What a night in Wandsworth! We celebrated ten years and Felix's 50th good deed with an amazing cake courtesy of Catherine, a job which included creating a new water installation, Steph's brilliant quiz, a chaotic GG task themed relay and the mysterious case of the disappearing tongs...

It all started with our warm up and we revisited our very first 'co-run-drum' - how many bricks are there in the Battersea Power Station building. Well done to Annabel who nailed it with her guess!

We look a warm run down to the garden where we were met by the brilliant Malissa who set us to work. Jason and Emily's team got stuck into creating a new water featuring with a very green bath, while Steph led a group pulling up mallow. Meanwhile everybody else was working to rake up hay and fill raised beds.

As we worked, there was some decorating going on and we were gifted with a lovely homemade rum punch, a bottle of martini and banana bread from the generous committee!

Job done, it was time to go downstairs and create beautiful chaos in the shape of the GG task relay - there was planting (sorting coloured balls into pots), watering (transporting sponges to see who could collect the most water - shout out to Jack who took the job so seriously that he could be found sponging up water from the pavement) and sorting recycling. Or there would have been, if the tongs hadn't mysteriously disappeared and reappeared again.

We moved on to a static hold quiz before a final competition to see who could create the best '10' as a group. The independent judges vote was unanimous, and Team A emerged victorious, bagging themselves a box of chocolates. Excellent work!

After all that, it was party time. There was a table groaning with food, there was the most amazing cake, there were fabulous gifts (thank you all so so much!), there was a quiz where we all learned something and there were speeches...

Ten years ago we went from the BAC to the Katherine Lowe settlement to give it a good clean. None of us could have known what was to come. A decade later we have achieved over 11 500 good deeds. That's over a thousand good deeds a year. All done by you. And that's before we even count the bonds we've made. Because not only have we helped support our community, we've done races and parkruns together, we've won quizzes, we have built life long friendships, and there have even been some GG weddings and babies.

There have also been some very memorable tasks. ITen years ago we had our very first goodgym wandsworth run. We went from the BAC to the Katherine Lowe settlement to give it a good clean. None of us could have known what was to come. A decade later we have achieved over 11 500 good deeds. That's over a thousand good deeds a year. All done by you.

And that's before we even count the bonds we've made. Because not only have we helped support our community, we've done races and parkruns together, we've won quizzes, we have built life long friendships, and there have even been some GG weddings and babies.

There have also been some very memorable tasks. Who could forget the time we came to this very garden ahead of the jubilee celebrations and moved no less than five tons of compost? Or when a group got together to form a human chain and managed to clear an overcrowded house so that the resident could use some of their rooms for the first time in years. Or when we created a community garden from a bare patch of land and grew produce which we then donated to the hospice on clapham common.

When covid brought us to a standstill, we pivoted. Our group runs stopped, but that didn't mean we did. You started to do food deliveries to isolating people,some of whom didn't have contact with anybody else for months. You delivered shopping and medicines. You went to Wandsworth foodbank to sort through much needed donations. You were a lifeline.

Almost all of the tasks over the last ten years have had challenges in common. Usually a spectacular lack of resources. But that is where goodgym shines. No tools? No problem. You've used tiny kids plastic spades to shift tones of sand, you've had nothing but leaking buckets to wash mobility buses, shopping trolleys have been commandeered to move massive piles of woodchip. Using just muscle power and blind optimism we moved things that noone thought possible.

But whether you've walked away from these tasks covered in mud (or worse), streaked with paint, or completely soaked from a downpour one thing is always true - you always do it with good cheer and lots of laughs. We've also supported each other when things were tough. We are all here to support each other, we're more than just a volunteering group.

Our task owners that allow this all to happen - so many work tirelessly to make Wandsworth the beautiful place it is. I recently got some feedback from one of regular task owners, Natasha,who said:

" I couldn't think of a more deserving group of people. They have been instrumental to us on many levels. I am always thankful for how much work they do for us free of charge, from cleaning , gardening, painting, leafleting ... nothing is ever too much for them and they do it with such a joyous disposition - no matter what they are asked to help with.I can't sing them enough praises."

So to all of you that have pulled on a red shirt over the years, whether this is your first time, your 50th, or if you've earned those GG wings, you've made this happen. Here is to the next ten unforgettable years of GoodGym Wandsworth.

On another beautiful night in Wandsworth, we were delighted to welcome Becky & John to their first Goodgym session - lovely to have you join us! Before heading off, in the spirit of the commonwealth games, we discussed imaginary events we would like to have the chance to compete in - there was everything from a tiramisu eating contest to speed sudoku and even a spot of sword juggling!

We were back to the lovely Larkhall park and it was great to see it full of people enjoying their evening. We had a great fitness session with everyone contributing their favourite exercises and then we showed some love to the Pentanque court they are getting ready to use clearing weeds away. Great work Team Wandsworth!

Another fantastic Monday night in Wandsworth saw us back at the Gwyneth Morgan Day Centre. The centre provides vital support, activities and companionship for older people in the local community, helping to reduce isolation and enabling people to stay active and independent. Keeping the outdoor spaces looking welcoming makes a real difference to everyone who visits.

First up, there was plenty to cheer about. We chatted about Josh Kerr's incredible 1500m world record at the weekend, before giving a huge round of applause to Felix, who absolutely smashed his PB at the recent London 10km. Amazing running! We also got to welcome Fliss to her first group session - so lovely to have you join us.

After the warm up, we headed out to meet the rest of the crew at the Age UK Wandsworth centre.

Once there, we split into teams and got straight to work. There was weeding, spreading compost, sweeping paths, tidying up huge areas of the garden and plenty of general gardening. But the most coveted task of the evening in this hot weather? Washing the mobility bus! Naturally, the hose had its usual ideas about how the evening should go, but after the customary battle with the equipment, everyone got stuck in (with a few extra splashes over the side of the fence...purely in the interest of keeping everyone cool, of course).

By the time we packed everything away, the transformation was obvious. The garden looked so much tidier, brighter and well loved, and the freshly cleaned bus was gleaming. It's the kind of difference that the centre's users will notice when they come in today.

With the task complete, it was time to raise the heart rates with a Tabata session. Twenty seconds of hard work followed by ten seconds of rest—simple, brutally effective and guaranteed to get everyone working! We rounded things off with a squat challenge and finished on happily wobbly legs.

Well done to everyone for another brilliant evening of running, positive impact and fitness.

Don't forget our big 10-year anniversary party on the 10th—keep an eye out for the sign-up link coming soon.

Next week we're back at Larkhall with Sophie. Sign up and all the details you need right here

A special run, this one - a magical mystery tour of the locations that made up the first ever group run and the first ever coach run - from over 16 years ago (💾 📼 📟)!

Why? Well, to bid farewell to a special guy. He's tall, he's pale, he's handsome, he has an OBE. It's goodgym's founder Ivo Gormley. Many words were said about this man at the leaving party after the run, at the beautiful Calthorpe Community Garden, so we are not going to attempt to do him justice here. But the fact that a group of otherwise strangers, all wearing their red and black uniforms with pride, were gathered on the steps of York Hall (can you use their toilet? NO) a full sixteen years after the first group of otherwise strangers gathered on the steps of York Hall, to run around and help some people, has to mean something about how powerful and enduring Ivo's idea has been.

Warm up? LEG SWINGS UP THE WAZOO 🦵🏿💨 💨💨 - led masterfully and mindfully by Ade - along with some other limbs and muscles essential for running.

Bags loaded up in the Mechanical Cycling Machine™️ (it's Fast Boi Shaun Dixon on a cargo bike 🚚), we are led off by Euclides Montes who, by his own admission, doesn't actually know the area at all. But who cares?! It's the running that counts! More being lost equals more running! For the relatively small Venn diagram of people who were both a) on a goodgym run and b) knowledgeable about football, Darren performed the role of Roving Reporter (bluetooth speaker) with the GOALS! GOALS! GOALS! from England's match against DR Congo. There were indeed three goals but it wasn't a pretty picture for the 68 minutes between goal 1 and goal 2. We ran past some awfully concerned looking pub goers! But it had a happy ending WAHEEEYYYYY ⚽️.

First stop (probably, can't remember the order because the goals were so compelling) was St Hilda's East Community Centre - the site of the VERY FIRST GOODGYM GROUP TASK. In 2009, Ivo and 13 others emptied a cupboard. And how! St Hilda's is awesome - long-term friend of gg Tower Hamlets, the Centre (led by Lucy) provides bilingual advisory services around employment 🧑🏾‍⚖️, offers activity clubs to combat loneliness 🎯, exercise classes for the elderly 🪑 - it's the kind of place that communities across the country utterly depend upon.

Question, is it possible to belong to goodgym for 12 years and still not know the name of common little yellow flowers 🌼 that come in pots? Answer: Yes! But we planted them on the roof. Those who were particularly confident at differentiating between plants (alive) and plants (dead) also performed a valuable weeding service (let's hear it for weeds 🌱!), leaving things very spruce and cheery up on the terrace for users of the Centre to enjoy.

Next stop, just round the corner off Arnold Circus, where one Ian Drysdale (runs a long way, never looks sad 👨🏻‍🦱) gave us the next bit of the history tour. DID YOU KNOW that Ivo and Ian worked together in a social-enterprise-cum-think-tank in Shoreditch, before goodgym even existed? If you didn't, you could guess. Ian showed us the EXACT SPOT where Ivo first turned to him and said, "Ian I have an idea about a club where people run around and do helpful things instead of just be in the gym" and Ian was like, "WHAT? No Way!" and Ivo was like, "Yes absolutely WAY and I'm doing it, and you're DOING IT WITH ME because you know about computers 🤓 and I only know about films and being kindly." I am fairly confident this is what was said. And so goodgym became a thing with a name and a team.

One! More! Stop! It was only TERRY'S HOUSE wasn't it! "Who's Terry?" - have you been living under a rock? Terry was the clay-pipe-collecting (no, still no idea), amateur-boxing, newspaper-reading, Ivo-appreciating elderly man who became the defacto first-ever goodgym coach. Ivo used to run to his house and there they did have a chat, and that really was it and that was kind of the point. Another goodgym man John Hunter (👋🏻) has also been a long-time coach visit-doer and so said some words about this. Those words were like: "Having been running to my coach Florence 👵🏿 for 6 years, and then Richard 👴🏻 for nearly 2 years now, I have learned a couple of things about what it means to make these visits. It is a friendship, not a service, and it has the potential to be profound for both of you." They were very serious words and I'm not crying, you're crying.

With that, the history had been retold, and it was time to jog on 🏃🏻‍♂️🏃🏻‍♂️- to Calthorpe, and a garden full of over..ooh, a hundred? people with love and admiration in their hearts for the phenomenon that is goodgym. Ivo is a very humble man, but let's be honest, it wouldn't exist without him, would it?

It was back to Larkhall park tonight to continue to tackle the petanque court. It has sadly become overgrown and so it was us vs the weeds (and the ants it turned out!). A beautiful timelapse created by Jason shows just how hard the team worked to clear it out and help to get this space back in shape.

We did test our world cup knowledge before we went and ended up with some freestyle fitness. Good work Wandsworth!

Last night we were back at Balham Nursery following the amazing work the team did last Monday – and this time it was all about painting!

After a warm up and a Eurovision-themed quiz question (where the team impressively remembered all five UK Eurovision winners: Sandie Shaw, Lulu, Brotherhood of Man, Bucks Fizz and Katrina and the Waves), we headed off on our run to the nursery.

Natasha, the headteacher, was ready and waiting for us with a perfectly prepped painting area, so it was straight into action grabbing brushes and rollers. Within minutes the place was already looking brighter and fresher. A few of the team also tackled the windows, giving them a much-needed wash down and making an immediate difference.

Natasha was absolutely delighted with the transformation and told us we had saved the nursery a “small fortune” – a good reminder of the impact a Monday night GoodGym session can have.

With the painting complete and the rollers downed, we headed over to Clapham Common via the “scenic route” for fitness. And by fitness, we were staring down the barrel of a FIVE MINUTE plank challenge. Yes. Five whole minutes.

The variations included military planks, diamond planks, side planks, reverse planks, shoulder taps and plank jumps. Who knew there were so many ways to suffer in a horizontal plank position?

Very impressively everybody managed the full five minutes. What an incredible effort.

Next week we’ve got a special lunchtime Bank Holiday session helping clean up a pétanque court at Larkhall Park – come along! We'll follow with coffee/ice cream (delete as appropriate depending on bank holiday weather...) You can sign up here