Our second week back and we are highly motivated to keep on top of the January Challenge! With 261km of our 450km achieved those extra weekend long runs are runtastic! Well done to you all... special mention to Chrissy and Darren for hitting some big miles on Sunday and to Jenni who is literally running to as many Goodgym sessions as she can! Keep running, every kilometre counts.

We are well on our way to meeting our January Good Deeds challenge too, so a huge thank you to you all for coming, running and helping with our tasks. A massive turnout this evening!

So tonight’s run out was to Wexham Park Hospital to do a site litter pick. I say litter, but most of the rubbish are cigarette butts however we refuse to let that stub our enthusiasm

With 20 runners this evening and one new brave runner Tierney whose first run happened to be one of our regular long runs! Well done Tierney, you did amazingly well tonight. After the warm up and task brief we made our way to Wexham, picking up 6 of our regular runners Nisha, Jean, Chrissy, Gail, Ricky and Meera en-route as they wanted the shorter run distance this week. Thank you to Jenni for back marking today.

On arrival, we collected the litter pickers, bin liners and gloves and divided into pairs ready to tackle that trash and leaves.

We are used to being in the sick of things so it was no bother to litter-ally get into the nooks and crannies and find our treasure troves of trash.

We like to leaf an impression especially Alistair and Harry. Never seen so much effort made by two blokes, one litter picker and a bin bag!

I’m sad to say that I’ve been dumped! Meera has found a new trainer. She says it’s her, not me, but the new trainer fits her better! You win some, you loose some.

Thirty minutes in we were getting a litter bit tired and had already cleared the site of 10 bags of rubbish so we down tooled, did our group photo and started to make our way back to base.

With many a tired leg from the weekends run challenges (including mine) we slowly made our way back through the streets of Slough. Group runs are such a great way to run! You run, chat, even meet new people along the route! Having convinced two runners last week to join us on our task, my target now is to get more passer by runners to tag along with us, so watch out Slough, I’m on a mission!

Next week’s run is a shorter distance of 3km total run and we are paying a repeat visit to our friends at The Parvaaz Project, helping them with a carpet clean. Would be great to see you there.

Have a great week

12 runners went to help our local NHS hospital (Wexham Park Hospital) for our final good deed for 2018. Wexham Park Hospital is a firm favourite of ours so it was only fitting for this to be our final group run for this year. A huge thank you to Ciaran from Active Slough for being our back marker this evening.

5 bags of rubbish picked and swept. The competitive spirit was blooming today with Darren and Ricky claiming to have the biggest and Chrissy, Sut and Ciaran claiming to have the dirtiest…and Michelle, Ruth and Sandy having the prettiest….BAGS of course! Tools down (or not so…Sorry Ricky.. No tool too big tonight) we managed a clean getaway to get back to base in time for a few well deserved drinks and cakes.

It’s been an epic 5 months! We have achieved so much in what feels like a blink of an eye:

• 21 Group Runs
• Run 100km
• 310 runner volunteers in total
• 9, 300 hours of voluntary work
• Helped 11 Community Groups/Charities

It’s fair to say that we’ve had an impact on the community groups and charities in Slough

We’ve cleaned, litter picked, painted, wrapped, swept, waxed, dug, cut back brambles, decorated halls and leaflet dropped

And all this….thanks to you…our GoodGym runners

Having used up every pun there possibly is over the past 5 months, I will have to do some serious research in my punopedia to find some more over the festive period.. I will puncil some down and be punstopable in 2019

So in my Goodgym style, here is the final run report for 2018

We’re leaving together

But still it’s farewell (just for 2 weeks mind!)

And maybe you’ll come back (I hope so!)

To Salt Hill, who can tell?

I guess there is no one to blame (well maybe GG central for giving us 2 weeks off)

We’re leaving Goodgym (leaving Goodgym)

Will things ever be the same again?

It’s the final countdown

The final countdown

Oh

We’re heading for Christmas (Christmas)

And still we stand tall

‘Cause maybe the in-laws have seen us (seen us)

And welcome us all, yeah

With so many presents to go

And things to be bought (to be bought)

I’m sure that we’ll all miss Manjit…..no?

It’s the final countdown

The final countdown

The final countdown

The final countdown

(Ok, you can stop signing now)

We have so much planned for 2019. January is going to be a busy month so I hope you are all up for the challenges The first challenge is to just keep in some kind of healthy, co-ordinated state over the holiday period although pundamentally to just have pun and enjoy yourselves

Then, to come back to GoodGym with a spring in your step

Our main challenge is to have 90 runners over the course of the month on our Group Runs/Community Missions/Mission tasks

And…to run a total of 450km…so get your trainers on, activate Strava and get running

We also have a couple of Saturday tasks on in January. One is to help Ryvers Primary School with their learning garden and the other is a take-over of Upton Court Park’s Park Run

Please do have a look online to see all of the January runs

So that leaves me now to sign off for 2 weeks and wish you all a wonderful Christmas break.

But I can’t finish off this report this evening without saying a massive thank you to Sut, Chrissy and Keira (apologies if I’ve missed anyone else)…for my AMAZING card and cake! I really wasn’t expecting that and am blown away at the effort you guys made… You all make a very enjoyable job even more enjoyable!

Happy Holidays Manjit xxx

A fantastic turnout this evening to help on a task at our local NHS hospital. It was a longer run out however that didnt put anyone off.. even a new runner came along to see what we were all about.. welcome Jags Hope you had fun... and B Positive! And a warm welcome back to Robert and Harry who return to do their second good deed.

Thank you to Ciaran from Active Slough for back marking and looking after our runners this evening.

Bags Packed and Ready to Go

After a super speedy warm up we headed off through the streets of Slough to make it to the hospital in time for our dilatful task

Partners in Grime

With the light fading fast and a steady flow of cars in the area of work we paired up into partners and set off to do the task.. with the tools we had we then sub divided into :-

• The Sweepers and
• The Pickers

Darren, James and Jags took to sweeping the car park, making it almost clinically clean

Chrissy and Keira got totally stuck in, showing us how much good clean fun they were having (see photo's)... they look proud as punch with their pickers

Ciaran is after an acting debut in Casualty! No-one dons those gloves like he does

Harry, Matty and Alistair didnt need directing to the A&E area! They were off in a flash to litter pick those ciggy butts.

Acutely aware of the time, we down tooled, took our group photo and headed back to base.

Great job again by everyone. We gave it our best shot and once again cleared away 8 bags of rubbish, butt ends and autumn leaves!

Next weeks task is at the Parvaaz Project, which is a short 1.5km one way. We will carry on with a garden clean up

Next Social

Just a reminder to put Friday 30th November in your diaries for our Christmas drinks, at The Corner House, Sheet St, Windsor from 19:30

Have a great week Manjit

Fifteen Goodgymers and fifteen local residents came together today to cut, prune, litter pick the play area on Cromwell Drive

Supported by the local PCSO and Slough Borough Council Neighbourhood Services team we were on a demolision mission

Cutting Hedge Technology

Well, a few rakes, a few cutters, a wheelbarrow and a beam light from the Police van...was all the technology we needed to nip this task in the bud

Man on a mission

Even our new runners Pam and Harry got totally stuck in. Pam pruned those hedges like it was a bonsai tree with such care and precision whilst Darren was a man on a mission to rip out the shrubs... even Tarzan could of learnt a swinging trick or two

The Youth of Today

Are amazing! A future generation of goodgymers came along this evening to help their parents help us in making their play area safer... to quote little Akash ' I just want to lend a helping hand'

Another brillant garden makeover in true 'Challenge Aneka' style ( without the helicopter).. 40 minutes in and we transformed the area!

We headed back to base with Chrissy and Darren back marking us and had a well deserving drink at our base location Salt Hill Activity Centre to celebrate!

Painting the town red

Huge congratulations to Chrissy, Darren, Nisha, Sut Yee, Michael, Sandy, Sara, Aneta and Chris on completion of the Slough Half Marathon and Emily for completing the 5km race in torrential downpour conditions on Sunday. What a brillantly organised event it was!

We certainly stood out in our red Goodgym T-Shirts!

Next weeks group run is to Wexham Park Hospital so is a longer run of 4km there and 4km back

Have a restful week Manjit