It was a dark and damp night across London yesterday but as all the run reports on the website have shown, there's no holding us back! We kicked off with the fireworks of Diwali as a backdrop against the night's sky. After some heart-rate raising exercises we went round the group, and in honour of the festival of lights, each guessed how many street lamps there are in the whole of the London. It was Christina who came the closest, with a whopping 2.8 million brightening the streets of the capital.

It was great to welcome Zita to her very first group run, which last night was at Doddington Roof Garden. This community space has been made into a flourishing garden for local people to use, and we have helped out here for the past few years. Our job for the evening was originally meant to be sanding down the benches so they could be repainted, but given the imminent rain, we decided against that job until the skies cleared. Look out for a weekend mission soon!

Instead we got on with various other tasks, including emptying and shifting a huge cupboard, digging up and moving different plants and getting rid of the deep-rooted dock plants that were springing up all over the place.

Jobs done, we headed downstairs for shelter just as the heavens opened. As the rain came down we debated long and hard about whether to do a very soggy fitness session, to brave the showers and run straight back, or just to wait and see whilst knocking out a few squats. Ultimately, we opted for a mini fitness session in the comparative dry, trying to beat our reps each time. Despite some very sketchy counting, there was some great effort with press ups, tricep dips and power squats, so it looks like we made the right decision after all!

Some dates for your diary! This Saturday we're looking for some more pairs of hands at Paradise Cooperative Garden as they're having a big delivery of bark chips which they need help spreading. Sign up to lend a hand here, and don't forget Wandsworth beer festival is happening afterwards just across the road the same day!

Next week we have our annual spooky run and social for Halloween - all welcome! Here are all the details for the frightening fun ahead. Hope to see you there!

With the background of a beautiful sunset, we met at our usual spot outside the Battersea Arts Centre for last night's group run. Given the stunning streaked sky, it was perhaps appropriate that our job for the evening was at the aptly named Paradise cooperative garden!

This lovely hidden garden managed by volunteers aims to connect food, nature and people through sustainable urban farming and community gardening and by cultivating under-used land in Wandsworth. It's right opposite Wandsworth prison so visitors are also welcome to use the space to relax and reflect.

After a steady run through the streets of Clapham we arrived at the garden, and the weekly crack-the-code challenge began. Last week we finally managed to beat the combination, but last night's lock breaking attempt took slightly longer. Finally it was Annabel who managed to defeat the padlock (maybe it was the new gloves?) and got us in.

In perhaps a GG first we had been sent the instructions by advance video, which was really helpful, so while the team grabbed the popcorn, I tackled the further three locks which separated GoodGym from the tools we needed. Finally we were united and the task could begin. While Catherine, Dave and Janice got stuck in patching up the holes in the polytunnel, the rest of the group followed the somewhat complex instructions on sorting the compost bins out. After 45 minutes the tunnel was newly free from leaks and the compost was sorted and ready to be used. Well done team! Luckily the locks were much easier to manage going out, and making doubly sure we weren't leaving anybody to spend the night in the garden with the pumpkins, we set back off again.

Next week we are paying a visit to beautiful Doddington rooftop garden, a former multistory carpark transformed into a community space. You can sign up for the session right here. While you're there why not sign up for our spooky Halloween run and social -tricks and treats guaranteed!