With a massive new task ahead of us, 38 amazing GoodGymers turned up to run 4km and transform a neglected community garden!

And we also got to welcome new runners Mitzi, Julia and Anna - give them a cheer! It was also great to see visitors from other areas including Croydon, Barnet and of course our lovely central officers- a big Wandsworth welcome to you all!

We kicked off the night with a bumper news session. To recap:

Inspired by the London Marathon on Sunday? Ballot entry is now open! It's one of the best major marathons in the world, and if you're thinking about taking on the ultimate challenge, you've got nothing to lose by entering the ballot! Just going to leave the link here...

The 2019 GoodGym Olympics are fast approaching! If you haven't been before, this is a very fun day where every GoodGym area goes head to head to compete for the title! Events include track racing, the sack race, a baking competition and lots more. There's the chance to race competitively or just to have a lovely day out - so sign up here to help defend Wandsworth's silver medal position!

Interested in making a real difference in the life of somebody suffering from isolation in the local community? Coach running - where GoodGym pairs you up with an elderly person, 'your coach' - is a fantastic way to spend just a small amount of time which has a big impact on both your own wellbeing and that of the person you're visiting. If you've got any questions come and talk to me about it!

Well done to Oliver who took on the Dubrovnik Half Marathon at the weekend and still made it for the run last night!

Garden State

After all that chat, we headed outside to do a warm up and discuss the best superpowers to have - flying came up pretty high, as did mind reading, the ability to teletransport, speak any language and never to get a hangover!

We set off for our task at Doddington Activity Centre, which was 2 km away, at a good pace. This huge patch of land in the middle of Battersea has been shut for the past eight years, but the decision has been made to open it up again so it can be enjoyed by the community. This is a massive job as it has been so neglected over the years, but something for GoodGym really to get its teeth into! So while some of the group went off to collect the tools, the rest of us got ourselves ready for the job in hand with a few squats and lunges - what better way to prepare?

Getting Turfed Out!

As soon as the gates were open we got cracking with a list of jobs that included rolling up massive sections of old astroturf, sanding down benches, digging over soil, weeding, sweeping and generally making the place more welcoming. We have three weeks planned at this task, and it is going to be incredible seeing the place slowly transform into somewhere the community can be proud of! I'll save the before and after pictures until we're done - watch this space! Amazing efforts from everyone, well done gang.

After 40 minutes of hard work, we popped over to the local community centre to drop of the tools and do a quick fitness blast - unfortunately after all that fun hard work we didn't have much time left for a full on session (I could see you were devastated...!) but we still managed some bear planks, hollow holds, lunge kicks and inchworms. Nice work.

All that was left was to head back to the BAC, tackle that last hill, and stretch it out. It's bank holiday next week, but don't worry, you can still get your GoodGym fix! We're back at the garden for week two of the transformation, then we'll be doing some fun fitness games, and we'll even follow the session with a social at the local pub. What's not to love?! Sign up here. Until then, run happy everyone.