With two choices of task and distance last night, it was great to see 42 runners gather to do good and get fit in Wandsworth!

We had lots of lovely new runners last night - please welcome:

• Dave, Jennie, Alina, Kirsten, Abbie, Kathryn and Yvonne

Before we divided up the group and set off for our two tasks, we did a very quick run down of the week's news. In case you missed bits, here's a recap:

• GoodGym is looking after an aid station at the British 10K on Sunday 21st July from 7.30am - volunteers get a free place for the Oxford Half, Hackney Half or the next London 10K. Sign up here

• There's a GoodGym takeover for Fulham Palace's 300th run on Saturday - we still need a few roles filled! Click here for all the details

• Fancy a community mission? You don't need to be DBS checked, and it we're still looking for some runners to help. Check out the details of this event that's happening on Saturday 6th July.

• It's the last couple of days to enter the GoodGym Olympics - go on, you won't regret it! Here is all the info you need

Back to School

With a longer 10.5km run to Broadwater school to sort out an overgrown pond area and turn it into a science learning zone, and a 3.5km run to Bolingbroke School to turn a neglected outside space into somewhere inspiring for the kids, there was plenty to choose from. Our local schools are under pressure from budget so are increasingly rely on help from volunteers.

After a warm up where we also talked about what we wanted to be when we were kids - lots of tiny aspiring vets, dancers, doctors, missionaries, chefs and even one channel four continuity announcer - we divided up into two groups.

Chris' team set off to sort out the outside area, and after a conditioning stop on the way, arrived to find plenty to do waiting for them. They set about strimming, watering, digging, composting, and clearing and after 40 minutes of hard work still wanted to do more! However, there was a fitness session waiting for them on Wandsworth Common, where Chris took them through their paces with some intervals and technical points and even through in a core blast for good measure. This was Chris' first time leading a GoodGym run and I think we can all agree he is a superstar! Way to go team.

Meanwhile the second group were off on a very twisty turny long route down to Tooting, which even saw us do a spot of trail running (almost!). After a very muggy run, we arrived to find Naz waiting for us with tools and instructions to clear a very overgrown pond area so that it can be turned into a learning space for the kids. We got stuck in straight away, finding all sorts of treasures including a lost shoe and an ants nest. We didn't have long at the task, but after some serious elbow grease the area looked much clearer and well on the way to be able to be used by the kids. With such a long run there was no time for a fitness session but we still had that 5.1km to tackle on the way back.

What a lot of effort from everybody last night - 42 pairs of hands really making a difference in the local communities. Next week we will be helping the amazing Providence House out spreading the word about their summer program for young people. Sign up here for all the details. Happy sunny running until then - and make sure you rehydrate in the heat!

What's the best piece of advice you've ever been given?

This was the question we asked ourselves during our warm up last night, and we got some real corkers. Some were wise - never judge yourself by others' standards, always try your best, smile at everybody, be kind, if you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all, regret nothing. Some were more practical - always wear underwear, pay your TV licence by direct debit and never eat yellow snow. Words to live by. Perhaps the best was from Paul, who advises us all to come to GoodGym.

Before that we had a great start to the evening welcoming Alex, Phoebe, Andy, Phoebe, Hannah and Bronwen. Great to have you run with us - give them a cheer GoodGym!

It had been a fabulous weekend of running from the Wandsworth crew. Put your hands together for Paul, Hannah, Emily and Daniel who all took on a 10k race in Hyde Park, while Morgan and Amy smashed the hilly Crystal Palace 10k. Loads of you took on missions to make other peoples' lives better, while parkruns were also really well attended. If you're new to parkrun they are free, timed 5k runs on Saturday morning at 9am across the country. Great for improving those times and fitness, and you'll always see a GoodGymer there!

Our task tonight was at Harding House, a residential home for deaf people with learning difficulties in Wandsworth. They have a beautiful big garden for the residents to enjoy, but it needed a bit of love. So after 1.7kms of quick running we found ourselves with spades, forks, bin bags and gloves, ready to tackle the space. After half an hour of hard work the place was looking much tidier, with the beds dug over, weeds eliminated, tiny fences restored and patio swept.

Just across the road Wandsworth common was the perfect spot for our fitness session. Tonight we were taking on Tabata, a series of hard exercises for 20 seconds a time, with a 10 second rest in between each set. The idea with this workout is that intense exercise over a short period of time increases your heart and metabolic rate so your body continues to burn fat after you've stopped working, it ups your aerobic endurance and is an efficient session if you've only got a short window of time. It was certainly tough, with frog jumps, side planks, mountain climbers and lunges featuring heavily. But 12 minutes later we were done, with only a short run home left ahead of us.

Finishing off the night with our Wandsworth tunnel of joy, we stretched it out and discussed our mission this weekend (which is open to everyone, whether or not you're mission verified). Next week we've got more doing good and getting fit, so sign up here!