Every session at GoodGym is special, but last night was especially special for a few reasons!

First of all we got to welcome Carol, Abi, Adam along for their very first group run with us - let's give them a big GoodGym cheer! It was also fantastic to welcome back some familiar faces too.

The evening was in collaboration with Sport England's This Girl Can campaign, which aims to remove all of the hurdles for women to participate in sport. This is particularly relevant at this time of year when the clocks have gone back and the evenings are darker. There is a lot of anxiety around running after dark, especially for women, and last night's session was a chance for us to help make wider society more aware of this and what we can all do to help.

So just before we started the task we went round the group to reflect on how running after dark made us feel. There were lots of different answers from us all, including concerns about running in parks (which takes away some fun and freedom of going for a run) , worrying about trip hazards, how every sound is amplified, being hyper aware of everything around us, and the disappointment of avoiding it all together. It was really interesting to hear everybody's thoughts from lots of different viewpoints.

If anybody in the group every wants to go for a run but doesn't feel safe, then feel free to message the group in whatsapp and we can hopefully get a buddy system going - I for one am always up for a social run!

What also made the task slightly different yesterday was that, rather than run to a community organisation like we normally do, we had our session right at our meeting spot at the BAC. So all we had to do was turn the corner to find the amazing permablitz garden. This space is available for the whole community to use, and anybody is welcome to help themselves to the produce grown at this edible garden. It's all planted so it's sustainable, organic and full of pollinators.

This is a wonderful community resource but it's also a huge space, and so we rolled up our sleeves as head gardener Polly took us for a tour of the garden. We saw fennel seeds, curry plants, learned about walking onions and admired all the amazing herbs. Some of the volunteers who work at the site have accessibility issues and the leaves falling around the planters have made the paths slippery and unsafe. So while half the group set about litter picking in the beds, the other half got stuck in clearing the walkways.

Meanwhile there was plenty of planting to be done, so we grabbed our gloves and a big bag of bulbs and got stuck in. Great work everybody, you've made an amazing difference in just a short amount of time. And good news! The blue keys were eventually located....

With no run involved, we had to make up for it with an full body work out. It was so good to see everybody throw themselves into loads of different circuit based exercises, including those dreaded hill sprints, tricep dips, bunny hops,lunges, lateral jumps and so many more - all of which were made doubly hard by doing them on that incline!

Next week we are back with a bang - expect lots of lovely Diwali and Bonfire night fireworks as the back drop for our run! We'll have an extra great view of them as we're going to the Doddington rooftop community garden for our monthly session followed by the pub quiz social. Everybody welcome, the more the merrier!

There was a lot to be cheerful about last night, not least the fact that we had a rare inside task, and a new member - put your hands together for Matheo!

Our job for the evening was at The DRCA Community Kitchen, an organisation which offers cooked meals to those suffering from food poverty. The had asked us to come and give the place a good spruce up, so, as usual we met at the BAC for a warm up before heading down to the Doddington estate.

Featuring plenty of fast feet and dynamic stretches, we got our heart rates up and tested our brains by naming as many board games as possible - as well as debating if Buckeroo actually counted as a board game!

Speeding down the DRCA we were met by Justin, who manages the space, and were delighted to find plenty of new brushes, rollers and tubs of paint for us to use. Not only that, but the place was already covered in dust sheets and the areas that needed attention were marked out, which meant we could dive straight into the task.

The DRCA's vision is to provide a welcoming space where no fewer than 19 charities and voluntary sector organisations can use the facilities to prepare and share meals in a safe, hygienic environment. The food prepared there will be freely accessible to those in need, fostering a sense of community and providing a gathering place for individuals to connect, network, and receive support. It's an invaluable resource and we wanted to help make it look as good as it possibly could, so dividing up into teams we wasted no time getting the paint onto the walls.

The kitchen team had the ceiling to paint, and within no time it was rivaling the Sistine Chapel. Meanwhile the wall painting crew had a huge space to cover so didn't dilly-Dali, while downstairs the team were brushing up on their painting skills, doing a great job that was right on the Monet.

Rather than leave the job unfinished, we decided to sacrifice our fitness session for the evening - but don't worry, there will be a doubly intense (but fun) one next week to make up for it! We'll be delivering flyers for the Library of Things so it's a great opportunity to cover some kilometers while spreading the word about a brilliant new resource for local people. Hope to see you there!