Firstly, a warm welcome to Pauline who joined us for her first GoodGym session. We also welcomed Matthew to his first session, Fiona's fiance (congratulations to you both!)

Tonight was all about celebrating 100 years of our great city. Sinéad and I both wore our Portsmouth leggings. As part of our 100 litter picks in 2026, we did a speed litter pick in Victoria Park. 2 large bags filled in 25 minutes. Best finds included an octopus, barbie lip balm, a fork and a man in a bush (after a very short conversation, Val left him there).

We managed to collectively do 100 exercises in 3 minutes. This was team work at its finest, with a side order of GoodGym laughter thrown in. Not sure we'll be releasing a fitness video just yet.

Finally, on the way home we collected some words for the Portsmouth 100 found words word search. I haven't included all those here otherwise the album would be massive! But they will all get sent to Think Big Do Bigger for their collection.

The city centenary (& my birthday!) have been well and truly celebrated tonight!

Once again, Southsea seafront became stage for this months Run & Rave, one of the main aims of which is to promote a safe nighttime running environment for all. Friday also saw the biggest GoodGym turnout to date!

Six of us hit the prom, with Abby leading the way on sustainability, arriving by bike to get those legs warmed up early! Katie debuted her (legendary) neon smiley rave t-shirt - an elite charity shop find! A huge shout out to our leader Jen for perfectly embracing the rave spirit, sporting a pair of fantastic furry (and purrry) cat ears! Sinéad stole the spotlight, entertaining the crowds with her very own spectacular poi ball light show! Sammy's good will face-painting also attracted crowds, converting the faces of over 10 people with her signature rave design! Sammy also presented GG newcomers with their custom Run & Rave bangles - beautiful gifts which are handmade by honorary GG member Betsy. Thank you so much from us all Betsy, and thanks to everyone for an incredible night.

We had quite the turn-out for our excursion to Emsworth this evening, which was super-handy as there was a lot of work to be done!

Rebecca, the Head Teacher, and the Caretaker had started some prep work, so we got stuck straight in to the task. Katie and Sam got stuck straight in with scraping and sanding, whilst Judy and Andy were on priming duty for the woodwork. Double Dave caused Double Trouble with an exploded tin of green paint. Sinéad arrived after her run around Thorney Island to lend a hand. Birthday Gal Val found her calling as a wallpaper instructor, helping Rebecca to get the lining paper on some of the walls.

Val also provided music and snacks, so we got to channel our inner dancing queens with an Abba soundtrack.

A contractor had quoted the school close to £5000 to do the work needed, so GoodGym's efforts have certainly helped to keep school funds supporting the children, which is wonderful. Well done, you are all awesome!

On a sunny Sunday afternoon in Southsea, four Goodgym runners got together to go on a 5km shuffle around Southsea Common whilst spreading some good musical fitness vibes to the people of Southsea. It was a brilliant and bright afternoon (despite the usual wind!).

This was the first Sunday Shuffle to strictly follow the Goodgym rules (- naughty Andy!), and this also meant it was Andy's Run Leader assessment! He nominated Dave to take on back marker duties (thanks Dave!), but unfortunately he had naughty Jen keeping him on his toes by deciding today would be the day to run over all of the benches in Southsea! N.B. You take part at your own risk, Jen! This was also the first time that Andy met Nia, after previously only being involved in some virtual challenges together - as always with Goodgym, it was a pleasure.

Post-run we saw Sammy, who joined us during the cool down and helped us out by taking some photos (thanks Sammy!), and then we headed to the pier for an (almost) disastrous coffee-shop experience!

Has Andy passed?! Only time will tell.