11 awesome runners ran 5k and helped out at the Tabard Garden's Community Allotments!

Yesterday was the fourth installment of GoodGym runs! So far we have helped at a charity shop, cleaned up the Thames and packed up Christmas presents for those in need... so many good deeds! This time, we kept it very local, just around the corner in fact, at the Tabard Gardens Community Allotments.

Since it was a stones throw from the office, we ran around the block a bit to add a bit of distance and then shortly arrived at the allotment. We were greeted by Peter who helps with the upkeep of the place. He explained a few things that needed doing, the main one being to dismantle the fruit cage and dig out all the plants.

Everyone made their way over to the cage and started untying the net. Within minutes it had been removed and it was time to start digging everything up! Everyone grabbed a fork or a shovel and got stuck in! After about 15 minutes, all the shrubs had been removed and set aside for safekeeping. They will be replanted elsewhere in a few days time. Then it was all hands on deck weeding, clearing leaves and picking litter.

Amazingly you guys managed to fill 6 of the big brown bags full of weeds and leaves. It would have taken Peter hours to do that himself so really well done.

He was quite a shy guy but later in the day I received a lovely message from him saying how thankful he was for all of your help. It's not often that he gets volunteers down at the allotment so when he does it makes a huge difference. Nice work!

Need for speeeeeed!

After 40 minutes or so it was time to head off. Sadly we said farewell to the cyclists while the rest of us headed to Bermondsey Spa Gardens for a mini interval session. The circle is about 340 meters all the way around and hardly anyone there so perfect for some fast running! We did a little ladder of 1 lap followed by 1 minute rest, 2 laps 2 mins rest and finally 3 laps 3 mins rest with the aim being to try and keep a consistent pace throughout each interval. It was great to see you all push yourselves and open up your stride a bit! Lots of extremely speedy people in the group! After 6 fast laps it was time for a nice easy cool down jog back to the office and a stretch!

Until next time....!

13 awesome runners ran 4km to help clean up on the River Thames!

It was the second installment of the GoodGym & For Goodness Shakes collaborations and this time it was all about clearing up our London river!

It has been in the news so much recently about single use plastic and how so much of it ends up in the oceans harming the wildlife. Since plastic never decomposes, it just gets broken down into gradually smaller and smaller pieces called micro-plastic and sadly that is the kind of stuff that gets eaten by seabirds and marine animals resulting in millions of deaths each year. Apparently there are more pieces of microplastic in our oceans than there are stars in our galaxy.... CRAZY!!!!!!

We met at the office, distributed some gloves, litter pickers and bin bags and then made our way towards Rotherhithe where I knew of some good unlocked entrances down to the Thames shoreline. Before we were even half way there, loads of stuff had already been collected. Plastic bottles, coffee cups, straws, cigarette butts, carrier bags, crisp packets, cans of drink.... the list goes on!

We arrived at the steps to take us down to the river where there is usually a lot of rubbish that gets washed up at low tide. The team headed down, split up and went different directions along the cobbly river bed. After 20 minutes, the tide was starting to come in and it was time to move on. We went to another location a little further down for the last 10 minutes to collect more stuff. By this point, the bin bags were nearly all the way full and getting heavy, especially with the amount of glass there was lying around!

After 30 minutes it was time to head back so we went a slightly different way to the office, to try and maximise our pickings! All the full bin bags were disposed of in nearby bins and the last two fresh ones distributed! It was all hands on deck on the way back trying to fill them with as much stuff as possible! And it didn't even seem like a struggle! There was so much waste hidden in bushes, in the carparks, on the streets next to the curbs.. just loads when you go looking for it!

The last two bags were filled and we called it a day! A nice gentle jog back to the office to finish off the run!

Great work everyone!! You collected so much waste which is amazing! Lots of people were really appreciative of all the work you were doing, especially the residents near the carpark we did at the end so really well done! See you in a few weeks time for the Christmas special!

10 awesome runners ran 7km to lend a hand at the ALD Life charity shop in Peckham!

Something a bit different was on the cards for the lovely runners of For Goodness Shakes this Thursday lunchtime! Luckily we had managed to just dodge the rain so no jackets required, woohoo!! Instead a lovely sea of blue!

I picked everyone up from the office and we headed on our journey down to Peckham! 25 minutes later and we had arrived at ALD Life charity shop on Peckham High Street.

ALD Life is a patient support group and registered charity for patients and families with Adrenoleukodystrophy (ALD) and Adrenomyeloneuropathy (AMN) which is a deadly genetic disease that affects 1 in 18 000 people. This brain disorder destroys the protective sheath that surrounds the brain's neurons, the nerve cells that allow us to think and to control our muscles.

You can have a read of Alex's story here who was the inspiration and the reason for setting up the charity in the first place.

We were greeted by the lovely Annette who explained all the tasks that needed doing. The shop was just absolutely bursting with stock! Which is amazing as it clearly has such great support from the locals donating so much stuff but also means there is lots to be done to ensure everything is kept tidy and put out on the shop floor!

Everyone got stuck in! We had people sorting and tidying books, CDs, DVDs, games and the bric-a-brac section too. And downstairs there was piles and piles of clothes to be sorted, tagged, hung and steamed.

The place was looking SO much tidier but after 40 minutes it was sadly time to go. They really struggle to get enough volunteers to keep on top of all the work that needs doing but 10 people lending a hand for just 40 minutes would have really helped them out so well done!!!!

We had a lovely photo outside the shop and then headed back the way we came, stopping off for a fitness session on the way. 3 rounds of step ups and single leg squats on the benches to work on getting those glutes stronger and some tricep dips to finish off. As I said, runners tend to neglect their upper body but its so important as it helps you maintain a good posture while you're running and can improve your running form and arm swing!

After 3 rounds it was time to head back to the office. We arrived a smidge before 1, just in time for a little stretch and a post work out shake no doubt!

Well done everyone! Great running and awesome work getting so much done at the shop. The managers were so pleased, if only we could have stayed a bit longer! See you in two months time!