This week saw us heading off to a new task owner in Whitton, a run that would see us tackling one of our longer distances (just shy of our max 10km) with eight game GoodGym runners, including new runner Rebecca (welcome!).

It was a sunny if brisk evening and we were all feeling pretty upbeat setting off and returning in daylight. Mark, our solar-powered trainer, had visibly regained some of his tiggerish enthusiasm with this extra dose of Vitamin D, leap frogging bollards and flitting between the front and back runners as we powered our way up the A316.

We arrived at Whitton Youth Zone on Britannia Lane to be met by Mandy, herself an aspiring GoodGym runner (we hope we’ve encouraged her enough to join us sometime soon…) and the manager of this great resource for youth activities and support. Thank you Mandy for making us feel so welcome (always great to be offered tea!) Our task was to tackle the borders surrounding the youth centre and give it a general tidy up.

Sundara was quick off the mark with some giant pruning shears to beat back the ivy whilst the rest of us swept up leaves, weeded and cleared up litter. Meanwhile, there was some hilarity at my misidentification of leaf gatherers (they were cushions for kneeling apparently) and Mark very much enjoyed getting me to demonstrate how they might work. Yes, he definitely has his spark back…

Anyway, there was a lot to be done so with luck we’ll be back again soon to get the whole area looking spick and span. And in the meantime we enjoyed leaving it just a little bit tidier than when we started.

We had a steady run back to Wholefoods and a good deep stretch at the end for our well-tested legs. Well done, Richmond GoodGym, never known to step away from a challenge. Special kudos to Anita who completed the distance, her longest run in some time, and wielded her broom like a woman possessed, all after a day of lifting carpets and some vigorous trampolining the day before.

This Sunday is the London Marathon where a few runners will be sporting red GG shirts. IF you are planning to be a cheer leader on the day, why not share where you plan to be on Whatsapp , as it will be a great chance for a few of you to meet up and cheer all the louder. Don't forget to look out for our Jenny who has trainer hard for the event. We wish her all the best.

Next week, we’ll be coming up roses, or at least planting them somewhere in Richmond, possibly at the top of a hill, see you there.

Well done to all tonight, it was great to see such a unified effort out and back! Have a great week, happy running!