar distance to the neighbouring Castle Hill Community Centre - more details and sign up HERE - it may even be dry!!

Tonight it was fabulous to set off on our run in daylight - what a difference it makes, with the thought of lots of summer evenings on the way.

We welcomed 2 runners joining us for the first time Lizzie and Leanne - hope you enjoyed your first taste of Goodgym.

Our destination was just a short run ( via Alexandra Park, which we may use more often in the lighter evenings) to meet up with Tom from Incredible Edible a community group dedicated to improving healthy eating, local community and working together to grow vegetables in unused areas around Ipswich.

We had a double task - to help with some painting inside what will become a community vegan cafe which is located directly opposite a small plot of land used by Incredible Edible to grow vegetables.

So we split into two groups - gardeners & painters and everyone got stuck into their allocated tasks.

The gardeners made a huge difference to the plot of land - digging, clearing and weeding the various beds and Steve harvested a small crop of potatoes.

The painters had a bigger task on their hands. What seemed a fairly small two roomed area seemed to grow the more they painted. The kitchen area was almost completed, but the dining area beat us despite our best efforts within our allocated time.

Our return run ended with a short but intense set of speed intervals under the waterfront. Great work by everyone!

Next week is Bank Holiday Monday and Goodgym will still be running - see the details HERE

We had a bit of a different task set up tonight and as everyone arrived with backpacks - it looked like we were all about to runaway from home or head out on an ultra distance marathon.

There was lots of chat about the adverse weekend weather and how it had unfortunately caused the cancellation of the Stowmarket Half Marathon which a number of the group were due to run. Tonight it was dry and the weekend snow had gone but it was still bitingly cold.

We had a short warm up with a few drills before setting off to our destination for the first part of our run to Marks & Spencer in the town centre.

Our task was to help The Teapot Project The aim of which is to to take unsold edible food, saving it from going to waste in local landfill,and using it to feed the local community. Arriving at the rear of M & S we were met by Mischa from the Teapot Project, with several baskets containing a huge variety of bread and cakes.

This is where our backpacks came into play, with everyone sharing the contents of the baskets into their backpacks before the second part of our run - to the Salvation Army hostel.

Mischa's aim is for the Teapot Project to be carbon neutral - transporting food from the various supermarkets they work with on a daily basis to the partner charities like the Salvation Army or YMCA - by bike or foot ( that is where we come in!)

So with our bags filled with baked goods we were "bready" to go on the second leg of our run. We took a slightly longer route and one of the girls said that was a "half-baked" idea, but we said "ciabatta" keep running as we're on a "roll" and its "scone" to be fun.

Running through the Town centre and back along the Waterfront, a few people had French sticks protruding out of the top of their backpacks, causing a few strange looks and remarks from onlookers.

Kerry remarked that it looked like we were trialling a carbo rich nutritional strategy ahead of the upcoming marathon season

We arrived at the Salvation Army hostel and were shown into the kitchen where our bags were emptied for the staff to prepare for supper and tomorrow's breakfasts.

With our job done there was"crust" enough time for a fitness circuit session. Everyone worked hard - No "pain" - no gain (you need GCSE French for that one!)

We worked our "buns" with squats and lunges; and last but not "yeast" was the a"maize"ing co-ordination required for "high knees 1-2-3" - It was the "icing on the cake" of a "wondoughful" night - Morris Dancing - you ain't seen "muffin" like it! - Unfortunately the video file is too large to attach to this report, but "donut" worry you can find it on the Goodgym Ipswich face book page.

Sorry about the lack of photos tonight. I had a problem with my phone and my photography definitely wasn't the best thing since sliced bread this evening. All the fitness session ones came out blurred - they are crepe!