Thirlmere Park in Liverpool, a stone's throw from the Anfield stadium, was the setting for today's Community Mission. The park is one of the smaller ones in the city and apart from a children's playground and a basketball court, is currently almost all given over to a wildflower meadow - poppies, cornflowers, ox-eye daisies and many others. These were in full bloom today and it was good to litter pick and sweep up so that they could be seen in all their multicoloured glory. We were joined by Creative Spaces Co and Jimmy from Alley Angels today - it was great to see you! As it's a small park, we were able to clean up all of it, filling 11 bin bags between us in little over an hour. Mystery objects found included a bike saddle, a child's coat, and the winner of the Most Interesting Object Found on a Litter Pick - a child's pushchair!

Wooohooo, we're back for Good(Gym)! 22 runners ran over 5km to redecorate Kenningston Adult Community Centre.

After 2 weeks off, it was great to be back to reconnect with familiar faces as well as to meet plenty of newbies. This was our second biggest Group Run to date, only beaten by our launch run, and it was fab to have such a big and enthusiastic team on board.

There was heaps of news to share before we started the warm-up and you can find info about the Liverpool Half Marathon, including the Saturday Community Mission, right here.

JANUARY CHALLENGE UPDATE We set ourselves the target of 130 good deed and 600km. You can see our progress and how we rate against the other GG branches here. Guess what? We just went top of our group leader board, but we can't rest on our laurels. Sign-up for your next Group Run here and make sure your Strava is linked to your GG account.

Back to the task.... We were warmly greeted at Kensington Community Learning Centre and given plastic pinnies, tins of paint, brushes and rollers. We had to play the game of "how many GoodGymers can you fit in a room" since the space was a little tight, but as usual, this mighty team made it work. After 30 minutes hard work, some of the team felt they could do more, so a Community Mission has been organised to go back and finish the job on Thursday evening.

This week's shout outs go to our enthusiastic newbies Sophie, Chris, Grace, Jessica and Jamie. We'd love you to run with us again soon. Also mega thanks to fab back-markers John and Christine. Plus a big-up to Rachael for pulling the plaster off!

A huge well done to everyone. It isn't easy to get back to it after a long break filled with cheese and mince pies, especially on a dark and windy night. You're all boss!

Until next week, happy running (track on Strava!!!) Char <3

P.S. I know the title pun is RUBBISH. Please help me next time :(

Our nifty nine (quietly) tidied up the front drive and back garden at brilliant cancer support centre Sunflowers.

There was a little bit of drama on this week's Group Run when I lost part of the group! This is the first (and hopefully last) time this has ever happened. But while the speedy crew were busy sprinting the Princes Park Parkrun home straight, my steady-eddie group managed to take a short cut and bypass the rest of the team. All's well that ends well, and they actually beat the rest of the group to the task. And sure no worries, I deffo needed that extra 1.5km run as I went back and forth looking for my lost sheep ;)

At Sunflowers Cancer Care Centre we were met by Bobby who put the team to work on weeding and tidying tasks. As there was a meditation class taking place inside, this was our quietest task ever! Although we couldn't stay for as long as we'd have liked, the team worked hard and certainly left the place looking tidier than when we'd arrived.

Thankfully the return run was less eventful and we enjoyed the sun soaked views of Liverpool's impressive Anglican cathedral as we ran back towards the city.

This week's shout out goes to Sara who has quickly become a regular AND recruited two others (yay for Yan and Jess) to join our #RedThunder crew.

Well done on another excellent week everyone!

Next time we have another new task - we'll be at the Liverpool Irish Centre for some more gardening action. Sign-up here and don't forget to bring your gloves.

Until then, happy running, Char <3

Clashing with the first England game of the World Cup, our terrific 12 forewent the footie to do good-deeds in our local community. I know who the real heroes are! And even better than the side in Russia, we had a 11-strong team of talented sports people, plus a coach barking orders from the sidelines! (waves)

After a 3.5km run from our Hope Street Hotel base to Harthill Youth Centre in Wavertree (with a little impromptu hill-training on the way!) the team set to work clearing a long overgrown path. The land around the youth centre has become pretty unruly but there are exciting plans to turn it into a community garden, with a little people power from GoodGym to help them along their way.

We had 4 fab newbies this week. So a big shout out to Adam, Kate, Adam and Rachael for fitting in perfectly with the rest of the team and really getting stuck in to the task.

The team at Harthill Youth Centre showed us their hospitable side once again and the runners were treated to orange slices and cookies before hitting the road. On the return leg we enjoyed a quick fitness session aimed at engaging our glutes and just about beat the rain back to Hope Street. Great effort GoodGym, you are so much more impressive than the England team ;)

Next week we're going back to where it all began, as we help out at Fern Grove community garden, which was also our very first GoodGym Liverpool task back in March. It is a newbie-friendly session with a flat run of about 2.4km (in each direction). So sign-up and bring a friend!

See you next time, Char <3