NINETEEN NINJA @GGSHEFF RUNNERS RAN 3KM TO HELP A FAMILY OF SIKH ASYLUM SEEKERS FROM AFGHANISTAN PREPARE THEIR BACK GARDEN FOR GROWING FRUIT AND VEG WITH REGATHER

As the rain began to fall, we set off from our base of the Showroom Cinema after giving a warm and hearty welcome to two new runners this week; LIZZIE & HELEN.

Give em a Cheer!

With SENSATIONAL STEVE as our back marker we set of into the damp eve toward our destination; the back garden of a family of Sikh Asylum Seekers from Afghanistan near to Regather who will be helping them to grow their own fruit and veg in the coming seasons.

After an entertaining brief from GORGEOUS GARETH we got tooled up including the necessary PPE (gloves) and got to work moving wood, bricks and slabs, digging out roots and leveling the ground ready for the planting that will come next.

We finished in the dark, making it a little harder to see the impact we had.Rest assured it was huge and we were kindly rewarded with tea and cake from the family before setting off back into the drizzle of the night.

On route back we took advantage of the underpasses of Sheffield using them as shelter for our fitness session which this week involved runners working in pairs with one person wall sitting whilst the other sprinted to the other end of the underpass and back to tag their partner. We went hard for 3 rounds.

GREAT WORK TEAM!

On return to base we found a sheltered spot to stretch and saved all announcements until we were inside in the dry and had a drink in hand.

Note to all. as we saw last night the seasons they are a changing so next week please do bring a jacket and a head torch if you have one.

What a whopper in Wandsworth last night. With the muscle power of 41 runners, we were really able to make a huge difference at a local community project, and even got a special technical session from a guest coach. What's not to love?!

Before we set off, we had a run through of the week's news, which included saying a huge thank you and well done to all of those who helped out, ran, volunteered and paced at Saturday's Tooting Common park run. It was a brilliant morning, with GoodGym pacing 20-35 minutes, being the best (noisiest) cheering squad and generally making the event a big success. The report isn't up yet, but keep an eye on the Tooting Common parkrun page for when it does appear. In the meantime, check out these photos.

We also welcomed some lovely new runners to the team - give a cheer to Phoebe, Stephen and Kate. Fantastic to have you with us.

Well done to Matthew, Jack and Jim who also raced in Decathlon's Wimbledon 5k yesterday, and to Jessie and Luke for smashing the Race the Sun (or Rain).

While we did our warm up, we did a quick poll to find out what made people laugh. Answers included Fawlty Towers, when people fall over, Mabel's hamster and Trump.

With a short run of just over a mile, we set off at a nice speed and quickly arrived at the Doddington & Rollo rooftop garden, where a range of jobs was chalked up on the board ready and waiting for us to get stuck in. There was plenty for us to do - turning compost, cutting back the vines, a vast amount of watering, weeding paths, clearing beds, and cutting up garden waste ready for composting - but Team Wandsworth was up to the job. Within just over half an hour we had made some huge progress and the garden - which is on top of an old car park and is used by local residents who don't have access to outside space to grow fruit and vegetables - was looking even more blooming lovely.

We waved goodbye to the garden, and set off for Battersea Park where we were meeting a running technique coach from BodyLogic, a running school in Battersea, who was taking us through a series of drills and technical points for distance running. Seb led us to a nice quiet spot in the park before setting up cones and leading us through various elements that will make our running more efficient, concentrating especially on positive backwards arm drive. If you enjoyed the session, BodyLogic is offering GG members that attended 50% off a running video analysis here at Body Logic that expires at the end of the month. Just email for the details and code if you're interested.

We put what we learned to the test on the way back, when we split into two groups and raced to our starting point. I noticed plenty of good arm drive on the last hill up to the BAC (when it is really needed) -you were looking great, gang.

Next week we're off to a spot more gardening on a local estate, so join us for another fun session by signing up here.

Namaste, Wandsworth.

Last night we had a super zen session featuring a special one off yoga session.

It started, as it always does, in our well-loved Battersea Arts Centre, where we did one of our favourite things - cheer all the lovely new faces joining us for the first time. So please give a massive Wandsworth welcome once again to the excellent Rachel, Lorien, Charlotte, Anca, Leonie and Phil.

We also tipped our hats to Jack, Helen, (Jo) [https://www.goodgym.org/runners/joanna-aa3da551-638e-4194-823a-cd5d1da2b03a] and Matthew who all represented team GoodGym at Fulham park run on Saturday. A huge well done to Hannah who showed the very hilly Wimbledon half who's boss.

We also did a shout out for anybody who is keen to get involved in the Tooting Park Run TAKEOVER this Saturday - GoodGym is going to be all over Tooting common running the show this weekend and we need you. Sign up here to put yourself down for pacing or volunteering. They'll be a lovely breakfast social picnic afterwards, so join us for pretty much the best way to kick off the weekend.

After all that cheering, we headed outside to crack on with tonight's run, but not before doing some lovely warming up and hearing about what makes people cry. Because it can't all be butterflies and rainbows all the time, you know. The good job is that most people cry happy tears, brought on by puppies, runners getting medals in the Olympics, onions, The Notebook, adverts, goodbyes, and Ryan Gosling.

Our run down to the task tonight was a fairly short (and downhill) one, so we happily made it down there in record time. Our job tonight was to shift a load of furniture for the charity Spacemax - an organisation which helps families living in overcrowded properties maximise the area they have. It was a teensy bit chaotic as we attempted to clear a huge corridor of furniture outside, but in no time at all the area was clear and while we waited for the team to regroup, we knocked out a quick legs blast.

After all that shifting, we were ready to be centred again, so after a quick jog to Battersea Park, qualified yoga teacher Lorien kicked off our serene yoga session. We slipped off our trainers and socks and sat down on the cool grass, while Lorien took us through a series of stretches and moves to help us as runners. We saluted the sun, we downed our dog, and we king pigeoned. After 20 minutes we were truly zenned, and ready to tackle the run back to our starting point. It was amazing what a difference the session made, with many of us feeling bouncier and more limber for the return leg. A huge thanks to Yogi Lorien!

We split into two groups for the run back, with Sophie leading the speedy team on an alternate route that finished off with our favourite hill. All that was left was a few relaxed stretches and a good old pat on the back.

Next week we have another special guest who is going to give us some invaluable pointers about technique - don't miss out on this one-off session.

If that isn't enough good news, we also have a GoodGym social this coming Thursday for the whole of GoodGym - come along to meet lovely GGers, see who won pun of the month, and to have a jolly good knees up.