Last night 21 GoodGymers ran 4k to weed at Grove Park Allotments

A whopping three times more people than last week gathered at Old Spike Roastery last night to spend their Wednesday night getting fit and doing some good.

Big shout out and a cheer for Annemie and Simran who made this their first ever GoodGym run!

We headed off 2km down an unfamiliar route to meet Liz at Grove Park Allotments. On the way we stopped twice - once to sit in a primal squat (try it when you're brushing your teeth) and once to set against the wall (see photo) - building stronger legs for all that running! GoodGym Southwark has visited Grove Park many times over the years and is particularly fond of their beekeeper Gian Franco who is as passionate about his bees as he is about sustainability. We look forward to seeing him in the coming months! Liz let us loose on her tools and showed us the path that needed weeding and an empty lot that needed clearing of rubbish. There was also an opportunity to strim but sadly the spool wasn't quite right and in spite of valiant efforts to fix it, there was no strimming to be had.

Whilst everyone was weeding and strimming, Liz took Helena round to search out pinhole cameras she'd set up in various places to keep an eye on the wildlife. Remembering where they had been placed in the dark was harder than expected! The weeds were swept up into biodegradable bags and after 30 mins of hard work we'd filled quite a few!

We waved goodbye to Liz and set off back down the hill to base.

A great task and a great way to spend your Wednesday evening. Well done team!

Keep running happy, Lucy J

OMG could it be ? A bumper batch of 23 ? Running miles, all with smiles, to Camberwell from Peckham for baby bank heaven.

It was a wondrous sight indeed what befell my eyes this eve, as one by one the bright and beaming faces of the southwark GG crew rocked in through the doors of Old Spike.

Joining the ranks of rad regulars were a totally fantastic, completely boombastic double digits gang of newbies galore!!!! Hurrahhhhh

So after warm welcomes to old and new and a Goodgym share and spiel for good measure, we had a quick 5mins for announcements at base with Beth; Who kindly reminding the troops to track their runs on strava so we meet our January targets for the big GG Drive. Yes!!! Come on team get logging!!

After all housekeeping was done, we head out into the chill to tackle the 1.7mile route towards our hosts for the eve - The Salvation Army Camberwell and their bank of baby clothes for sorting.

Leading out the ranks I cruised with my crew the first mile with ease, but we knew what was lurking round the corner...... The infamous Grove Park hill!! But do you know what, we hit that first hill hard and with my fave power couple Rob and Sarah up front, there was no stopping the pace or sense of determination as the whole squad dashed off the first leg in no time at all!!! YAY

Arriving at our destination in well under 30mins, we were greeted by our ever so grateful and smiling hosts who were so very happy for our help!! The jobs at hand, our lovely task leader explained, were sorting and clearing the donations of children's clothing, moving the large objects up to the loft and labeling the canned food goods before stacking away.

Much to do and not a whole lot a nothing, in fact, there was a whole lotta something for everyone to get stuck into, so stick and stack we did and the task was underway.

Splitting the crew (as I said - there was in fact much to do), we ploughed through the mountains of baby grows and knitted cardies galore, not to mention all the peculiar slogan tees; Our favs being ‘Chick magnet’ and ‘lock away your daughters’ looks like the new batch of Youngers growing up in Southwark will be a big old bunch of Romeos!!!

So back to the tasks at hand and we were well and truly in the mix, sorting, folding and rolling to make room in the boxes that filled up fast!! Over on the other side (and dangerously close to the big box of leftover Xmas choccys I might add) Beth and Hanna led the second group troops in the labeling and shelf stacking of canned and boxed goods alike.

With all the action 35mins seemed to fly by, like a stalk on delivery day and BOOM before I knew it, the countdown was upon me!!! 3,2,1 and we're done!! Having made a huge impact on the big piles and completely finished the canned element of the task as well!! Amazing!!!

So with tasks well and truly wrapped and the countdown timer chiming its last chime, we bid our fond farewells and.......ok one last chocolate for the road before we were turning on our heels and off once more.

Route home was swift, even though there was yet again.... Another hill to tackle!!! Yes, She is a tough one, but the encouragement and smiles all the way, made us mad for the madam and the goodgym cheer flowed happily all the way home!!!

Stretches finished the eve and after those hills we were pleased, but sad to say goodbye, until next week.

A Fabulous evening filled with big love, big efforts and big vibes - Its GG Southwark of course, I expect nothing less!!!!

See you next time x x x x

DO GOOD. FEEL GOOD. INSPIRE

For our first group run of the year 16 runners arrived at old spike, ready to get 2018 off to a really good start. While people signed in we chatted about the 10 things Rich had been advised to do on moving to London, one of which was come to GoodGym so he can already tick that one off the list. We also chatted about GoodGym’s January challenge and how Southwark is ready and willing to play our part in reaching an impressive number of good deeds and kilometres in January.

A last minute change of task meant that our journey there was as simple as walking through a door. The area behind the roastery is being converted into a community yoga studio so there’s lots of building work going on at the moment. Out the back there was quite a considerable pile of rubble that needed to be bagged up and moved round the corner, ready to be taken to the dump. With such an array of items in the pile it did bring back memories of a late nineties TV show but none of us really had the skills to make a functioning machine out of a lot of plaster board, hundreds of coffee cup lids, some discard chip paper and an old toilet. After half an hour or so we felt like we’d all had a good upper body work out and set off on our run. Half the group came with Tom and I to do a 3km circuit of Peckham Rye and half went with Matt on a slightly extended 5k.

What a year it's been. We've seen the group go from strength to strength, have helped countless charities and community organisations, covered many, many miles and had a pretty great time while we did it. We've seen the first ever 50 milestones reached in Hounslow, cheered our members through races and PBs and celebrated our first birthday. 2018 is shaping up to be a truly brilliant year.

Our last run of 2017 was a very festive one - not only were we feeling very Christmassy, but we also had Hanukkah to celebrate. Double the fun! So we jingled all the way outside to warm up, and to hear about each other's favourite points of 2017. Reaching 50 good deeds, joining GoodGym, traveling to exotic places and simply that it's almost over were our highlights.

'Borrowing' the lovely Ealing group's idea, our run to the task tonight was accompanied by a festive quiz, which included questions like how many good deeds have been done across the whole of GoodGym (73 112!) and who is top of the Hounslow leader board for good deeds (Remy and Andy). Each incorrect answer resulted in a fitness-based forfeit for the team, and there was one unfortunate moment when the roles were reversed and the questionmaster was punished with a mean old set of tricep dips. That wasn't supposed to happen!

We soon arrived at our task, which was to pick up and deliver a pile of leaflets for a community Christmas concert happening in Brentford. We're well practised at this particular job now, and so as soon as we got the leaflets in our chilly little hands, we set off into the local streets, stopping only for a quick snap in front of Brentford FC's home ground.

We still had a two mile run back ahead of us, so after we had had got rid of all the leaflets we set off in the direction of home. The drizzle started not long after, putting the future of our fitness session (the 12 days of Fitmas) in peril. By the time we got back to Turnham Green it was coming down pretty badly so we decided to do the festive thing, and head inside. A good job we did for two reasons. The first was that shortly after the heavens opened and the rain became apocalyptic, and the second was much much nicer. Thank you so much team for all the amazing words and treats - you are a brilliant bunch. We saw off the night drinking prosecco and toasting the year we've had, before retiring to the pub to spin the dreidel and eat the incredible spread of delicious things that Remy kindly brought us. It's been a wonderful year, and it's all down to the people that every week dedicate their time to make other people's lives better. That's you! Here's to 2018 xxx

Last night in Hounslow started with party rings, marshmallow cakes and by welcoming lovely new runners Audrey and Saule to the group. Give them a cheer, Hounslow!

After a run down of the week's news, a reminder that the Christmas party is going to be on the 8th December at the Battersea Arts Centre and a quick talk about the task, we moved outside to brave the cold and do some dynamic warm ups. And also to find out what everybody's favourite crisps are. All the important stuff.

With our heart rates up, and having discovered that we love skips, kettle crisps, vegetable crisps for the health conscious, and tortilla chips, we were ready for the off. Tonight's task was just over 2.5 k away, and we took the outward leg nice and steady, just stopping for a few wall sits and quick jumping jacks.

We made it to Ealing Road Baptist Church, which also acts as a food bank and homeless shelter, in no time at all, and were greeted by one of the men who uses the shelter. With Jeremy and Saule taking on the toughest job in the very dusty cellar, Andy, Natasha, Will and Audrey started on the various tasks in the food bank. Jo (whose high point of the night was discovering a chocolate unicorn - did anyone actually see where that went?), Jennifer, Remy and Alex tackled the cleaning jobs in the kitchen, hall and bathroom. There was also clothes to sort for the community, including a rather nice cape (we think) and lots of other little jobs that the team smashed through super quickly.

Which meant more time for the core blast. Hurrah! We were lucky enough to be able to take advantage of the lovely warm room to do our fitness session tonight, rather than yomping about in the mud outside. So we thought we better make it count. With two sets of five exercises aimed at working our abs - essential for efficient running and helping to prevent injuries - we spent 15 minutes doing planks, crunches, reverse crunches, Russian twists, bicycles and much more. Who is feeling it today?

With another 2.5k run in front of us, we hit the road and used the long straight section to the half way point to do some fartlek. This speed work is tough, but great training. We ran the last section as a team to finish off the night with some stretches and a well-earned pat on the back.

Next week we're tackling some tasks at a charity which supports people with long term mental health issues, Friends of Cathja. Sign up here to lend a hand.

Knock, knock. Who's there? Hydrate. Hydrate who? Hydrate you 10 out of 10, Hounslow!

Ahem. Last night's sterling effort from Hounslow saw 12 runners tackle a local resident association's rubbish problem, run just over 5k, and smash out some conditioning exercises along the way.

First we cheered our lovely new member Hardip who joined her for her first run last night. Great to have you with us Hardip!

We also said a big well done to Remy who nears her epic goal of 24 half marathons in one year by smashing a cobbly Lancaster course at the weekend (way to go!) and reminded everyone to sign up for the GoodGym Christmas party on the 8th December.

During our dynamic warm up we found out what everybody eats on Christmas day, or the celebration day of their choice. Yes, there were a few turkeys, but there was also duck, goose, a veggie alternative, pigs in blankets, pasta and a chinese takeaway. Delicious.

Then it was time for the run. Our first stop was 2.5k away where there was a pile of litter pickers, bags and gloves waiting for us. The local residents were fed up with their roads being covered in rubbish, and we had been given three areas to tackle. We split the group into two, and got stuck in.

Working hard in our red and black tshirts it seems like we were a pretty good advert for GoodGym, as several people stopped to find out what we were doing and say thanks, including one women with three amazing dogs that we all decided was a very good reward for our work. Five full bin bags and a whole load of cleaner streets later, we returned our litter pickers and set off back for home. There was some nice sprinting along the way, and only that pesky train could stop us in our tracks.

5k later we were back at our starting point and stretching out all our hard work. Next week we're beating the cold at an indoor task with a nice 6k run in total. Sign up here to spend your Wednesday the GoodGym way!

Wednesday are pretty good. You've got half way through the week and the weekend is just about in sight. What could make it better? A run. What about a run with a group of mates? And throw in a community task that makes you feel good about yourself. A fitness session? Go on then! Lovely stuff.

Firstly, a huge well done to Remy and to Will who both smashed the Royal Parks Half on Sunday. If you've got the need for speed, don't forget that GoodGym are organising a trip to the Bucharest Festival of Running next May - sign up for details. It promises to be a fun weekend of running, eating and exploring and everybody is welcome!

Tonight we were heading back to a local school - Strand on the Green - to help out with a list of jobs that needed doing. But first - the warm up and the weekly Hounslow headscratcher. If you were invisible, where would be the first place you'd go? The Whitehouse, the Pentagon, North Korea, Downing street - looks like we've all got a bit of the secret agent in us.

Sand-on-the-Green

It was only a short run to the school, so we set off, licketysplit , at a nice fast pace. One mile later we were there, finding Claire the caretaker waiting for us with a trailer of tools. Michelle got the work sweeping the bike shed and paths, Claudia took the scooter park, Remy, Will and Andy tackled the fenced play area while Ross, Adam and Jo dived into the huge pile of blocks that needed sanding.

Half an hour of elbow grease later, the jobs were done and dusted and we kicked off with our fitness session. It was a bit of a bumpy start with the flip a coin game, but eventually we got there, splitting into two groups with each side doing an exercise depending on the result of the flip. Next up was a timed obstacle course, which wasn't exactly plain sailing either and was eventually called off thanks to an apocalyptic shower of rain that came out of nowhere. Like a bunch of naughty school children we sheltered in the bike sheds under it had passed. Next week normal service will be resumed, promise!

We were just about to hit the road when disaster struck. It really wasn't our night. The code to the electric gates had mysteriously stopped working, and after several attempts at opening it from the outside and scaling the fence, it was hero Andy with super long legs who managed to hop the gate and release us. Well done Andy!

All that was left was a speedy run back to base, a few stretches and a bit of thawing out. Don't forget, Team Hounslow, that whatever the world throws at us, we all sand together.

Next week, we're back to school - a different one this time, for a spot of painting.

One big task, seven excellent runners, 180 seconds of plank and six confusing maps!

It all began at Chiswick Town Hall, as shown by the GoodGym poster on the wall which has categorically never covered any other poster on the noticeboard. Just saying.

You've been dong some great running this week, Hounslow. A big well done to Adam who has been notching up the runs, with a new parkrun PB on Saturday. Must be the beetroot bread! A hat tip too to Jo and Andy who are sailing through the good deeds. Don't forget that we might have our first 50th good deed to celebrate next Wednesday, so stick around after the run for a little fun to mark this great milestone.

This week's task was leafleting for Waterman's Art Centre. Not everybody's favourite task, but a very useful one for the charity. This weekend is the centre's River Weekender - a festival inspired for the river packed with free events for the whole community. Our job was to spread the word in the local area, and it began, as all good things do, with a run.

After a quick warm up featuring a rather natty side hop ("isn't this just...running?"), we set off on the 2k run down to Waterman's. But not before finding out our favourite condiments! There was no stand out winner this week, but ketchup, Lea & Perrins (other brands are available), dijon mustard, mint sauce (from the veggie), pepper, chutney and BBQ were all contenders. Lovely stuff.

A nice speedy run later we arrived at reception to be presented with a bulging trolley full of leaflets and a series of highlighted maps. Cue several minutes of trying to figure out what to do next ("isn't this the same map? Turn it upside down. No, the other way"). We soon cracked it though, and split up into groups to start putting leaflets through doors, into hands, pubs and travelodges before meeting up towards the end of the run to smash out a few door to door sprints.

We finished on a bit of a high after having delivered countless leaflets and enjoying a nice stretch when we were brought up short by the angriest flamenco teacher in town. No we didn't move your poster, mister. Still, we had the plank off to make us feel better, and what a plank off it was. The seconds ticked by and everybody was going strong - who was going to emerge victorious? Some great work from everybody, but this week the crown goes to Andy with an impressive 2 min 37 plank. Wowzer!

Next week it's going to be all sorts of fun planting bulbs and hopefully we'll have something to celebrate too. Sign up here for your Wednesday dose of goodness and fitness!

It was looking pretty grim all day, but as soon as we all met at Chiswick Town Hall for our run last night, the skies brightened for us and we were treated to a beautiful sunset as we did our task. The sun always shines on GoodGym runs!*

We started off by giving the amazing Remy a big old pat on the back for absolutely smashing the Aberdeen half marathon at the weekend with her fastest time this year. She's a machine! Well done also to Dave for taking on Gunnersbury parkrun last weekend. Incredibly, this Saturday will be Dave's 150th parkrun, so if you see him crossing the line, make sure you give him a massive GoodGym cheer!

Welcome also to our lovely GG visitors Jordan, Amy and Matthew - lovely to have you with us.

What's your favourite curry? In anticipation of our social after the run last night, we found out everybody's fav before we set off. Rogan josh, tikki masala, dhansak and caulifower curry were all winners. Who's hungry?

The root of the problem

Outside the town hall we met up with local Jan, who organises the wild flower meadow and the rockery in Turnham Green. She provided us with gloves and tools, and we got stuck in clearing the thistles and mugwort that we didn't manage to blitz last week. It was tough work, for they are thorny little pests, but after double-gloving and giving it some serious elbow grease, at the end of 40 minutes we had a huge wall of weeds of which we were proud.

Thistle never end

We warmed up for our fitness session with a few rounds of knee fencing, fish and chips, and clusters - with varying successes. It did the job though, so with our heart rates up, we got stuck into our technical exercises. To improve our running style, helping to prevent injuries and increase efficiency, we went though a series of sprints focusing each time on a different aspect of form. These included thinking about low shoulders and high chests, knee raise, positive backwards arm drive and foot placement. To put it all into practice, we finished off with a pyramid interval session which saw some great running from the team.

The trouble with tribbles

After all that hard work, there was only one thing left - our curry social! But hold on a minute, half the group wants to run the two miles to the restaurant? Amazing stuff! You lot can't get enough of running. Not long after, we all met up at Waterman's art centre, where we had a lovely evening stuffing our faces. Hounslow, you rule. Sign up next week for more GG fun.

*metaphorically