It was the last group run of January last night in Wandsworth - and what a month of doing good and getting fit it's been! It was great to see 37 runners meeting to help out at a community garden. We also welcomed Benjamin, Rachel and Grainne to the group - give them a cheer!

We started off the night with some news:

• Free this lunchtime and want to squeeze in a quick and very helpful mission? Then look no further than this one for Free2Be, a charity which supports LGBTQ+ young people in Wandsworth. They need a hand moving their office, and have GoodGym to help out at 12pm at their offices near Clapham Junction.

• It's the last week of the January challenge - just one final push to make the 8000 good deeds and 100 000 kms we've got as a target. Wandsworth is looking good with 179 good deeds and 1,636 - can we get any more in before January runs out?

• It's the monthly Wandsworth social next week - hope to see you after for the session for 2-4-1 burgers and post-run fun. Sign up for all the details

We headed outside to do our warm up and, as it was the last run of January, to discuss whether we had kept to any new year's resolutions we had made. Quite a few of us had avoided making one altogether, but there have been some excellent successes - eating fewer biscuits, doing something that challenges us (like Frances jumping into a freezing January Brockwell lido!), coming to GoodGym (hooray), and doing first parkruns.

We set off on our run down to Christchurch community garden, a small public space in the middle of Battersea that a group of volunteers are trying to make as welcoming as possible for local people. They have some beautiful mature trees there but a problem with the leaves they drop which are stopping other plants from growing and causing a nuisance on the paths.

When we arrived we found volunteer Nigel waiting for us with loads of bin bags, gloves and some litter pickers, and we got to it. While one group started on the rubbish people had chucked over from the nearby bus stop, the rest of us started clearing leaves - and if you've ever wondered how many bags of leaves a team of 37 people can fill in half an hour (and why wouldn't you?) then the answer is a phenomenal number. Just check out those photos!

We took a short jog over to the local park for our fitness, which this week was all about teamwork. After pairing up we took a quick lap around the park, high fived our partner, and then raced them back to base, before working on some conditioning exercises such a partner pistol squats and back to back holds. There was some pretty impressive balancing going on, and a lot of trust! Nice work everyone.

With the hill waiting for us at the end of the run, we set off for base, and finished the night off with some stretching. Fancy more fun and fitness next week? Then sign up here for your weekly dose of GoodGym Wandsworth. Until then, run happy!

It was the penultimate Wandsworth run of the year (and the decade!) last night and it was a goodie....

It all started with a lots of nice news:

• There was some great parkrun tourism going on, and some good long racing from Rosie - well done guys

• Don't forget that it is our last run of the year next Monday when we'll be singing carols for Paul's Cancer Support Centre, followed by our Wandsworth Christmas social - join us for the last session of the year and get ready to get your Christmas on in a big way.

• If you want to warm up those voices and do your bit to support the local community at the same time, then there is a great community mission this Thursday when Kambala Cares community organisation will be hosting their annual local event. [Sign up here for carols, mince pies and a nice good deed]

• There was even more to celebrate last night as it was Morag's 100th good deed - what a superstar! Give her a cheer for all those good deeds and many, many kilometres along the way. Shout out to Matthew who hit 200 good deeds last night- getting ever closer to that 500 tshirt!

Our task for the evening was at Spear, a south west London based charity that helps get people off the street and into secure accommodation, supports young people and helps them move into education or work. They had asked us to come and paint their training rooms, which were in need of a little love.

So after a warm up and a brussel sprouts referendum ( 23 to 6 in favour...with some caveats) we headed off on a short run to St Mark's Church, Spear's base. When we got there we found all the equipment we needed waiting for us, and got straight into the job. While most of the group got painting, James and Hanna took on the challenge fixing the broken cupboard. Half and hour of work later and we were done - the walls had a good lick of paint, the cupboard was put together and replaced, and the brushes were washed up. That was the true definition of many hands making light work. Well done guys.

We took a short run up to Clapham Common for fitness, which kicked off with a squat waterfall, before moving onto Chase the Hare - with a very strong hare performance put in by Morag. Then we moved onto flying 30s, where we knocked out some good sprinting concentrating on different technical points.

A steady run back to base and some stretching and we were done for the night. Just one session left - hope to see you there! Until then, run happy everyone.

ps thanks to Helen for the punspiration and photos - photo credit also goes to Sian!

It was a chilly old night in Wandsworth but that didn't stop 22 community warriors meeting up to spread the word about a special lunch being put on for elderly people who would otherwise be spending Christmas day alone. That is worth braving the cold for! As Lorna said " I got in and saw the warm sofa and decided to do my little bit for humanity instead!"

We started the night with some well deserved cheers:

• Way to go Sian and Oliver who both got hefty PBs at the Fulham 10k at the weekend!

• Fancy a scenic trail run this sunday? Here is just the thing!

• Goodgym had teamed up with food poverty charity Foodshare and Tesco to help people struggling with hunger in a series of community missions (no need to be DBS checked). Have a look at this one happening in wimbledon

We did a much needed warm up, but before we set off, we had a quick chat about all the nice things that had happened to us at the weekend. From seeing family and long walks, to not leaving the warm house to getting tattoos, it sounds like it was a lovely couple of days!

Our task tonight was to spread the word about an amazing event that is being put on in Battersea on Christmas day. The Rotary club is making sure no elderly people spend Christmas Day alone, so they are organising transport, a lunch, music and bingo for anybody facing isolation on the big day.

So after a short run down to Providence House we met Senia from the Rotary Club who met us with A LOT of bags of flyers for us to deliver. It was a bit of an optimistic number, but we took what we could and set about our job as Monday night Santas.

7km later we found ourselves in Battersea Park, and to beat the chill and get a good dose of fitness in, we did tabata (ta-BAT-a/ ta-bat-TA) sprints. This is a tough workout, with 20 seconds of hard sprints interspersed with 10 second recoveries for eight rounds, but you guys smashed it.

Next week we're going to help out at a school in the secret garden the kids use to grow fruit and veg. Bring a headtorch if you have one, and sign up here for all the details. Until then, run happy GoodGym - and wrap up warm!

As the nights draw in and the evenings get chillier, there's nothing that gets that warm glow going better than a GoodGym run!

Welcome to the group, Becca, Clare, Jessie and Nelson!

Well done to all the racers at the weekend - as well as the Richmond half, there were some great parkrun performances. Don't forget cross country season has well and truly kicked off so if you're looking for some muddy but rewarding runs then why not give it a go?

This Friday is the unofficial ten year birthday party and it's also social sec Pritesh's last time organising it, so come along for a good old knees up. It's a great chance to meet up with people from lots of different areas and to catch up with what's been going on in the world of GG.

Our task last night was for the new Brownies organisation at Battersea's Katherine Low Settlement - a brilliant place which houses lots of groups who support vulnerable young and older people locally, in particular refugees and those living in restricted circumstances. The ethos behind the new group Brownies is about introducing girls to a world of new opportunities and challenges, as well as trying new things that teach girls about themselves and their community in a safe place.

So after a 2km run down to KLS we were met by Zoe and a new member of the Brownies (complete with uniform) who gave us a short talk on what they were all about, and handed over 350 leaflets ready for us to distribute.

We have delivering leaflets down to a fine art now, which means that we can distribute a huge number in just half an hour, which is really helpful for community projects that are often strapped for resources. Setting off in single file, we got going dodging old pumpkins, barking dogs and no junk mail signs! Before long, the word had well and truly been spread and we headed off to the park for our fitness session accompanied by Morag and Frances singing all the Brownie and Girl Guide songs and even reciting Brownie promise!

It was a full body work out, which on top of a 6km run was a big ask, but with different stations featuring planks, sprints, frogs, press ups and more, we worked almost every muscle going. Great work!

Just a short jog back saw us finish off the night with some stretches and a cool down. Sign up here for more running to support the local community next week!