21! 21! I think Mark might be saying that in his sleep tonight. It was amazing to see runner after runner walk into Wholefoods and one who even changed his mind mid-run to come and run with us! Great to see you Al.

Amongest the army tonight were also 3 GG Hounslow visitors, Andy, Remy and Michelle. So great to see you and well done to Remi who will have done her 50th GG run by Wednesday this week. We also had Louisa and Chris back for their second run and newbie Sally introduced to GoodGym by Holly (lovely to see you and Jon back Holly!). It felt like even more of a reunion when we were also joined by Salwa, Victoria and Jane. Great to see you all!

Before we set off, Richmond residents and commuters got an eye full as we showed off our warm up skills in front of Wholefoods to the rhythm of our thumping feet as we fired up our fast twitch agility skills.

Richmond taking the warm up - up a gear! @goodgym pic.twitter.com/TWUkk86KlR

— GoodGym Richmond (@GGRichmon) April 30, 2018

Tonight we had a new task and a new task owner and what a task it was. We ran 4.5km along the river, thankful that the heavens had closed for the day! Some of us took a detour and shortcut, keen to get first dibs on the adventure playground and pick their activity (no names mentioned)....only to be disappointed that Mark wouldn't allow us on the swings until the end.

So, we got to work, after a brief chat from the lovely Esther the Senior Playworker at the** Adventure Playground at Marble Hill Playcentres** about the fantastic provision they provide for 5 to 15 year olds of Richmond Borough. More info about the great work they do can be found here

We were asked to turn over wood chips, create a compost pile ready for growing vegetables and organise the inside of the Playcentre so that the little ones to the teenagers had somewhere to hang out. It was a fulfilling and rewarding task and one we all hope to return to. Finally after all our hard work was done...we got to have a go on the swings and get an ice pop!! Wow what a step back in time!

We took a gentle 1.5km run back over the bridge as we witnessed a beautiful sunset. Thank you for the photo Remy

There was a warm glow for GG Richmond as they completed the task tonight. Even the sky went a colour far from the grey. A scene we had almost forgot. pic.twitter.com/4VMJUwrMpe

— GoodGym Richmond (@GGRichmon) April 30, 2018

Back at Wholefoods we cooled down and headed for our suppers, proud of all we had accomplished!

Well played all (no pun intended). Next week is tree felling, mat laying and some other goodies, sign up. here

12 runners ran 4.5km to strip paint for Kingsgate Community Centre

High knees, hill sprints, 'n helping. Climbing was a big theme of this Monday's GoodGym Brent where 12 runners ran 4.5k to help out Kingsgate Community Centre.

Starting from a brisk warmup outside the Queensbury, we jogged gently for 2k before arriving at Kingsgate Community Centre. Kudos to the Brent regulars who prevented me from going the wrong way!

At the Centre we were first told they weren't expecting us - argh! But not to fear! Our lovely contact Louise soon explained to the caretaker that we were there to help out and we got cracking on brushing the paint off the railings to set the groundwork for repainting. This should help Kingsgate when they come to repaint, so a worthy cause! Particularly inspiring to see some extra-pro scraping techniques being practiced including backwards scrubbing (courtesy Joe) and musical scraping tools (courtesy Tabitha). Definitely a visible difference and a good chunk of paint off by the end of the evening!

Whilst one group brushed and scrubbed to get the paint off, another group practiced hill sprints. We learned how to work the arms, technique for landing properly and driving the legs forward, and maintaining good form running uphill, before putting that into practice with either three hill sprints, or a continuous 5 minutes on the hills.

Everybody's form really improved even over just a few minutes, which was really encouraging to see!

But were the GoodGym Brent regulars satisfied with one fitness session? Oh no. We had some serious fitness fans in the mix tonight. Post-task we jogged over to Kilburn Grange park to do an exercise set and some core work with everyone contributing 2 of their favourite exercises. Some particular highlights were: squat jumps, burpees, riding your bicycle on the floor, and 10 seconds of mindfulness. Obligatory sit-ups and press-ups included.

Two fitness sessions down, we ran the rest of the way back before cooling down with a few stretches. Top running and good-deeding from all involved, and a lovely start to the week. Thanks for making my first visit to Brent such a great evening :)

Seventeen sensational @GGSHEFF runners ran 7km to help spread woodchip for Heeley City Farm.

We welcomed new runner Rachel Ripley to the GG family tonight, welcome to the team Rachel - Give her a cheer!

After a quick brief and headcount and with Sam as our trusty back marker we headed off to Heeley City Farm for the nights task.

This weeks task involved a hide and seek style start with tools and a treasure map of the task hidden away in a horsebox. We quickly deciphered the map and got to work, splitting into 2 teams to move woodchip to areas of the farm that were in need of a new layer!

Using wheelbarrows, wheelie bins and brut force we quickly covered the areas in need and even had time to fill some bags up for moving in the future.

After downing tools and accidentally disturbing the local scrumpers we headed into the fitness element of the evening which took advantage of the local topography....

This week we:

• Duck Walked

• Lunged

• Box jumped

• Downhill backward walked!

• Hill sprinted

After all this in the heat it was time to head back and finish with a fast becoming customary mini hill sprint at the end before stretching and spreading the word of the latest news including:

• GG Barnsley launch

• Chosen Park Run for this Sat

• Wednesday Runch

• #stickemup - see photos for Sam's excellent demo!

Next week we are off to Reagther so make sure you've signed up.

Happy Running,

Tom