Not the rain, which was cold and ceaseless

Or tube strike, nor southern rail’s weakness

Could keep GoodGymmers from Monday fun,

So tonight to a theatre we did run…

The Cast

For the second run of 2017, we were really happy to welcome a huge cast of lovely new faces. Welcome to GoodGym Mark, Charlotte, Kat, Lisa, Jo, Maëlenn, Sarah and Rachel! And a big hello also to GG tourist Dom, and to Mark.

We tipped our hats to Jordan, Sarah, Matthew, Jessie, Roshan and Jack who all stormed round a muddy Tooting park run on Saturday. Don’t forget the paced Mile End run at the beginning of February everyone – it’s a great way to nail that PB. Jack is currently topping good deeds, cheers and distance (although Luke is right on his heels), while Matthew is doing the most cheering. Well done everyone! Thank you and hello to lovely Lambeth trainer Katie, who came along to help out at Wandsworth in an excellent hat.

Act 1 – ‘Once more unto the task, my friends'

After our weekly CoRUNdrum (What is still, theoretically, the punishment for impersonating a Chelsea Pensioner, or beating a carpet in a public park in London?) we divided the huge group into two, and set off on our merry way. Tonight we were going to the Omnibus Theatre, which is a multi-arts charity housed in a beautiful converted library which was saved from developers for the benefit of the public. After a spritely jog up to the theatre we were met by Sarah who outlined our jobs. There was a big expanse of wall to paint, a hall to clean, toilets to sparkle, a cellar to sort and an alleyway to clear. Phew! Good job there were a lot of us. We split up into super efficient teams and set to it. It didn’t take long to make a real difference to the walls, while Alicia and Trish polished up a storm. Sally and Lisa took on the tough job of the toilet, while Jim, Gabor and Nick tackled the huge boat in the alleyway.

Act 2 – ‘Get thee to a Runnery’

Jobs done, we waved our goodbyes to the theatre and sprinted off to the common to get ourselves good and sweaty. Tonight’s fitness session was a tough one to exorcise any residual mince pie guilt. We started off with a spot of clustering to warm up, with the forfeits being decided by the winning teams. The Christmas whistle had its first outing, and was put to very good use.

Then it was on to the tough stuff. We divided ourselves into teams of two, each team had to complete an exercise while one team ran a small circuit, before moving on to the next station. We got through squats, lunges, burpees, side planks, press up, jumping jordans, mountain climbers, high knees, tuck jumps…and many more gruelling drills. Great job, team.

Act 3 – ‘If GoodGym be the food of love, run on’

It was a tale of two theatres tonight, as we finished our fitness session and ran back to our meeting point at the Battersea Arts Centre. With a few keen beans pushing it harder on the return leg we were back in no time, ready to stretch it out and see who solved the CoRUNdrum, deciding that punishment by death was altogether a bit harsh for beating a carpet in a public park in London.

Well done everybody for a job well done and a tough fitness session. Same again next week? We’re off to Wendelsworth Community Garden to dig the ground ready for planting our fabulous new GoodGym tree. Don’t miss out! You can sign up here:

https://www.goodgym.org/happenings/down-to-wendelsworth-community-garden

Curtain Falls.