Ten jewels in the Brent crown braved the unpredictable weather (Storm Angus will have to do better than that to stop this bunch doing good!!!) to run to Ashford Place, London's first 24-hour shelter for the homeless dedicated to promoting inclusion and reducing isolation.

We were delighted to see a rather more hirsute Dan back in the ranks after a break and a brief foray into GoodGym Barnett - but we forgave him ;-P... especially as he's been busy growing a Movember moustache, good for you Dan, keep it up! We also welcomed Fausto back to the fold after a few months' break, and long-standing and newer runners, Elisa, Tania, Deborah, Tabitha, Enrique, Clare Mouse, Mel, and cover run leader Claireybell.

Our friendly group managed to recruit two more runners for next week's run before we even left our base at the Queensbury pub, good work guys!

We managed to tear ourselves away from the glowing pub fire and out into the night (which wasn't as cold as it looked from indoors!), leaping over puddles and piles of wet leaves like sprightly pixies to avoid soggy socks and squelchy shoes.

After a short run and a quick stretch, we arrived at Ashford Place where Alan met us and explained what he wanted us to do, opening the door to a room bursting with bags of donations and furniture - our task - to make it look "different"... So we rolled up our sleeves and hauled out bags and bags of clothes, bedding and toiletries, sorted, re-bagged, and labelled, a jumble of chaos into an orderly oasis of organisation and calm - it was one of those jobs that you would put off forever if you had to do it on your own as it would have taken 2 days, but ...

with ten pairs of hands, we had it done in about 20 minutes!

We still had time to fit in a run to Gladstone Park where we set to some tempo runs cleverly disguised as a game... we ran a loop of the park in single file, with the person at the back having to accelerate to make it up to the front of the pack again, the person at the front setting the pace - there was definitely some healthy competition going on with Deborah and Tabitha leaving us in the dust as they vied for the lead. We finished off with some cool down stretches and a jog back up the hill to base again.

A quick reminder, if you are interested in coming to a GG Brent Christmas meal and/or drinks (no run involved, lycra and high-viz optional, name badges will be provided for identification purposes...), there is a doodle poll on GoodGym Brent's Facebook page, we will confirm the date by the end of this week.

Well done guys, keep shining your light around Brent and beyond!

Swapping Monday blues for running shoes, a Goodgym perfect 10 help an angelic book shop sparkle again!

Undeterred by the election of the absurd and not swooned by the bright light of a supermoon, members new and bold gathered at GG Brent local, The Queensbury. We welcomed 2 new members again to the fold this week - Amy and Hannah and were pleased by the return of Helena even after last weeks Queens Park mile attacks! Special shouts go out to both Eliza and Deborah for making it without their usual running mates - There's no 'I' in team!

Completing the crew we had (She ain't got no belly) Coach Ellie! Making up the rest of our terrific team of track-tastic trudgers: (Next week's coach) Clairey-Bell, (Can't tame me) Amy, (Getting leaner) Samina, (Every one's a-fan-a) Hannah, and the rose among the thorns Enrique (that's me : )

Hot to trot but sweaty we were not, as our destination was just a short skip away. We had arrived at our Beginning, and we vowed to make it Glorious!!Greeted by the the welcoming 'Hi there' of our favourite JEEP 'dri-ver' some of the team tooled up with sponges and things, others charmed a lend of a ladder as two nipped into a Sainsbury's loo, to fill a blue bucket and one of those green recycling bins with water, to wash away some sins.

'Wax on, wax off' type upper body efforts cleaned the Sign and window - "watch out below, oops, there's water on yo!" (unlucky Samina! and everyone else who got splashed!) Working so concertedly, we managed to remove, quite sweetly, some unsightly graffiti.

Having heard the good news it' time we were off to climb the mountain. Following Ellie as she ran, grinning with her cunning plan - Hill Training - AAAHHH MAN! (Did someone say squats - apparently we chose this?)

Pointers on technique said like words of encouragement lead to a fast and steady start for the group, then a shaky turn had us realise that calories are what hills burn! A self imposed beasting drill on a damp North London Hill. The collective sigh of relief upon arriving back at the bottom after Hill folly three was red in the face for all to see.

Speaking of bottoms. . . Even after the the trio of triumphant trips to the tip, any GG Brent meet wouldn't be done without the monkey on all our backs (sides) SQUATS!!!

Delirious by this point we squat. We squat and hold, we squat and thrust, oh god we even (balancing pretty well considering) bounce in to and out of alternate squat lunges!!!???

Back to base to celebrate Andrea having just achieved a distinction in her Masters!!!

Monday's really are good!

Kinda sad it ended - We're all broken. . . and just a little mended : )

DO GOOD. FEEL GOOD. INSPIRE

On a wet Monday night, seven GoodGym Redbridge runners took on the challenge of delivering flyers for an ‘Active Together’ initiative and ran more than 8km in the process.

Spurred on by the knowledge that “skin is waterproof”, the magnificent seven met at our usual home – Wanstead House Community Association – for the usual briefing and catch up. Excitingly the group was joined by three Redbridge first timers – Alice, Caitriona and Tim.

With the usual GG news dealt with it was time for Sam from Vision Redbridge Culture and Leisure to talk us through the nights task. She explained that we were flyering for an initiative called “Active Together” which aimed to engage with the residents of local housing estates and find out what would make them get out and be more active. A brilliant task and one well aligned with what we do at GoodGym.

Without further delay, the group headed off up Wanstead High St in the direction of the Hermitage Estate. Armed with bags of flyers and one fire key for accessing the buildings the team set to work distributing the goods. Each building was three of four stories high, which meant the added bonus of a stair workout in each building. With Vision’s Sam and Trainer James, doing relay to open the doors, the group soon made quick work on posting the flyers and within 30 minutes the task was complete.

With 30 minutes left on the clock there was still time for a short 4km run around Snaresbrook before heading back to base for a cool down stretch.

All in all a brilliant task which saw GG Redbridge help make a real difference in the local area, get a little bit sweaty and a lot fitter. And the rain even held off.

Great work everyone. Same time next week?

P.S. Big shout out to Peter for the photo taking!

9 GG Brenter's ran 6k, to shift 4 wheelbarrows of rocks, 8 of leaves and avoid 1 crafty little fox

On the coldest night of the year so far, the wrapped up and raring to go crew of Brent gathered eagerly at the good old Queensbury Pub on the high road of Willesden, for a housekeeping full of good cheer, good chats and the welcoming of 3 newbies into the fold YAY - The lovely Enrique, our only fella for the night and Sisters Tania and Eliza.

After welcomes and warm-ups the team hot-foot it through the chilly winds down to Harlesden Town Gardens where Gabriel was waiting with his trusty torch. The task to be achieved this night was a Wheel-barrow of laughs shifting piles of rocks to support the development of a rockery and leaves into the newly built comps patch. Needless to say we totally rocked it

After 40mins of back breaking shifts cheered on by a medley of my weird and wonderful spotify treats (summer and holiday inspired) We spaded, pushed and shovelled our way through the lot, managing to avoid Mr Fox who had taken up residence there.

Back to the road and it was fast, fast, fast all the way home. The team were like a speeding bullet, running like a pack of wolves in formation, a beautiful site to behold! Up hills, round bends, through the darkened parks. As we raced through the blackness there was only one thought in our minds, it's head torch season and our short shorts days are numbered.

Back at base we stretched and reviewed. Another epic night, fantastic vibe and laughter that carried our legs through the distance.

See you next time.

DO GOOD. FEEL GOOD. INSPIRE