A beautiful summer's evening, lot of lovely faces both returning and new, and a task in Paradise (cooperative garden...!) all added up to a fantastic night of GoodGymming!

Welcome to:

• Emily, Imogen, Amy, Natalie, Ashlyn and Maurice, who all came for their first GoodGym run last night!

And in case you need a reminder of the news we started off the night with, then here it is:

• If you're looking for a beautiful 10k trail run then check out the Morden Park Trail Run - every last Sunday of the month in this lovely National Trust park - it's even free!

• We've got an aid station at the British 10K on Sunday 21st July from 7.30am - volunteers get a free place for the Oxford Half, Hackney Half or the next London 10K. Sign up here - today is your last day to sign up so get in there quick!

• Well done to Oliver who did the Shoreditch 10km on Saturday, to all those who volunteered there, and to all our parkrunners too!

After a warm up outside and a quick survey on our favourite breakfast dishes - eggs well and truly topped the pops, but there were also votes for waffles, rice crispies and of course bacon sarnies - we set off for Paradise Cooperative garden, and arrived 2.5km later to find chairman John waiting for us with a list of jobs.

This organisation aims to connect food, nature and people through sustainable urban farming and community gardening, and has transformed an overgrown and derelict site owned by Wandsworth prison into a beautiful space which includes an orchard, poly-tunnels, raised vegetable beds, a fish-pond, bush-craft area and community celebration area with pizza oven and running water. All this takes hard work though, so we are happy to lend a bit of GoodGym muscle!

The first group got straight on with shovelling gravel and woodchip, unloading bags of clay, shifting pallets and logs - all amazing upper body work! Meanwhile, the weeding team tackled the raised beds and paths and watered, while the third group spread the new pond liner and started filling it.

After 40 minutes loads of jobs were done, and John said that we had achieved a month's worth of work for them in our time there - many hands make light work! For all that effort we were rewarded with beautiful fresh basil, carrots and herbs which as well as being delicious, made for an unusual and highly fragranced run back!

But first we stopped at Wandsworth Common to do our fitness session - I had planned one that featured running drills, but the tasks at the garden had overtaken us a bit, so this was replaced by some high octane tabata instead. It was only 4 minutes of hard work split into 20 second segments, but it was tough! The idea is that you raise your heart rate during this time which increases aerobic performance and burns fat effectively. Those frog jumps though...

We finished off the evening with a motivational hill sprint led by Chi, and some stretches back at base. Next week we're going to Harding House, a residential home for deaf people to help sort out their garden. You can find out more and sign up here. Until then, have a week of happy running GoodGym!

We had so much news to kick off the weekly run with last night, but firstly

• Give a massive GoodGym cheer to all these lovely new runners who came for their first group run last! Hello Hannah, Sina, Rafaella and Kate!

This week's roundup included:

• The monthly social! This Thursday, on tour in Brent. Here are all the details - come along for pun of the month, to hear about all the good everybody has been doing, running achievements and all things GoodGym

• Did you happen to catch the Guardian magazine this weekend? If not check it out here. We had a Guardian journalist along for a run with us a few weeks ago, and this was the lovely write up. Share it with everybody you know!

• There's nobody yet signed up for this community mission in Merton on Saturday - this is one you don't need to be DBS checked for but it will really help out a local school so if you are free why not check it out!

• Congratulations to Beth who organised an amazing park run takeover for Fulham Palace's 300th event! A brilliant 38 of you turned up to fill all the volunteer and pacing roles. Check out the run report here

Providence House

Last night's task was at local charity Providence House - this amazing organisation is putting on a program of summer activities for local young people aimed at combating antisocial behaviour and social isolation.

But before we could set off we did a warm up outside and a quick survey on the best things to put on a BBQ - you guys are all about the protein, but also recommended halloumi, asparagus, shrimp and aubergine. Delicious!

With just a short run to the charity, we soon arrived to find a very cheery welcome from the kids who were waving and singing from the window! We got a short talk about the brilliant work Providence House is doing. For the last 50 years, Providence House Youth Club has been passionate about improving the lives and outcomes for young people from North Battersea, and has created a strong sense of belonging and heritage and is open to all. They had hundreds of flyers printed to spread the word about the work they are doing, but as they rely on volunteers, asked us to help.

We set off straight away clutching at least 400 flyers and started distributing in the surrounding houses. This was a real testament to the fact that many hands make light work, as it took us less than half an hour to deliver the lot over the course of 4km. Amazing going team!

We then popped over to a local community space to do a conditioning session which featured glute bridges, planks, single leg squats and other strength exercises that all worked on the important muscle groups for runners and focused on our ABCs (agility, coordination and balance). This sort of strength workout helps prevent injuries, improve form, increase efficiency and generally helps turn you into a better runner - so do try and get in one conditioning session a week!

You can sign up here for more doing good and getting fit next week. Until then, run happy GoodGym!

With two choices of task and distance last night, it was great to see 42 runners gather to do good and get fit in Wandsworth!

We had lots of lovely new runners last night - please welcome:

• Dave, Jennie, Alina, Kirsten, Abbie, Kathryn and Yvonne

Before we divided up the group and set off for our two tasks, we did a very quick run down of the week's news. In case you missed bits, here's a recap:

• GoodGym is looking after an aid station at the British 10K on Sunday 21st July from 7.30am - volunteers get a free place for the Oxford Half, Hackney Half or the next London 10K. Sign up here

• There's a GoodGym takeover for Fulham Palace's 300th run on Saturday - we still need a few roles filled! Click here for all the details

• Fancy a community mission? You don't need to be DBS checked, and it we're still looking for some runners to help. Check out the details of this event that's happening on Saturday 6th July.

• It's the last couple of days to enter the GoodGym Olympics - go on, you won't regret it! Here is all the info you need

Back to School

With a longer 10.5km run to Broadwater school to sort out an overgrown pond area and turn it into a science learning zone, and a 3.5km run to Bolingbroke School to turn a neglected outside space into somewhere inspiring for the kids, there was plenty to choose from. Our local schools are under pressure from budget so are increasingly rely on help from volunteers.

After a warm up where we also talked about what we wanted to be when we were kids - lots of tiny aspiring vets, dancers, doctors, missionaries, chefs and even one channel four continuity announcer - we divided up into two groups.

Chris' team set off to sort out the outside area, and after a conditioning stop on the way, arrived to find plenty to do waiting for them. They set about strimming, watering, digging, composting, and clearing and after 40 minutes of hard work still wanted to do more! However, there was a fitness session waiting for them on Wandsworth Common, where Chris took them through their paces with some intervals and technical points and even through in a core blast for good measure. This was Chris' first time leading a GoodGym run and I think we can all agree he is a superstar! Way to go team.

Meanwhile the second group were off on a very twisty turny long route down to Tooting, which even saw us do a spot of trail running (almost!). After a very muggy run, we arrived to find Naz waiting for us with tools and instructions to clear a very overgrown pond area so that it can be turned into a learning space for the kids. We got stuck in straight away, finding all sorts of treasures including a lost shoe and an ants nest. We didn't have long at the task, but after some serious elbow grease the area looked much clearer and well on the way to be able to be used by the kids. With such a long run there was no time for a fitness session but we still had that 5.1km to tackle on the way back.

What a lot of effort from everybody last night - 42 pairs of hands really making a difference in the local communities. Next week we will be helping the amazing Providence House out spreading the word about their summer program for young people. Sign up here for all the details. Happy sunny running until then - and make sure you rehydrate in the heat!

The rain has finally done one, so it was back to sunny running in Wandsworth last night, with 35 GoodGymers doing good!

• A huge welcome to Claire, Larissa, Claire, Joy, Helen and Sarah who all came for their first GoodGym group run last night!

But before we headed out for our task we did a round up of the week's news:

• This Saturday we have the monthly GoodGym long run - 16km or 10km along the Wandle Trail. Here are all the details you need

• GoodGym is taking over an aid station at the British 10K on Sunday 21st July from 7.30am - volunteers get a free place for the Oxford Half, Hackney Half or the next London 10K. Sign up here

Last night's run was one of a number of community events as part of the Great Get Together, inspired by Jo Cox, who in a parliamentary address said:

"We are far more united and have far more in common than that which divides us"

So as part of our session last night we celebrated kindness, respect and what we have in common by making a special effort to speak to somebody we haven't chatted to before. So, with this is mind, we headed outside for a warm up and to talk about all the good things we're looking forward to this week. Lots of lovely holidays, brunch, meeting up with friends, sleeping and BBQs happening!

After a 2km run to the Omnibus theatre, an independent charity which provides education and programs for local young and disadvantaged young people, we divided up into three groups. The biggest team headed round to the back of the building to tackle the massively overgrown garden, while the other two groups tackled window washing and sorting out the front garden. There was a lot to do, but as the organisation relies on volunteers and supporters to keep bringing the arts to the community, we worked hard for 40 minutes and the difference was huge.

After tidying up we jogged over to Clapham Common to do our fitness session, which focused on high intensity mixed with planks for our core. After partnering up, we hit a huge round of squats, frog jumps, burpees, and fast feet - all the old favourites!

Next week we have a two task week with a choice of a longer or shorter run - both to help local schools with various projects. Here are all the details.

If you can't wait until next Monday to get your GG fix, then there is a community mission this weekend in Battersea helping out at a community garden and war memorial. All welcome! Sign up here.

Have a happy week everybody!