Last night 12 GGers met on lovely bright evening to transform the outside space of a community theatre and attempted a taskmaster themed fitness session that may or may not have gone entirely to plan....read on to find out more!

We started off the night with a warm up that tested our coordination and reactions, before doing our customary challenge. This week, as it was the Queen's birthday, we each had to name a different member of the Royal Family. There were perhaps some dubious answers, but between us we got most of the heavy hitters!

It was just a short run to the Omnibus Theatre, an organisation which is run as a charity and aims to bring the arts to the local community. We were met by cheerful Chris, who led us round to the back of the building to an outside space which the team doesn't have the capacity to maintain. The idea is that in the future it will be run as a community garden, but int he meantime we're happy to help keep on top of it!

There was plenty to do, and we got stuck in tackling the overgrown areas and clearing the (we hoped) weeds. Half an hour later and the area was looking a million times better - well done team!

We headed over to the common for our fitness session and an attempt to replicate last week's numbers-based task. The idea is that each person counting consecutively jumps on even numbers and squats on odd, and if somebody gets it wrong the whole group has to do a forfeit. We then added rules each time we actually reached 20. The result? Fitness based chaos - but a lot of fun! We then knocked out a plank waterfall, before heading back to base for stretches.

Don't forget our regular mission on Friday lunchtimes, plus next week we'll be having a group session but it will be slightly earlier than normal as its a bank holiday - watch this space!

Until then, happy running!

It was so great to see some old and new faces to Wandsworth as well as some from other areas too - everybody is welcome at our group runs and always will be - the more the merrier!

We started off the night in a very good mood as it was finally still light as we met. Roll on Spring! So with a little extra energy we did our warm up, and, in celebration of returning to Paradise Community Garden for our task, named our favourite green spaces in London. Pretty much all the main parks got an honourable mention, but there were a few new ones on me, including Cannizaro Park in Wimbledon. Must give it a visit!

Without too much delay we set off for Paradise, an amazing hidden away space near Wandsworth prison that has been transformed from derelict ground into a thriving garden for local people and those visiting the prison. It was so great to be back as this used to be a regular task for us, but one we haven't been to since before the pandemic.

We arrived to find Ciaran, Head of Community Development, waiting for us with jobs and tools, and we wasted no time getting stuck in. While one group started weeding a 'no dig bed' so as not to disturb the sleeping worms, the other group was tasked with spreading the wood chip in the children's learning area. This was no ordinary wood chip however, as it had been mixed with eucalyptus and smelled absolutely incredible!

Minty fresh and de-weeded, we headed over to Wandsworth Common to do our fitness session. The original idea was a squat challenge with 3 X 10 sets of squats, and working down the reps to 1 each round. After a bit of negotiating it was slightly downgraded, but we still ended up doing (thanks to Sophie's impressive mental arithmetic) 103 squats in total. Glutes of steel, here we come!

We now have a weekly Friday lunchtime mission at a local centre for the homeless helping serve hot food, check out the details here, and sessions throughout the week sorting donations for the Ukraine, sign up here.

Have a lovely week everybody, and, as always, run happy!

Blue Monday? Not in Wandsworth it wasn't! We ignored the chilly conditions and the Monday vibes, and instead opted to get together to run to a local theatre and arts charity for a spot of volunteering and a high energy fitness session.

It was lovely to welcome Tony to his first GoodGym session - give him a cheer! It was also great to hear about all the tips people had for cheering themselves up when they feel a bit down. As we did our warm up, we decided calling a family member or friend, going for a walk or run, eating something delicious or trying a new recipe, seeing somebody tap dance and of course, watching Nigella was the sure fire way to feel happier!

After a short run to the theatre we were given our list of jobs, which included cleaning, painting and weeding. This venue aims to bring the arts to the whole community, but does not receive any direct funding, and so always welcomes some energetic volunteers.

A lot was done in a short amount of time last night, so well done team. After downing tools we headed outside to Clapham Old Town for a brief but intense session of Tabata, upper body exercises and a plank finisher. What a way to beat that chill!

A quick run back to base and some stretches, and we were done for the evening. As well as our usual group run next Monday, we have lots of missions throughout the week coming up. You can check them all out here.

Happy running everyone!