Before we kicked off our run last night, there was plenty of cheering to be done after a busy weekend of racing. We celebrated Florian and Lucy smashing the Big Half, and Jonny completing the triple at the Great North Run. Shout out to Jon for his 250 parkrun. Great running everybody! After some warming up, it was off to our task for the evening, just around the corner.

One of the benefits of going every three weeks to help out at Chiswick House is that we really feel the seasons change and gardens evolve. Last night our job was to clear brambles and ivy from some ancient pillars and stones so they can be repurposed, and there was a feeling of autumn rolling slowly in. The kitchen garden was full of giant sunflowers about to turn, the apples were ripening and there were blackberries for the picking.

We grabbed gloves, loppers and secateurs and began cutting away the overgrowth to reveal some beautiful old stone work. It was a satisfying job to do - have a look at the before and after shots to see what we uncovered! And watch out for the new placement of the pillars around the grounds soon...

It had started to drizzle so we took a brisk run back to Turnham Green where we saw off the night with a three minute mountain leg challenge. The idea is that this drill replicates a hill session - just without having to find any hills! With 90 seconds of step ups and reverse lunges per leg, this is a proper leg blast in an effectively short time.

We have a few community missions coming up which are looking a bit lonely! Can you help? On the 21st there is an opportunity to help out at a lovely community event at St Stephen's conservation area.

If you're up for a bit of saturday night fun, why not sign up for this centenary celebration mission in Gunnersbury? Not only is there the chance to help the community come together, but there is loads of fun stuff happening to enjoy at the same time!

This evening we headed to our sponsored riverside plot at the Three Pigeons. We go every month but this one was different as we were saying goodbye to a very special GoodGym Richmond member: Anita

Anita has been a member since 2017, was the first Richmond member to hit 500 good deeds and is already 150 beyond that. Beyond how much Anita has done for the community, she has been instrumental in the taking on, designing, leveling up and maintaining of our riverside plot. On task nights that means instructions with military precision but behind the scenes there has been even more work, liasing with the council, getting plant donations, planning task nights to make the most of them, and single-handedly looking after the area through drought periods and special events.

Although there is sadness at Anita's leaving as she heads off to an exciting new chapter in Swansea, the evening was a celebration of all that Anita has done - including her signature tasks: watering from the river and weeding with table knives! You can see more of what we got up to here: https://www.instagram.com/reel/DOX_wlTCBPT/?igsh=cDYxanUzbm43eXJ5

❤️Thank you so much Anita, from all of us and everyone who has walked past the arcade and Three Pigeons ans enjoyed the results of her hard work. ❤️

London's community half marathon went red this year! 🔥

A huge congratulations to the oodles of GoodGym folk who caught well-earned happy mornings under a hot-hot-hot late summer sun ☺️

It was the biggest joy seeing you all!

Please send me your photos (!) and I will pop them up here (alexmurtough@goodgym.org) ❤️

It was a very damp transition into Autumn for the Hounslow GoodGymers, as they made their way to the final leaf clearing task with Cultivate London. The team quickly got stuck into filling bags with the final batch of leaf mulch and shifting it over to the prep area, where Steph made tipping and compressing leaves look easy!

There was considerable football chat as we got the final load of mulch cleared, ready for Cultivate to pack down the area. Bags were refilled as quickly as they could be taken away for emptying.

We also helped Cultivate with packing up soil bags, tidying pots, and clearing out the compost bins. And we were lucky enough that the rain held off for us, giving us a brief glimpse of a rainbow. To top it all off, we were even blessed with the company of Shadow, the neighborhood cat. After a swift and productive 90 minutes, we ran back towards the town hall for a good stretch.

We had a bumper turn out for guide runners, VI athletes and guide dogs for our final Achilles International session in Hyde Park for 2025. We were treated to beautiful sunshine and excellent running conditions. Welcome to our new guides and runners too!

We will be at Stratford Olympic Park for our next group run session with Achilles International on Thursday 28th September:

https://www.goodgym.org/happenings/come-and-guide-run-with-achilles-international-olympic-park-stratford-route-f1e7bda3-ccf3-4506-96bc-b1d6c90cdf61?legacy=true

On a warm evening, we made our way on foot and by bike to lend a hand in caring for the historic cedar trees at Chiswick House and Gardens.

With the lawns showing the strain of recent summer heatwaves, our task was to refresh the bases of the trees with a protective layer of woodchip.

We got into an easy rhythm of spreading and chatting and levelled two piles around the large cedar.

Just in time, Lucy arrived to lend a hand and orchestrate the all-important group photo at the end.

With the final barrow emptied it was time to head to the pub to raise a glass on the eve of Remy's birthday, and tuck into another much heralded birthday cake made by Eloise. So good Emily hot footed it across London to try some.

Happy Birthday Remy!