Wandsworth was on top form last night, spurred on at least in part with a task that featured JELLY BABIES and JAFFA CAKES.

But first, we had some fabulous new runners to welcome to the group – hello Chloe, Anna and Lorna! Wandsworth, give them a cheer.

Well done to Jo who sliced a tidy 30 seconds off her time on her third ever park run, and to Matthew and David who both reached that golden 50 milestone. Well done team! Hat tips also belong to Matthew Sarah and Sophie for covering the most miles this week.

Tonight’s task was a great new one at Allfarthing Primary School, and in a Wandsworth first, we even had the lovely head, Tom (ahem Mr Holmes) join us on the run to the school. It was great to have you along, sir! After Tom had told us a bit about the school, and we had done our weekly CoRUNdrum (Which seaside resort is closest to London?) we set off. With only one minor detour and a few squat stops, we arrived at the school to find the amazing PTA waiting for us with sweeties, chocolates and jaffa cakes. If we didn’t say it enough at the time, Allfarthing School, we are always happy to help out. Anytime. Seriously, just say the word.

The team split up into three groups – painting sheds in black and brown, clearing the fence of ivy, and running up and down stairs to transport bags to the bins. We were kept very well fuelled throughout the tasks – turns out a sugary high is great for our work ethic. It was a lovely place to help out, surrounded by beautiful playgrounds, a teletubby hill and a vast expanse of astroturf which we were allowed to borrow to do a quick fitness session. This included doing a Core Triathlon – three segments of ‘swimming’ planks, bicycle crunches and mountain climbers – followed by a set of sprints. Before we left for the run home, the PTA let us know that every Tuesday morning at 7:45 Allfarthing Running Club meets to take students on a local run, and very kindly invited us to join them. Drop me an email if you’d like more details.

With the Wandsworth playlist turned up high, we began the run back to the BAC. Feel free to add any songs to the list for our aural pleasure – you can find it here: https://open.spotify.com/user/monsieurbullfrog/playlist/1vkh31Mku1qkU3nPYkJLRm. After a nice push on that last hill, we had a good stretch with several people cracking the CoRUNdrum, knowing that Southend on Sea is the closest resort to London. Thanks to Vicki who sent us that one all the way from Oz! Thanks also to Jen for the ace pun this week. Keep 'em coming! Don’t forget if the London Marathon inspired you yesterday that the ballot opens on May 2nd – get in there quick. We have the GoodGym Olympics on June 10th – entry is now live so make sure you sign up here!. Wandsworth FTW!

Next week is bank holiday but we will be running because doing good don’t stop. Of course we’ll celebrate with a couple of drinks afterwards, as all work and no play makes for sad Wandsworthians. You can sign up here:

https://www.goodgym.org/happenings/a-spot-of-doing-good

Could you hear us last night? Around 7pm, a big cheer from south-west London? Thought so. That was the moment we realised we had set a Wandsworth record! With no less than 41 wonderful runners, it was our biggest run yet. GO GOODGYM. You are all running legends, every single one of you.

There has been some seriously good running recently, a lot of saintly do-gooding, and a bucket-load of lovely news. So here goes.

• A huge well done to you amazing Larmer Tree runners who smashed a tough old trail course. Check out the race team page to find out when the next race is happening. https://www.goodgym.org/race-team • As an extra Monday night bonus we welcomed the lovey new Cardiff trainer Ben to the group last night. GG Cardiff will be kicking off in May, and with ultra-runner and trainer extraordinaire Ben running the show it’s sure to be a huge success. If you fancy a bit of GG tourism, I hear Cardiff has no less than 1518 hours of sunshine during an average year. So there you go. • The marvellous Luke, David and Ben all sped round the Reading half marathon course which was a tough and hilly old job. Well done to those speedsters – give them a cheer, why don’t you? • We had a fantastic lot of lovely new runners to join the group this week. One of the best parts of the weekly run is getting to welcome new faces, we love it! So please all raise your glasses for Sara, Julia, Mat, Ed, Lauren, Ella, Alyx and Holly. Wandsworth, throw a cheer their way, they’ve earned it! And while you’re at it, say a big GG hello to Shanice, Alice and Kike from Lambeth and Islington, who were visiting us for the day! Lovely to have you. • Finally, our HEROES. Whoop whoop, Luke, you ran the furthest. Hurrah David, you are topping the good deed tables and getting the most cheers! Toot toot, Matthew, you are making everyone feel good by giving the most cheers! If YOU want to see where you rank on the heroes board, have a shufti here: https://www.goodgym.org/heroes?area=wandsworth

Phew. With all this do-gooding, fast-running, cheer-giving, high-fiving fun out the way, we were off on our run. With a last minute cancellation (boooo) we had a quick swerve, and headed not for church deep cleaning, but for compost bed filling instead at our lovely local primary school. Luckily (said Ella and Sam) it was still a short run, so off we trotted down the hill, a blaze of red tshirts and happiness.

We were met by Barry, the most cheerful and characterful caretaker you could hope to meet, and set about forming a bucket chain to fill up the empty raised beds. bucket chain bucket chain bucket chain came the chant, which I’m sure the neighbours really loved.

With the beds filled and the buckets chained, we sprinted round the corner for a fun fitness session, kicking off with ‘fish and chips’. It’s fair, I think, to say this worked with varying levels of success but there were still a few burpees being knocked out across the field. We then made a huge circle, with individual runners deciding on what exercise the group had to do while they sprinted to a nearby tree and back. Then came British Bulldog. Always contentious, always competitive, always a huge amount of fun. And this week there was, despite a big effort and a minimal low-level violence, one clear and outright winner. Step forward Dan, and receive your crown. Nice running! Finally we finished off with a squat-off, to see the mighty Jack outlast us all.

Session done, we set off in two groups back to the BAC for some stretches, but not without a good old hill sprint to end the night. And everybody knows that Wandsworth hearts hill sprints. Thinking about technique – positive backwards arm drive, high chest, straight back, light toes and relaxed shoulders – everybody bossed that hill. Way to go.

While we were stretching it out, there was only time left for the CoRUNdrum, courtesy of the lovely Vicki, who we missed this week. St Paul’s was the tallest structure in London until 1962 when which building broke its record? Give Matt a cheer, for the clever lad knew it was the BT Tower in record time!

Brilliant running everyone. Next week we’re off to Balham to form a human chain to clear junk out of a community hall basement. Last time we found a 6ft crucifix and Jen’s new friend Manfred the mannequin. Sign up here to find out what treasures we unearth next….

https://www.goodgym.org/happenings/run-to-clear-junk-37fd428c-f5bc-4f3c-a7dd-daf6598de797