Last night we #Lifted the Curfew with a special Halloween themed session that got us all out on the dark streets of Wandsworth to do good and get fit.

Our collab with This Girl Can is all about getting active outdoors in the darker months - something very close to our hearts here at GoodGym! Too often women don't feel safe running after dark. We believe there should be no barriers to anybody who wants to get out at night in the place they live, especially to spread some community love. We want to help highlight the message that there should be no curfew for anybody - our city belongs to us all.

So after a warm up, and a quick discussion about our favourite scary movies (this was our spooky Halloween special after all), we headed out towards Lark Hall park for our task.

We talked about what lifting the curfew meant to us.

Some of us noted that we remove headphones when we run at night so we can be hyper aware of what is happening around us. Some said that they take the long way round parks and public spaces to avoid being too isolated. One person had done a self defense workshop put on by This Girl Can just the week before, and many agreed that they would completely avoid poorly lit spaces after dark.

We also had the idea of creating a resource where it could show us the busiest routes are currently happening, and we would welcome a Strava tool which highlighted the safest place for women to run.

As a group we arrived at the park to find the Friends of Lark Hall park waiting for us with tools and instructions. Our job was to tidy up the beds around the trees, remove dead branches, sweep up the leaves, weed and litter pick. There was plenty to keep us going!

It was great to see what could be done with so many pairs of hands working together, and after 40 minutes the place was looking much tidier. We helped put away the tools, and it was lovely to get some appreciation from other park users as we passed!

Job done, we hit up the kids playground for our fitness session. Steph demonstrated how to zipwire in a most elegant fashion, before we divided up into pairs for some frightful fitness featuring zombie fast feet, jumping spiders, vampire squats and a few tricks thrown in for good measure!

There was just time for the skele-run back to base, before enjoying some incredible Halloween treats and a competitive (if small scale) game of pumpkin rolling. A (belated) big shout out to lovely Beth for reaching that magic 50 milestone - give her a massive cheer for doing so much good!

Nice work everybody. Don't forget about our weekend mission at Paradise cooperative garden on Sunday. Next week we're back at Doddington for our monthly session folowed by pub quiz - join us!

Last night we proved that it's twice as nice in Wandsworth as we divided up the team to tackle not one but two tasks!

We had been schedule to head to the Scout hall in Battersea to help tidy up the outside area, but we were also asked last minute to come and help sort out donations at a local community hub. What to do - say, yes, of course!

So while Steph and Jordan stepped in to lead the scouting expedition, a second group made our way down to Doddington hub. We arrived to find a room stacked with donations. These had been given to the organisation following a major fire in Battersea, but because many of the residents affected have been moved to hotels, not all the donations were able to be used.

The plan is that the hub will be opened today so that people in the community that need a little extra help can find what they need. But before that can happen, there was a lot of sorting to do! While Annabel and Ali got stuck into the enormous pile of games, deciding what was educational (quiz games), what was fun (Jenga) and what was destined for the bin (the creepy dolls head..see photo). Johnny and Felix tested their sartorial skills by going through a mountain of clothes, and even played a game of 'name the object' (we still haven't figured out what it was that Felix found!) By the end of the session the room was looking much more organised and ready for visitors today. Elizabeth, who runs the hub, called GoodGym 'a miracle team'!

While we had the benefit of an indoor task on a rainy day, the intrepid Scout group were with Peter at the hall, and had a big weeding and clearing job to take on. The drizzle didn't hold them back, and captured by photographer Jordan, the overgrown space was dealt with beautifully. Peter had this to say this morning -

'Thanks again for Goodgym's support. We managed to clear the garage area , and round by back door. Steph did a grand job of sweeping the car park. We also discovered a hole in the ground!'

Great job everybody - and you even managed to divert a potential sinkhole disaster!

A few dates for your diary - next Monday we will be off to Larkhall Park to help out there followed by a Halloween themed social -either drop me an email or join the whatsapp group to find out the finer details of the post-run social but the idea is that we were will be going to a local pub with some Halloweed themed fun. All welcome!

We also have a mission coming up that needs plenty of help - we're back at Paradise for a Sunday morning session shoveling manure. It promises to be a great work out in the fresh air at a beautiful community space!

One of the best things about GoodGyming is the opportunity it gives us to discover new places, organisations and hidden gems that are doing good stuff all over our borough. Last night was no exception as we headed over to Larkhall Park for our first visit to this lovely little London park.We were treated with a welcome from a group of volunteers who manage the space, a task which quickly made a difference, and even sightings of bats and foxes. What more could we ask for?

We started the night on a high, welcoming Felix to his very first session - lovely to have you join us Felix!

We did our warm up and, in recognition of our task at a local park, our question for the evening was on theme. The first national park opened in 1872, but where is it? We had lots of great guesses but it was Jason and Adrian who nailed it in one - it was Yellowstone Park in the US. Good pub quiz practice!

We took a nice gentle run to Larkhall (little did we know we should have appreciated the downhill nature of the journey there as we only realised on the return leg!) to find The Friends of Larkhall Park waiting for us with loads of tools and instructions for us.

We divided up into teams, each taking on responsibility for one area. Gloves on we got cracking with the weeding, clearing, litter picking and general tidying up. Passers by stopped to admire the work we were doing, and its great to see how quickly people notice when our public areas are cared for. Hopefully it means there will be less litter dropped, creating a safer, more sustainable local space!

Job done, we returned the tools and moved over to the grass for a balance for runners session. we tested our skills (very impressive!) with an eyes shut challenge, before doing several drills that work on our coordination. Great job everybody.

Next week we're off to the GoodGym garden - so sign up here for another Monday of getting fun and active.

We also have a great community mission happening this Saturday helping clear out and clean up a nature reserve.

It was brilliant to see everybody for not one but two tasks last night. We set off with a quick round-up of news: the first ever donation from our GoodGym garden to Wandsworth Age UK – a large bag of home-grown potatoes, gratefully received and reportedly delicious. Great to see some familiar faces back for a visit, our lovely regulars, and a special shout out for Kamil too, who notched up his first parkrun at the weekend.

With that, we limbered up and shared predictions for the evening’s challenge: how many panes of glass we would manage to wash at Omnibus Theatre, a charity that brings the arts to the local community. Numbers ranged from optimistic to ambitious – and one person got very close to the final tally (more on that later).

After a zippy 2km run, we arrived to find buckets and cloths neatly lined up, ready and waiting. The group split into two squads: one to tackle the great glass clean-up, the other to give the GoodGym garden a bit of TLC.

The garden team were soon picking ripe tomatoes, and uncovering tiny treasures – like the brand new peppers that have just appeared. Meanwhile, the window crew got stuck straight in, leaving the panes sparkling in their wake.

By the end, we reunited to compare notes and count up the evening’s total: a grand total of 60 windows were washed, guessed most accurately by Rob!

There was still time for a tough but effective lower-body blast in the square before running back and then heading off to the pub, where we split forces again – this time across quiz tables and finishing 2nd and 6th. Great result!

Don't miss next week's Bank Holiday special: a lunchtime task! Sign up here