Brrr, the cold snap wasn’t letting up last night, but that didn’t stop our awesome group of runners from showing up and getting straight to work! There was no time to hang around in the freezing temperatures, we were all eager to get moving, warm up, and make a difference.

We welcomed some new faces to the group this evening — a big GoodGym welcome to you all! We’re so glad to have you with us and hope you’ll be back for more fun in the future. Great to have you join us Hannah, Lisa and Benjamin

We kicked things off with a quick warm-up, and Catherine came up with an excellent Monday question - where is the best roast in the area to be found? It got us all thinking (and hungry) — there were some great suggestions but we decided we definitely need to find a good veggie option. Suggestions welcome!

Once we were all warmed up and ready to go, we ran down to the Venue, a community hub that serves as a space for healthy eating classes, kids' groups, storage for donations, and more. Our task for the night was a massive tidy-up. There was plenty of composting, cleaning, and clearing to be done, but the biggest challenge? A pool of dried, spilled cream that had made a sticky mess! It was a tough one, but there was no use crying over spilled, er, cream. With hot water, cleaning fluid, and plenty of elbow grease, we managed to get the job done. No more rancid spillage, just one big sparkling floor!

There was lots to clear away, but with so many hands working together, we got through it all in no time.

After the task, we finished off with a core session. We all got to know each other a little better as we squeezed into one corner and got down to business.Core work helps with stabilising your body when you get tired during a run, so you can maintain good running form. It’s a key part of injury prevention, so well done on some great efforts from everybody.

After a run back we wrapped up with some stretches after all that hard work. Next week we have a new task in Balham, which means we’ll be leaving sharpish to get there. If it sounds like too much of a stretch, you can always meet us there. After the task, we’re having a social at the Four Thieves with some board games — it’s going to be a lot of fun, and we’d love for you to join us!

Some more dates for your diary:

• On Saturday there is this great mission to help clear the paths at a nature reserve

• We have a new regular community mission helping out with a kids club at the Doddington community garden late Thursday afternoons

• If you're free on the morning of the 24th and have an hour to spare, this amazing organisation which is home to several charities needs some help moving two offices around

A group of 9 from GG Wandsworth headed to the west of the borough to help in a local church/community centre garden. We cleared walls of ivy, chopped back hedges and trees, and fought with bramble. With beautiful sunshine and tea/coffee on offer from the hosts, a good time was had by all, and lots achieved.

It was certainly nippy last night, but that did not stop a group of buds coming together to, er, nip some leaves in the bud...

We kicked off the first Monday group run of 2025 with lots of cheers, some bad puns, talking about our favourite cheeses, and by welcoming Helen to her very first session - great to have you join us!

Feelin' gouda

We did a much needed warm up whilst discussing all the future plans that January holds - like this excellent new mission gardening at St Barnabus Church this Saturday and another the following weekend clearing paths at Unigate common.

The Age UK Wandsworth day centre is also looking for old magazines to use for an art project for their older service users. If you have any that you'd like to donate then you can drop them off at the Gwyneth Morgan day centre on East Hill for the attention of Frank, or let me know and I'll sort something out.

Just before setting off we each chose our fave cheese. There was blue (clearly influenced by the sub zero temperatures!), brie, gorgonzola and Wensleydale (which was accompanied by a very interesting Wallace & Gromit fact!)

Brie the best you can be!

It was a short run down to the garden and we wasted no time with cracker-ing on with jobs. There were plenty of brown leaves to be picked to fill the raised beds, compost to be shifted, naked trees to clothe and dead branches to transport. There was an interesting disparity in the size of tools on offer, from massive spades to a teeny tiny fork.

Still, it didn't hold us back and it's always amazing to see just how much can be done in a short amount of time. This is our traditional first task of the year, and it's been a joy to see how the community garden has evolved over the years.

It doesn't get cheddar than this

Job done, and with very little feeling left in any of our extremities we made our way down to the square for some EMOM based fun. With five rounds of exercises completed against the clock, we soon warmed up! Great to see you all work so hard and don't forget that if you have any goals this new year I can help with then don't hesitate to let me know.

Most of the team headed off for the monthly pub quiz social which came down to a nail biting finish. There is another one planned with games towards the end of the month, so watch this space!

Great to see you all for a fantastic start to the year. Don't forget you have three more days to make your GoodGym good deed pledge for January - it's a great way to aim for a target and stick with it.

Looking forward to seeing you all at another session that is guaranteed to beat the January blues soon!

What a fantastic way to close out our year of GoodGym runs! This evening’s mission marked our last run of 2024, but not to worry, if you’re itching for some GoodGym action next week, I’m happy to set up a community mission on Monday—just let me know!

We started with a warm-up and the all-important question of the week: Should we retire the question of the week? I was expecting a mixed reaction from some of us thinking it was a fun tradition but it was time to draw it to a close, and others wanting to see it continue into 2025. Unexpectedly the result was unanimous - question of the week is here to stay! (But we might start taking it in turns...)

It was also fantastic to welcome Jack for his very first GoodGym session! Hope you enjoyed it, Jack, and we look forward to seeing you again soon.

Our task tonight took us to the Gwynneth Morgan Day Centre, a vital local hub supporting older residents of Wandsworth. Age UK Wandsworth provides this space for social interaction, activities, and vital services to improve the quality of life for the elderly. It’s wonderful to be part of a project that gives back to the community in such a meaningful way.

Our jobs for the evening were varied. We started with washing buses, ensuring they were sparkling clean and ready for action. Next, we attempted to fix and move a planter (a tricky job with a bit of a fight back from the planter itself!), and we finished off with some leaf clearing, making sure the area around the center was tidy and welcoming. There’s always plenty to do, and we were glad to be part of it.

A huge thanks to Frank for the thoughtful gift of chocolate, which definitely fueled our run and work! We were also pleased to see GoodGym Wandsworth included in the Age UK Wandsworth annual report—a lovely reminder of our visits. And of course, there are always more jobs to do—so we'll be back in 2025!

Before we headed off, we enjoyed a fitness session featuring Tabata, which was intense but at least kept us warm. We even finally figured out how to correctly pronounce “Tabata”—you’d be surprised how long its taken me!

Finally, don’t forget to RSVP to the GoodGym Wandsworth Christmas Party on Thursday, December 12th! It’s going to be a great time, and we’d love to see you there. Details here - and rest assured there is no pressure to sing, we welcome spectators and performers alike!

That’s a wrap for 2024. Can't wait to see you all next year—stay active and keep spreading the good vibes!