On a sunny Tuesday evening, 19 of us ran to The Nest Project in Bath. We sorted and organised a heap of donated childrens' clothes and then ran them up the stairs to store they away in boxes. This was a really rewarding task that we enjoyed a lot and we were thrilled to run over 8km overall.

Welcome Jamie and Paddy!

After meeting inside the leisure centre we formed a large circle outside in the forecourt. We welcomed two new runners, Jamie and Paddy to the team. We hope you both come back and join us again for some volunteering! After introducing the task, running through the risk assessment and warming up we headed on our way.

Good to see you again, Sam!

We were delighted to have one of our top GoodGym members, Sam P, who used his day off to come back to Bath and run with us again. Great to see you, Sam, and thanks for your help last night! Hopefully we will see more of you soon!

Pub quiz last week

On the last Thursday of every month we field a team in the pub quiz at St James Wine Vaults. Thanks for Emma for organising this and well done to the group who represented us last week!

You've seen the rest, but then there's The Nest!

The Nest Project is based in Brassmill Enterprise Centre in Lower Weston, near the Locksbrook Inn. This was the first group run of 2019 where it was light enough to run along the river. We were delighted to be running along the Avon and enjoying the wildlife and the scenery! We even managed to get in some extra training in the form of tricep dips on the wooden fences along the river path.

We made it to the task in good time, eager for the task ahead!

Our host, Pip, met us at the task. She is one of the volunteers who coordinates the project and she gave us an overview of what the team there do. They receive donations of children's clothes and equipment for ages 0-5years. Anyone from the community can come and ask for clothes, completely free of charge. This is a fantastic charity and a great community asset that we love going back to help.

The task for the evening was to sort a small mountain of donated clothes into different sections, based on gender and age. There were 10 different categories in the end and we made sure to stay organised with signs on the floor and by placing boy's clothes in front of the plastic tubs and girl's clothes inside the tubs.

Dress to impress!

Among the clothes, some of the best finds were a pair of cute little converse shoes, a wonderful red hat and, strangely enough ... a bra!

Time flies by at The Nest!

After our organising, we then formed a line and ran the clothes up to the storage areas upstairs. This will make it easier for the team of volunteers to distribute the clothes to families who come to the project.

Thanks!

Thanks to Pip for helping arranging this task and spending her Tuesday evening facilitating us! Thanks also to Chris and Emily for backmarking for us last night and thanks to Sam P for the pun.

Upcoming runs

• We have an awesome Community Mission on Sat 27th April at The Orchard
• We are also doing a Community Mission on Sun 28th April as part of the 2019 Worldwide City Nature Challenge
• Next week: we have a really fun outdoor task where we are gardening at Alice Park Community Garden. Sign up here!

11 runners braved the cold weather to deliver flyers for Send a Cow. We flyered around the Moorland Road area of Oldfield Park. We delivered over 750 flyers between us!

Nifty Fifty

Well done to Lydia for achieving a massive 50 good deeds! Awesome work!

The charity

Send a Cow is a charity that helps develop communities in Africa. They provide training in farming and tackle social issues such as gender inequality throughout the continent. They have 90 charity places for the Bath Half next year and their marketing team asked us to post flyers around Bath to advertise for them.

Come flyer with me, we’ll flyer, we’ll flyer away!

We set off from the Leisure Centre and ran across town, through Green Park station and then over to Oldfield Park. We flyered down several roads that are connected to Moorland Road. There are quite steep … but we managed it together!

We then ran further uphill to flyer along Coronation Avenue. There are lots of houses in this area of Bath so it was perfect for distributing our paper flyers!

In total, we managed to deliver a whopping 750 flyers! Great work for a Tuesday evening!

Thanks to Ollie for backmarking. The pun this week was a joint effort between Lydia and Emma! Thanks you two!

The Cow

Unfortunately it is too long for a pun, but thanks to Catrin for sharing this poem by Ogden Nash at the warm-down: The cow is of the bovine ilk; One end is moo, the other, milk.

Next week

Next week we are putting up Christmas decorations at St John’s Court

Community Missions

• This Saturday (24th November) we are flyering for Age UK. Sign up here!

We have organised a really fun pair of Christmas-themed Community Missions:

• On Saturday 1st December we will be helping set up the Saltford Santa Dash. Sign up here!
• We also be helping to marshall the event the following day on Sunday 2nd December. Sign up here!

Socials

We have some fun socials coming up:

• The Boater Pub Quiz - next Thursday. Our last one of the 2018! Please sign up here to let us know numbers as we have to book tables!
• Xmas social - we are going to The Boater after the task on the 11th December. Again, pease sign up here to let us know numbers!

Social Media

Please like/follow us on social media and share/retweet our content! We are on Facebook and Twitter

Organisations are already getting in contact with us through these platforms and this means we are securing more varied tasks for you to enjoy!

As the leaves on the trees start to turn brown, 19 runners ran along the river path to St John's Court to paint some outdoor furniture. This was a shorter run meaning we could spend even more time improving our painting skills!

Welcome Mark, Alicia, Ali and Ruth!

We met at our usual spot outside the Leisure Centre. We welcomed 4 new runners to the group tonight: Mark, Alicia, Ali and Ruth. The runners came to find out more about GoodGym and quickly got involved and became part of the team.

Well done Mary on 150!!!!!!

A big "WELL DONE" to Mary, one of the original GoodGym Bath team, on achieving a massive 150 good deeds!

Great job Allie!

Also a massive shout out to Allie who has just racked up 25 good deeds. Keep up the good work!

We ran along the river Avon and got to our task quickly. St John's Court is a sheltered housing service for older people. The team there provide a supportive and social environment where people can maintain their indepedence while also being part of a larger community. There is a large outdoor decking space where residents can relax and enjoy the sunshine. It is also the perfect spot for friends and family to sit when they visit.

We have been to help them out before 2 months ago and this was the second part of a larger task to improve their garden furniture.

Paint by numbers

A number of us broke into small teams to paint the wooden chairs a delicate cream colour. We were painting the front, back, sides and seat to make sure the chairs looked new and fresh. Also, the paint will provide useful resistance to the winter weather in a few months time.

Brushing up on our painting skills

Other runners split into teams to improve some large wooden tables with some calming eggshell blue paint. These are used all the time and we gave them a new lease of life with our brushwork.

No paint no gain

Chris and some of the residents kindly provided us with some juice to give us a sugar boost. After the break we found another 4 chairs to paint! We got stuck into the challenge and worked hard to make sure we left on time!

Woodn't you believe it

Overall we managed to paint a whopping 18 chairs and finished painting the 2 large tables. Chris and her team were incredibly pleased with what we achieved for them. She was particularly impressed by how enthusiastic and energetic we were and has requested we come back soon to help the team put up their Christmas Decorations. Fingers crossed we can arrange this - keep a lookout on the run listings!

Thanks to Dan and Emma for backmarking for us tonight. And thanks to Emma and Mark for tonight's pun!

Social Media

Please like/follow us on social media and share/retweet our content! We are on Facebook and Twitter.

Organisations are already getting in contact with us through these platforms and this means we are securing even more varied tasks for you to enjoy!

Upcoming runs

Next week we are running to Bath FoodCycle to help them clear their kitchen ahead of a major refurbishment. Sign up here!

14 GoodGym volunteers ran a hilly 4km to Donkey Lane to visit a community garden managed by Transition Bath. We did some essential weeding and garden maintenance to make the garden presentable and easier to use.

Well done Pascale!

We met at our usual spot outside the Leisure Centre and shared our running news. Well done to Pascale for smashing the Green Man Ultra race around Bristol over the weekend!

Welcome Cassie and Tom!

We also welcomed two new runners to the group, Cassie and Tom. They were both keen to join us in getting fit and doing good! After a warm-up and a headcount we were off on our way.

Donkey Lane is situated between Perfect View and Claremont Buildings in Bath. As you might have guessed, the views we saw as we ran up the hills were pretty close to perfect! Although the hills were tough we banded together as a group and made it to the top.

Our host, Sue, met us and gave us some information about the community garden. The site is run entirely by volunteers and anyone is welcome to get involved growing or enjoying the fruit and veg. Some examples of the food that is grown there are strawberries, spinach, apples and courgettes!

Testing our mettle, cutting back the nettle

One of our achievements last night was cutting back some nettles and long weeds around some young trees on a public footpath. A team used some shears to cut back a massive proportion of these weeds. This made a massive difference and stopped the footpath becoming overrun.

Digging deep

Another great task done was clearing back a footpath that runs throughout the garden. Weeds and long grasses love to swarm the footpath which makes it unsafe and untidy. Much to Sue's delight, the group managed to clear the whole length of the footpath and add to the compost heap! We reflected after we finished that having a clear footpath really makes the space feel like a garden and not just an patch of green land.

Going back to our roots

Finally, a team successfully removed a large infestation of buttercups. These were spreading and taking vital nutrients from the strawberries growing near them. Top tip: to check that you have pulled a buttercup and not another weed you have to check if the roots are tinged purple!

Thanks to Chris for backmarking for this run and thanks to Mary for the Pun this week!

Social Media

Please like/follow us on social media and share/retweet our content! We are on Facebook and Twitter.

Organisations are already getting in contact with us through these platforms and this means we are securing more varied tasks for you to enjoy!

Bath Chronicle

Last night a photographer took some snaps of us volunteering and running. There is going to be a feature in the local paper about us - hopefully this week - so pick up and copy and spread the word about GoodGym!

Upcoming runs

• On Sunday 7th October (this Sunday!) we have a Community Mission at Prior Park - sign up here for a fun task in a beautiful and historic place!
• Next week we are running to St John's Court to paint some outdoor furniture for them - sign up here!

In a nutshell: 15 runners ran 3km and got fit and did good!

But for a more detailed account with all the nuts and bolts included, it went a little something like this...

Fifteen fantastic runners warmed up and warmly welcomed Penny who joined us for her first GoodGym run. We got the calves pumping and hearts thumping on the first set of steps up to the canal, briefly stopped for a picture on the bridge taken by a kind lass brandishing a lock key windlass, then flew up the next flight of stairs.

We caught our breath and admired the breath-taking views of Bath from the Skyline Walk then continued across the fields and skipped down the steps to Smallcombe to meet our hosts at The Nuttery.

TO BE OR NUT TO BE

With the bonfire already lit, Virginia set our task for the evening - to cut back the brambles and grasses to uncover the logs so we had somewhere to sit for our super social. Everyone promptly paired up and the glove-wearers and tool-bearers set to work until it was time to down-tools and tuck-in to a delicious finger-food buffet and sample some cider.

I am a cider drinker, ooh arr ooh arr aay

It was fantastic to get the chance to chat with the super folk from Transition Bath and the Bath Organic Growers to find out more about these brilliant voluntary organisations who work so hard to make Bath a more sustainable place.

HERE WE GO ROUND THE MULBERRY BUSH

Keith shared his picked walnuts with us and then gave a great guided tour of the nut and fruit trees so we now know our hazelnuts from our cob nuts and can spot a sweet chestnut in a tree line-up. We then got a lesson in how to identify a ripe mulberry and were able to pick our pudding.

Thanks to Lydia and Joe for the pun, to Sam and Emma R for the food bag carrying and to Emma H for back-marking and for you all for a great run, which happened to be my 100th so hurrah to me too!

Check that everything is TICKety-boo with you

It's awesome to take in the trails on our runs but make sure you check for ticks and remove them safely. http://www.dartmoor.gov.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0010/1328977/PHE_Tick_Leaflet.pdf

If you've been inspired by the small section of the Bath Skyline we ran tonight then you'll be pleased to know that Relish Running have just opened registrations for their winter runs. http://www.relishrunningraces.com/bath-skyline-10km.php

It's quiz night at The Boater this Thursday, table's reserved for 7:30pm https://www.goodgym.org/happenings/end-of-the-month-pub-quiz-at-the-boater

Welcome to Sandy and Katie, who joined us for their very first GoodGym runs this evening!

After a quick headcount and a run through of everyone's favourite food (Dan's mixed grill seemed to garner the most murmurs of approval) we warmed up and made our way down to the river. We had a lovely short, flat run to St. John's Court, where our host, Chris, was waiting to greet us.

St. John's Court are in the middle of an upgrade to their outdoor area in order to make it a safer and more pleasant space for their residents. This evening we were tasked with giving the outdoor furniture a new lease of life with some sanding and painting. There were plenty of chairs, tables and paintbrushes for everyone to get stuck straight in. Chris kindly provided squash for everyone - what a treat!

The chairs and tables looked so great when we were done that some of the residents came out to thank us for our hard work. But our work doesn't stop here! Join us again next week when we'll be going back to do a second coat.

Given the short run and cooler evening air, we took the opportunity to do some fitness exercises in the beautiful Sydney Gardens on our way back to the ranch.

Thank you everyone for your amazing painting efforts tonight, and to Mary for some stellar back-marking!

This was my last group run as trainer at Goodgym Bath. A great turn out with 29 runners coming along from Bath and Bristol to send me on my way but first we have some flyers to pop through letter boxes  for Bathscape promoting the Bath Walking Festival taking place in September, maybe you would like to get involved http://www.bathscapewalkingfestival.co.uk/

Welcome to John tonight and Valeria who came all the way from Mexico to be with us, they certainly picked a crazy night to come along.

Thanks to GG Brizzle for coming along this evening, love you guys ❤️

I was instructed by Steve to head outside first and wait by the river and was soon joined by lots more Steph’s....Hahaha!! Now that was a sight for sore eyes 👀 The chuckle brothers arrived in their matching Bucharest vests now that’s the Steph nightmares are made of. I'm sure Steve enjoyed gouging out my eyes 

All masked up so off we go into the deepest darkest depths of Widcombe armed with 200 flyers, this wasn’t going to take long so it seemed only fair to spread those letter boxes out in places giving those who wanted chance for a little sprint with Matt being chief torch bearer, Pascale was herding everyone in from the rear making sure there was no escaping. The next task was to find a box to put Jack in and there just happened to be one at the bottom of Widcombe hill although he needed a little Gary style tuition to master the jump, poor guy must dread seeing me in the vicinity of a Box of any description or he secretly enjoys every moment.

TIMES UP FOLKS

The pub is calling us for a celebratory drink and GG Bath update........ My Show is Over but the show must go on as Freddie would say after 176 group runs since we launched in Bath. I'm all flyered out, I had a whole lot of loving for a handful of Runners

The Boater seemed like a perfectly located drinking hole for an update, Emma and Pascale will be looking after you all throughout August and it’s hoped GG HQ will come up with a way forward from September, so I truly hope everyone is kept in the loop, we’ve worked hard to get where we are with such a great team in Bath including our community hosts and let’s not forget B&NES Council who made it all possible in the first instance...Thank you!!!

I managed to fight back the tears 😭 during a very unexpected presentation of fine Gin and Crystal drinking vessel engraved with Lady Bath all topped off with a fabulous homemade masterpiece of a cake baked by our very talented vet Nicola...Yummy!! I even got to slice Lydia down the middle and eat her 😂 Clean Mary was definitely missed tonight but someone’s gotta keep the country ticking over.

The pun needed to be the best of the best in the west for my final group run as leader of this wonderful pack of people and GG Bristol’s Jack came up with a paronomasia to top them all.

I would like to Thank Everyone for making the last 3 years so enjoyable from runners to task hosts, I love you all dearly.

This week’s group run in Bath saw 16 runners come along for an 8k run to Action on Hearing Loss to help the wonderful Evan out in the extensive gardens at the Poolemead centre in Twerton.

Congratulations to everyone who raced/marshalled at Bath Running Festival on Sunday, you are all amazing!!

A few announcements before heading out in two groups alongside the river Avon to Twerton and our task destination in the wonderful gardens at Action on Hearing Loss.

Evan ‘Elp Us

Evan was pleased to see us arrive and we signed “HELLO” and “Welcome” as a group to show how talented we all are, we love to be inclusive at Goodgym Bath and all thanks to the fabulous Pascale on hand to give us a few lessons in signing. The dry ground gave us a challenge on this task but that was a good thing giving those arms an extra hard work out for 30 minutes, we aren`t  softies in Bath you know. We absolutely love coming here to help out and always come away buzzing with delight considering it is one of our longer group runs.

Time Up

Goodbye and farewell to Evan (sign style) with the hope of coming along someday soon for more adventure and fun in these beautiful gardens providing a great outdoor space for the residents at the centre.

We had a Puny time

Back at the leisure centre for our stretches, Gotta love Goodgym Bath and all the wonderful work these selfless runners do in their community.

We have a community mission on Saturday if anyone is free to lend a hand at Warleigh Weir but remember you make your own way, this is not a trainer led run https://www.goodgym.org/happenings/warleigh-weir-project-guardians-day-litter-pick