So much has changed since our last monthly visit to Doddington community garden, and the joy of going regularly means that we can see the difference we're making over time! This visit we were delighted to see that the beds we had dug last time were flourishing with courgettes and other crops.

But first things first. We kicked off the session at our usual meeting spot for some warm ups, and it was brilliant to welcome back some familiar faces and to have Rida join us for her very first session - great to have you part of the team!

We did some warm ups which tested our coordination as well as our muscles, and given we have just had a bumper week of fireworks, Halloween, Diwali and there are now 50 days until Christmas, we asked the group which is our favourite holiday. Answers ranged from Christmas, Boxing Day, bank holidays, Easter, Eid, Halloween and our annual leave. Goes to show we all love a party!

It was just a short run or cycle down to the Doddington, where Malissa wasted no time getting us to work. There was weeding to be done, trees to transport and a new bed to be dug, lined with cardboard boxes and then refilled with compost again. This is going to be planted with red onions for the community to enjoy, so keep your eye peeled next month!

After a good 45 minutes of hard graft we downed tools and went down to the square for a lower body challenge. Three minutes of seriously tough exercises with no break, all working those glutes, quads and calves - and everybody rose (or squatted) to the challenge. Great job!

All that was left was to run to the pub for the monthly pub quiz, and this time there was two bumper teams ready to battle it out. Team IstanWool (who will ever forget from this day forward that angora wool comes from the Turkish capital?) were pipped to the post by Paul, Dave, Jo, Laura, Justin, Jason and Catherine's megabrains...but we still have to beat our nemesis at the bar! Definitely next month.

Speaking of which, don't forget to sign up for our Christmas party where there will be plenty of festive fun to be had, and also this special mission to get everybody a warm coat this winter.

Autumn is definitely settling in but that won’t stop Goodgym Wandsworth! A great group of us came out and just about dodged the drizzle. We were flyering in support of Foodcycle to build awareness of this great local charity and try and drum up more support. We flew through the pile very quickly and covered some solid distance with some stair sprints thrown in to get round some of the blocks. We even managed to grab a celebratory drink afterwards. Well done all but particularly Ali who did their 50th good deed which is a fantastic achievement! More celebrating to be done for that on our next Group run.

Last night, a group of eager GoodGymmers earned their community service badges by tidying up the outdoor area of a local scout hut. With the space being underused and overgrown, it was our job to make sure it was in tip-top shape!

Warming Up with Some Badges of Honor 🏅

Before we set off on our mission, we kicked things off with a lively warm-up. And to add some fun, we shared what our own personal scout badges would be – and lets just say, they were deliciously varied! From cheese eating to flapjack munching, it is clear that we have varied tastes and skill sets! Some of us had niche talents, like dog grooming, or the coveted town crier badge. Of course, we also had some practical talents in the mix – shout-out to those aiming for the Excel spreadsheet badge, a real hero in any modern taskforce. And let’s not forget the classic carrot crunching badge!

We gave a shout Out to Paul! 🎉, who was fresh off the back of the Vitality 10K on Sunday! Despite his race efforts, he still joined us to lend a helping hand. 🏃‍♂️👏

Let's Scout It Out 🏕️

Once our imaginary badges were awarded, we marched over to the scout hut, where we found the outdoor area in need of some TLC. Armed with loppers, gloves and bags we got straight to work. We cleared away litter and debris from the pathways, pulled up weeds, swept the area, making it safe for little people, and dispatched overhanging branches. With everyone working together, the transformation was remarkable. The outdoor space was soon scout-ready, ready for whatever adventures lie ahead for the small community heroes.

Mission Accomplished! 🎯

With the outdoor area looking better than ever, we wrapped up our session feeling pretty pleased with the change. Another mission completed, another good deed done. As always, it was great to chat, laugh, and get stuck into the task together. The scouts will now have a clean, safe outdoor space to enjoy – and we can all feel proud about that.

We had time to squeeze in a leg based workout before we headed back for stretches, with exercises including crab walks, squat/oblique crunch combo, pulsing lunges and more - making sure to dodge the buses at the same time.

Next Week: Our next Monday GoodGym adventure will take us onto the streets of Wandsworth in aid of Foodcycle, a charity which helps those struggling with food insecurity. Don't forget about our upcoming community mission at the GoodGym garden which we will double up with optional parkrun and coffee. There are plenty more badges to be earned!

Until next time, keep running, keep doing good, and keep dreaming of that cheese-eating badge! 🧀💪

We piled the posh poo perfectly at Paradise plus some post project PE!

If you think it's hard getting your mouth round that tongue twister you should have seen the challenge we took on last night during our Monday session! Yes, the puns were well and truly flying as we shoveled our way through a mountain of horse poo which had been kindly donated by the posh horses at Richmond riding school.

It was a pleasure to be back at Paradise Cooperative after a little time away. The positivity began early as we met to do our warm up and discuss all the nice things we had done over the weekend. From trips to the dump, football with family, fleabag binging and STP it sounds like everybody made the most of it.

It was a glorious evening for a run which was topped off with a minor miracle. For the first week ever we cracked the code for the gate and the shed first time!

This meant we could get straight on with the mane task at hand. With one team making sure the barrows were filled in a strong and stable manner, it was up to the group to giddy it all up into the compost bins. While we worked we covered lots of conversation points, including the fact that yesterday marked 100 days until it's a very mare-y Christmas! Thanks for all the punspiration team, and especially to Annabel and Sophie for this run report title.

After the task we ran over to Wandsworth common to make the most of the last of the light and knock out a quick tabata session. It was fast and furious and covered all our major muscle groups - well done team!

I mentioned a couple of upcoming sessions that might be of interest, including this one tonight handing out food and other resources for rough sleepers in Trafalgar square and also this one on the following Tuesday in Leicester square sorting donations for a refugee centre that could really do with some more help if you're free!

Next Monday in Wandsworth we're going to be helping out at the Scout Hall, hope to see you there!