Brrr, the cold snap wasn’t letting up last night, but that didn’t stop our awesome group of runners from showing up and getting straight to work! There was no time to hang around in the freezing temperatures, we were all eager to get moving, warm up, and make a difference.

We welcomed some new faces to the group this evening — a big GoodGym welcome to you all! We’re so glad to have you with us and hope you’ll be back for more fun in the future. Great to have you join us Hannah, Lisa and Benjamin

We kicked things off with a quick warm-up, and Catherine came up with an excellent Monday question - where is the best roast in the area to be found? It got us all thinking (and hungry) — there were some great suggestions but we decided we definitely need to find a good veggie option. Suggestions welcome!

Once we were all warmed up and ready to go, we ran down to the Venue, a community hub that serves as a space for healthy eating classes, kids' groups, storage for donations, and more. Our task for the night was a massive tidy-up. There was plenty of composting, cleaning, and clearing to be done, but the biggest challenge? A pool of dried, spilled cream that had made a sticky mess! It was a tough one, but there was no use crying over spilled, er, cream. With hot water, cleaning fluid, and plenty of elbow grease, we managed to get the job done. No more rancid spillage, just one big sparkling floor!

There was lots to clear away, but with so many hands working together, we got through it all in no time.

After the task, we finished off with a core session. We all got to know each other a little better as we squeezed into one corner and got down to business.Core work helps with stabilising your body when you get tired during a run, so you can maintain good running form. It’s a key part of injury prevention, so well done on some great efforts from everybody.

After a run back we wrapped up with some stretches after all that hard work. Next week we have a new task in Balham, which means we’ll be leaving sharpish to get there. If it sounds like too much of a stretch, you can always meet us there. After the task, we’re having a social at the Four Thieves with some board games — it’s going to be a lot of fun, and we’d love for you to join us!

Some more dates for your diary:

• On Saturday there is this great mission to help clear the paths at a nature reserve

• We have a new regular community mission helping out with a kids club at the Doddington community garden late Thursday afternoons

• If you're free on the morning of the 24th and have an hour to spare, this amazing organisation which is home to several charities needs some help moving two offices around