Monday 23rd September 2019
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Find out about GoodGym TaskForce
Report written by Anastasia Hancock (she/her)
Last night despite the drizzle and the arrival of Autumn that very afternoon, 32 runners met to tackle two tasks to support communities in Wandsworth!
We kicked off the night fresh off the back of Super Saturday, where, to celebrate a whole ten years of GoodGym, there were a huge 50 community missions taking place across the UK and over 350 good deeds. Well done to everybody who took part, sterling work!
If you're looking for a weekend challenge, there are two runs happening on Sunday, both 10k, both free. Check out the last Sunday trail run at Morden Hall Park and the time trial starting from Chiswick Bridge on the same day.
We also have a longer, mixed pace training run coming up on Sunday 13th October in south London - you can find all the details and sign up here.
It was a two tasker last night, so after a warm up and a vote on our favourite comfort foods when it's cold and rainy (soup, pasta, and all of the chocolate came out top) we divided up into two groups.
Chris' group headed down to the Falcon Estate Residents Association, an organisation set up to improve the lives of local residents, to help sort out some of the planters. Senia, who runs the group, was happy to see so many eager volunteers, and the group got stuck straight in with moving trees, weeding, tidying and other jobs to make the estate tidier. If that wasn't enough, Chris treated the group to an extra long fitness session featuring sprints and conditioning to make up for the shorter run.
Meanwhile, the second group had headed over to Wandsworth Foodbank, a vital organisation which was set up to support families in Wandsworth struggling with hunger and lack of resources. Sadly people are relying on the foodbank more than ever, with a rise of 75% in the past six years. Our job last night was to paint the office , and we arrived to find Natalie, who works at the foodbank and is a regular GoodGym runner, waiting for us with the most organised painting set up ever. With the floor lines, masking tape on, and rollers and paint all set up, we could get straight on with the job. Which meant that 45 minutes later, the task was done! Check out the brilliant time lapse video that Dan, the manager, took here.
If you'd like to help out more with this incredible and vital organisation there are two ways you can do it! Sign up here to help with the biannual stock take. The Foodbank relies heavily on volunteers via physical help, food or monetary donations, to see how you can help local people in crisis here.
We then headed up to Clapham Common to do some serious speed training and then knocked out an intense plank session before we ran back to reunite the group! Great work from everybody. Next week the task is still to be confirmed, but you can sign up here if you're up for a surprise on the night! Until then, run happy.
Wandsworth
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