10 runners, three kilometers, one epic battle of GG V The Root.

We kicked off yesterday evening by welcoming Emily to her very first GoodGym run - give her a cheer, Hounslow! Great to have you with us Emily.

We also congratulated Rufus who smashed the Hackney Half on Sunday with a time of which to be very proud, and to Andy and the other supporters who handed out a whopping 50 000 jelly babies to the runners!

There was a quick reminder about the upcoming GoodGym Olympics, which will see all the GG areas nationwide go head to head in a day of competition, fun and ultimate victory. The events page is now live but the deadline is the 3rd June - so get signing up quick here! There are a variety of events on offer, including egg and spoon, a pancake race, 100m, 400m, 5k on the track, elimination races and relays. The entry page has full list of the events and descriptions of some of the lessor know races (including the GoodGym relay, this year's theme is no one gets left behind...think human caterpillar race). 30th June, Parliament Hill track. See you there, team.

Our task last night was a short run away, so after a quick warm up (or as Adam puts it, ritual humiliation session) and a discussion about our fav holiday activities (local food, local sunning, fell walking, climbing but sadly no running) we set off for a very overgrown green space on Sutton Court Rd.

Just under a mile later we found Cheryl and Steve waiting for us with tarps, spades, forks and instructions on which plants were to escape our wrath. The local residents have got funding for some plants to make the area more beautiful, but first it needed a good sorting out.

We got straight in, whacking out weeds and litter and wondering why there were so many babybel wrappers in Chiswick. Meanwhile, Adam had launched into a battle with a huge tree root that needed to come out. It was a dirty fight, but one that ultimately saw the root defeated. After 40 minutes the pile of weeds was immense, so we decided to call it a night, and after a quick sweep, headed back to Turnham Green for our fitness.

Tonight was speed work, so we started thinking about cadence- the number of times your foot strikes the ground. This is important in fast running because efficient forward movement happens when your feet strikes the ground for the littlest period of time possible and without 'braking' by overstriding. We tested out this idea with a series of short intervals, before stretching out on the grass.

Next week we've got a verrry short run over to Turnham Green to do some planting, before hitting up a massive (but fun!) fitness session. For more doing good and getting fit, sign up here.