We met on a especially fine July evening.It was Katherine's 50th Good Deed with Colchester GoodGym .Well done Katherine !! 😀

We also welcomed back Ben for his 2nd time with us,good to see you Ben.

Abbey Fields is very popular,well used area of our town,with a wide variety of people taking advantage of the space and is popular at all times of the day.

On this particular evening Abbey Fields was especially busy,which was lovely to see.

Since the lockdown has eased the area seems to have become even more popular ,but sadly associated with this, there has been an increase in littering in the area.

It was an excellent turn out of GoodGym members who as always are happy to see each other and ready to do lots of good.

We split into 2 groups to try and cover as much of the area we could in the time available.Abbey Fields is a large area so sadly there's the potential for alot of rubbish.

We ended up with 6 full bags of rubbish,which was a great effort on our behalf,it's just sad it gets dropped in the first place!! 😥

Thank you.

It is not every week that Goodgym Colchester gets an award but last week we did and not just any award, an award that is as unique as Goodgym itself. The Athletic Gardening Award trophy and Rosette gave us the chance to bathe in our own glory, quietly, modestly and humbly satisfied with our reward. As well as the glitz and glamour of a Town Hall award ceremony, Goodgymers were in Tiptree (how jammy) for 10 miles and at the Royal Parks half marathon. Stories of Goodgym's legendary sportspersonship (Susie) fell on proud ears. It was great to see Louise who played an important role in the award with her commitment to Goodgym too.

But never resting on our laurels the task awaited. Lisa, from St Helena events team, had met me before heading off to a spin class and gave me leaflets for a fundraising event in February...a 5k run at the University of Essex. Sign me up! We headed across the river and did thirty-five minutes of leafleting with Marcela, our newest recruit (All the way from Chile), leading the way! Muy Bien.

Our training session involved two timed shuttle run sprints. Using the lampposts as markers the runners sprinted to the first and back, second and back and third and back getting a high heart rate and showing real determination. The caveat was that on the second run each person had to try and beat their previous time. With ample rest (!) the sprint was repeated and everyone beat their time. WOW!

At the weekend we will welcome Andy S back from Kenya so obviously Parkrun and Pub quiz is the only option. Next week is social week. Can not wait.

Super Saturday was kicked off by a few partakers in parkruns at Colchester castle park and Highwoods. 10 of us then gathered for a litterpick at 11am in the park. We were given instructions by park ranger Tim to focus on both a top area of the park near the bandstand and another section on the other side of the river. We got to work in two teams and spent an hour picking up various odds and ends, including lots of cigarette butts, cans and even a pair of pink knickers!! We then headed to raise a glass and some chips to GG10 at slug and lettuce. happy 10th GoodGym!!

Thanks all for coming and celebrating and thanks to Liam for taking some pics as well :) Here is to the next 10 years!

The inclement British weather did not put off 15 fearless young GoodGymers from braving the damp air for some pruning and tidying in Colchester Castle park this evening.

The 15 of us slowly drizzled in from 6.45 and we even managed to persuade Sophie to come and play rather than go to the 'normal gym' as she called it. It was great to see faces old and new as we set out in to the park, with an enroute warm up including our usual high knees and side steps. While awaiting the ranger's instructions, we played an 'appreciation' game where each of us chose another GoodGymer and told them something we appreciated about them. This was quite lovely with lots of appreciation for each other's sense of humours, thoughtfulness and inclusion. Warm fuzzies all round.

Simon the park ranger came along with the equipment and we played a game of Simon says where he told us what to do and we did it - much like the real game.... We had secateurs and lobbers aplenty, as well as some good old litter picking equipment. Our job was to cut down the 'suckers' (or the other fancy name that I can't remember) from the high point of the circle of trees around the bandstand. Simon asked us to cut down anything under about 6 foot - Christina made a fabulous measuring point for this purpose. We cleared away a big bag full of odds and ends which resulted in a very aesthetically pleasing eyeline for all those parkrunners.

Tav devised an ingenious bandstand circuits workout for us all. In pairs we completed 8 x 30 seconds of a range of strength and core activities, including planks, push ups and lunges. After that, we ran around the castle and down towards the bottom of the park - a mini park run lap to then finish with some stretches on the bridge.

A lovely evening and I hope you were all happy to come out in the end. I know I was!

Hot, hot, hot...no wait wrong musical theme. Deliahtfully scorchio weather was the order of the day for our first fully walked group run and task. It's never a bad idea to have sun on a goodgym run. (note to self - stop the TJ punning)

The dream team met in the cool air conditioned lobby of Leisure World with stories of the Shindig, especially Sophie Eels's epic mental health workshop. Tonights philosophy alongside the Tom Jones theme, was 'human connections'. The walk, the task and the fitness were about fun with friends.

We set off on the walk, able to appreciate our surroundings more due to the slower pace. Brill. Over the river, up the winding path in Castle Park to the rangers office. Tim and the rangers had the equipment ready and we walked and litter picked on our way to Kings Meadow past the empty boating lake with its stinky drying pond weed.

As usual Bob excelled in the art of filling a bin bag and Alex's had suspicions of Bob raiding bins! We did a brilliant job, especially as the kids playground now has tidy surroundings.

We returned triumphant and then the team of sex-bombs played a competitive and lively game of catch. Two teams aiming not to be eliminated...you may ask why, why, why?

We stretched in off and Alex showed us a pigeon yoga stretch and a few crabs appeared (see photos).

Well done and see you for Parkrun for more human connectivity.

...but black T-shirts are earned after 50 good deeds!

Tonight felt like a celebration of the coming together of running and helping. The collection of medals on display was epic with Goodgym Colchester represented in Colchester (10k), Suffolk (30k for Helen), Maldon mud run (400m for Sophie) and Sofia (21k). BLING! Not only that but the there is an increasing amount of fetching black t-shirts on display. It is amazing that so many good deeds are happening in Colchester. In fact we managed 91 good deeds last month and do not forget the coach runners.

Not only that but it is mental health week and the chance to talk to each other, do some exercise and feel great.

We set off in the sunshine for one of our longer runs to John Lampon Court. Warming up in the most dynamic way we ran from river to hill to recreation ground and beyond. Charlotte met us and distributed the tools - brushes, dust pans, litter pickers and gloves. Last year we had the same task and we set to work improving the court yard, seating area and front porches as well as litter picking and tidying the front of the property.

The difference was notable and the appreciation from one resident was clear after she asked us to remove some weeds she could not do herself. That is Goodgym.

We warmed up again on Old Heath Rec and jogged into the sunset, stopping to do a little partner fitness work before stretching and heading for home.

Well done everyone! You are all champions.