21 runners...no wait 20. Hold on 22, man we are off to a great start to FIGHT THE GUM DISEASE arent' we but we managed to count to 21 in the end and the invisible gg runner left us (maybe to return on Halloween - GUMbelievable some might say!).

The warm up was fast and furious, many would have followed the invisible man after just that section but not the 21 of us stuck on doing good. Let's have at it ' C'mon all of CHEW' was the shout as we set off. Our task was to make circle chalk shapes around chewing gum that gets deposited onto our Twickenham streets rather than binned like it ought to be. This task was is in association with keep Britain tidy and the council run campaign to bin it your way and involved us also appealing to the good nature of the local shops to promote the campaign by displaying the posters and stickers in their windows and businesses. A big thanks to those who got on board.

GUM off it! Let's keep our streets clean #goodgym #running #fitness #volunteering #richmond #twickenham #council #LBRUT #Mondays pic.twitter.com/bx64rH7Q51

— GoodGym Richmond (@GGRichmon) October 15, 2018

As for the streets of Richmond borough I was in mild shock at just how many circles we got down. Our legs were filling with lactate fast as we squatted countless times to reach the pavement... such a shame really with so many bins around the borough it seems such an effort to make it to one to be able to dispose of the gum. Seems like some are biting off more than they can chew if they can't do the decent thing. Still our chalk was the talk of the town as locals inquired and admitted too that they never realised just how bad the situation was. So it seemed to be having the desired effect. After a group photo with Lynette from the council and a farewell to the owner of a local kebab shop who kindly decided to support the cause and join in we made short work of our last few kilometres back to Richmond 'CHEW' complete the 7km run.

Well done all another success chalked up to Goodgym and an honour to run with you! A big shout out to Louisa, Alex, Poppy and Nansi on the 2nd run out with GG. Great to congratulate Remy in person on her marathon completion and drum roll round of applause for our awesome Kate who made 50 runs tonight. Legend in Richmond.

Back markers Jen and Jenny so well done especially after the half marathon yesterday. Thank you

Good luck Holly on Sunday

Next week we join Samia as run leader helping ETNA and RCVS.

Tonight’s group run was re-named the “Richmond Mash-Up” as we were joined by some fantastic new runners in the form of Africa, Nansi and Elliot, GoodGym visitors from Hounslow (Luis on his first run with Richmond, who was joined by the awesome trio who are now becoming quite the regulars at GG Richmond) and also Kingston tourists (Kate and Nicky).

Getting into gear on the green. #goodgym #richmond #running #fitness #warmup #volunteering pic.twitter.com/H5iL1nGOgY

— GoodGym Richmond (@GGRichmon) July 30, 2018

After some pretty competitive games of tag for our group warm up on Richmond Green, we headed across the river, passed by packed pubs of evening drinkers and along the lanes to CGL HQ.

It was touch and go! #goodgym #richmond #richmondgreen #running #drills #fitness #warmup #doinggood pic.twitter.com/twsmRreUA5

— GoodGym Richmond (@GGRichmon) July 30, 2018

CGL stands for Change, Grow, Live and they help clients who are battling with alcohol or drug addiction and support them in taking their first steps on the journey to make a change that will enable them to grow as people and go on to live sober lives. As we headed up the stairs to the training rooms we saw the tree of motivational messages from people who have completed their journeys and it really helped to motivate us even more for the task ahead!

We were initially expecting to be painting, however due to a delayed paint delivery our painting skills were thankfully not put to the test, but instead we flexed our muscles sanding the walls and cleaning them ready for painting later in the week. Our collective 18 strong man/woman power made light work of moving the furniture and cleaning the rooms from floor to ceiling and they were left sparkling ready for their makeover.

It was a fantastic turnout and awesome energy and CGL were really pleased with the results and keen to see us all again for future tasks.

To top off the night we celebrated 2 members of the group reaching a fantastic milestone of 50 Good Deeds. Huge congratulations to Michelle and Samia. We know it won’t be long until we are also celebrating you achieving your wings!! Both legends in GoodGym, who contribute so much, thank you.

On Wednesday GoodGym will have achieved 100,000 Good Deeds, it would be great if you could all share a short message on social media about your favourite good deed, a link to the run report, and any pics you have with the hashtag #gg100k. It would be brilliant to get everyone involved so please spread the word at the runs this week. Here’s an example of a tweet you could use: GoodGym has completed 100,000 good deeds My favourite was… #gg100k www.goodgym.org/reports/.

Thanks Nicky, awesome run report, I was a bit premature with my dates for Balsam pulling, next week we visit the fantastic ETNA so loggies are needed in two weeks time!

Happy running,