First run of the year! It was bound to be a smasher, and it did not disappoint....

It may have been a cold and frosty evening, but that did not stop 41 post-festive runners ready to burn off those mince pies and mulled wine and make a difference in Wandsworth.

We were treated to a bumper load of new faces for our first run of the year, which always makes us very happy. Ladies and gents of GoodGym, please put your hands together for the lovely Charlotte, Abi, Georgina, Julie, Ashleigh, Lindsay, Tamsin, and Monica who all joined us for their very first GoodGym session last night. We hope you'll all be back next week!

It was clear that you guys hadn't slacked off over the festive period, but have instead been tackling those park runs, races, training sessions and missions like proper troupers. Vix and Lorna were both still away after an amazing sub zero 10k in Norway, but we cheered Emily, Paul, Amy, Helen, Chris, Daniel, Morag and Hannah for smashing a tough and hilly 10k in Brixton only the day before. Jessie and Luke both tackled some insane racing in waist-deep mud, while John put in a fine performance in the Surrey leagues at the weekend. Well done to all those who did Christmas, New Year and early January park runs. You really are an amazing bunch! If you're keen to find the right race for you then just shout - the GoodGym team will be behind you all the way.

Our target this January is a huge one, but I know we can achieve it. Between us, we have got to hit 241 good deeds, and cover a whopping 1200 kilometers. With over 450 kilometers under our belts already (thanks in part to a slightly longer run that advertised last night!) we've made a cracking start. Don't forget to connect to Strava so the team can support you and we can clock those miles up for Wandsworth.

After a last minute cancellation, our task for the evening had changed. But the sliver lining was that we were in fact doing a job for a different and amazing charity called Caius House. This youth centre offers local young people a safe place where they are supported and can develop their own unique talents. Every child is valued - which we think is a pretty awesome ethos. So we were happy to help when they asked us to spread the word for their upcoming projects in the area.

But first - a much needed warm up. A few minutes of dynamic exercises later we did a quick poll to find out what everybody hoped to achieve in January. There were an admirable number of running related resolutions, some hoped to final banish their NYE hangover, while others just wanted to get through the toughest month of the year. We're here for you!

It was just over a mile to Caius House, so we soon set off with Helen kindly backmarking for us. Sarah had the great idea of pairing up new runners with regular GoodGym runners so they could get an idea of what it was all about, and we all happily set off for the first stage of our task. With a teenytiny detour at the end - just to add on the mileage, you understand - we arrived to find Charlene waiting for us with a big pile of leaflets. She gave us a quick talk about the work they do there, and let us know that if any of us had any special skills or work experience opportunities that we could share with the young people at Caius House, that would be great. After a few minutes pause to catch our breath we were off again, and divided up into two teams to put our trusty human chain approach into practice. Way over 400 leaflets later we were almost finished, but the clock was ticking and we needed to get our fitness session in so lovely Jamie and Alyx volunteered to do the rest on their way home, while we knocked out a quick but tough session.

We started off with a game which involved being honest and sprinting. If you answered yes to questions like 'did you have a cheeky snog over Christmas' then you had to sprint across the park, if you didn't, then you had to do a conditioning exercise while you waited. We then moved on to the parlauf - which, while it may sound confusing, is actually great for speed training. We paired up to complete as many circuits of the park we could complete in our twos, with Roshan and Luke emerging as the winners.

All that was left was to run back to the BAC, not forgetting that last hill, and a few stretches to finish off the night. Well done team, you truly smashed the first run of the year. Apparently next Monday, the 15th of January, is officially the most depressing day of the year. Counteract those winter blues by joining us for our run instead to do good, get fit and feel great!

WELCOME TO THE TEAM!

This week we welcomed 2 new runners to the @GGSHEFF Crew. A big welcome to

• Rhiann
• Kristy Hopkins

GIVE EM A CHEER!

WOOD TIME!

This weeks task was a woody one. On arrival at Sharrow Community Forum we were greeted and briefed by MARVELOUS MARIA who described the evenings tasks which included moving wood in and out of the now fully functioning wood working workshop and cutting down partly used pieces to ensure that nothing went to waste.

EXERCISE TIME

As it was a little cramped in the workshop with a few less tools than we wood ;) have liked we split ;) the group and half of us branched ;) outside for some fun time fitness. This week this involved a group circuit containing:

• Squat 180
• Sprints
• Sumo Squat
• Tuck Jumps
• Burpees (Ash's Fave)
• Sumo Squat
• Squat Jumps
• Goblet Squats
• Curtsey Lunge
• Lunge
• Split Lunge
• Squat Punch
• Calf Raises

Once we swapped groups over so everyone had a chance to sweat and to saw we said our goodbyes and headed home with a few street furniture exercises thrown in for good measure!

Once the Howard St Sprint and stretches were complete we gave Kat a huge congrats for her 50th good deed and thanked Steve for #GGBBQ3 and headed in for warmth and refreshments.

Until next week....

Happy Running!

What a whopper in Wandsworth last night. With the muscle power of 41 runners, we were really able to make a huge difference at a local community project, and even got a special technical session from a guest coach. What's not to love?!

Before we set off, we had a run through of the week's news, which included saying a huge thank you and well done to all of those who helped out, ran, volunteered and paced at Saturday's Tooting Common park run. It was a brilliant morning, with GoodGym pacing 20-35 minutes, being the best (noisiest) cheering squad and generally making the event a big success. The report isn't up yet, but keep an eye on the Tooting Common parkrun page for when it does appear. In the meantime, check out these photos.

We also welcomed some lovely new runners to the team - give a cheer to Phoebe, Stephen and Kate. Fantastic to have you with us.

Well done to Matthew, Jack and Jim who also raced in Decathlon's Wimbledon 5k yesterday, and to Jessie and Luke for smashing the Race the Sun (or Rain).

While we did our warm up, we did a quick poll to find out what made people laugh. Answers included Fawlty Towers, when people fall over, Mabel's hamster and Trump.

With a short run of just over a mile, we set off at a nice speed and quickly arrived at the Doddington & Rollo rooftop garden, where a range of jobs was chalked up on the board ready and waiting for us to get stuck in. There was plenty for us to do - turning compost, cutting back the vines, a vast amount of watering, weeding paths, clearing beds, and cutting up garden waste ready for composting - but Team Wandsworth was up to the job. Within just over half an hour we had made some huge progress and the garden - which is on top of an old car park and is used by local residents who don't have access to outside space to grow fruit and vegetables - was looking even more blooming lovely.

We waved goodbye to the garden, and set off for Battersea Park where we were meeting a running technique coach from BodyLogic, a running school in Battersea, who was taking us through a series of drills and technical points for distance running. Seb led us to a nice quiet spot in the park before setting up cones and leading us through various elements that will make our running more efficient, concentrating especially on positive backwards arm drive. If you enjoyed the session, BodyLogic is offering GG members that attended 50% off a running video analysis here at Body Logic that expires at the end of the month. Just email for the details and code if you're interested.

We put what we learned to the test on the way back, when we split into two groups and raced to our starting point. I noticed plenty of good arm drive on the last hill up to the BAC (when it is really needed) -you were looking great, gang.

Next week we're off to a spot more gardening on a local estate, so join us for another fun session by signing up here.

Namaste, Wandsworth.

Last night we had a super zen session featuring a special one off yoga session.

It started, as it always does, in our well-loved Battersea Arts Centre, where we did one of our favourite things - cheer all the lovely new faces joining us for the first time. So please give a massive Wandsworth welcome once again to the excellent Rachel, Lorien, Charlotte, Anca, Leonie and Phil.

We also tipped our hats to Jack, Helen, (Jo) [https://www.goodgym.org/runners/joanna-aa3da551-638e-4194-823a-cd5d1da2b03a] and Matthew who all represented team GoodGym at Fulham park run on Saturday. A huge well done to Hannah who showed the very hilly Wimbledon half who's boss.

We also did a shout out for anybody who is keen to get involved in the Tooting Park Run TAKEOVER this Saturday - GoodGym is going to be all over Tooting common running the show this weekend and we need you. Sign up here to put yourself down for pacing or volunteering. They'll be a lovely breakfast social picnic afterwards, so join us for pretty much the best way to kick off the weekend.

After all that cheering, we headed outside to crack on with tonight's run, but not before doing some lovely warming up and hearing about what makes people cry. Because it can't all be butterflies and rainbows all the time, you know. The good job is that most people cry happy tears, brought on by puppies, runners getting medals in the Olympics, onions, The Notebook, adverts, goodbyes, and Ryan Gosling.

Our run down to the task tonight was a fairly short (and downhill) one, so we happily made it down there in record time. Our job tonight was to shift a load of furniture for the charity Spacemax - an organisation which helps families living in overcrowded properties maximise the area they have. It was a teensy bit chaotic as we attempted to clear a huge corridor of furniture outside, but in no time at all the area was clear and while we waited for the team to regroup, we knocked out a quick legs blast.

After all that shifting, we were ready to be centred again, so after a quick jog to Battersea Park, qualified yoga teacher Lorien kicked off our serene yoga session. We slipped off our trainers and socks and sat down on the cool grass, while Lorien took us through a series of stretches and moves to help us as runners. We saluted the sun, we downed our dog, and we king pigeoned. After 20 minutes we were truly zenned, and ready to tackle the run back to our starting point. It was amazing what a difference the session made, with many of us feeling bouncier and more limber for the return leg. A huge thanks to Yogi Lorien!

We split into two groups for the run back, with Sophie leading the speedy team on an alternate route that finished off with our favourite hill. All that was left was a few relaxed stretches and a good old pat on the back.

Next week we have another special guest who is going to give us some invaluable pointers about technique - don't miss out on this one-off session.

If that isn't enough good news, we also have a GoodGym social this coming Thursday for the whole of GoodGym - come along to meet lovely GGers, see who won pun of the month, and to have a jolly good knees up.

It's not always easy to take the plunge and try something new, which is why we should say a massive welcome and well done to Matt, Kate, Vicki and Jess who all made their GoodGym debut last night. Give them a cheer!

A hat tip also goes to all our park runners who raced on Saturday - if you haven't heard of them these are a series of free, timed 5k runs all over London which are super fun and great for improving your speed, ask if you have any questions! - and to Jack who did a 10k race on the weekend.

We kicked off the night with a nice, meaty session of dynamic warm ups. We also found out what everybody's super power of choice. As suspected, to be able to fly was top of the list, but we also had a lot of people wanting to breathe underwater, to have selective invisibility and to be able to teleport. We had a couple wanting 'Bernard's watch', but the prize goes to Emily, who would cleverly choose to be able to nab everybody's super powers in one go. Of course!

Tonight we had a respite from the heat of last week, thank goodness, and a nice 2k run down to Alderbrook primary school in Balham. We took a shortcut across the common, and with Will doing a bit of extra work figuring out where the entrance to the school was, we arrived in no time at all.

We were greeted by Linda, who led us to the three areas that needed painting. It was all really helpfully already set up for us, with piles of paintbrushes, sheets and buckets of paint ready and waiting. We divided up into three teams and set about giving the walls a lick of white paint. With 40 pairs of hands - that's 80 hands and no less than 400 fingers (don't even start with the whole 'a thumb is a finger but a finger is not a thumb thing') people - we got the job done in less than half an hour. Just enough time for Sophie, Luke and Alex to play the bat/bongo/music thing outside, and for Sarah, Jo and Matthew to give the climbing frame a go. A jolly good time was had by all.

We sprinted back up the hill to the common, where we found a nice little spot for our fitness session. This week we were attempting the 7-minute work out, which features all manner of exercises including jumping jacks, planks, press ups, high knees, and a whole squat-load more. Then we gave Will's military challenge ago, seeing how many press ups we could do in a minute. So tough!

Session smashed, all that was left was a quick run back to the BAC, with the Wandsworth playlist as our soundtrack, and a few stretches. What a group, what a night. Same again next week?

OK, every report from last night's brilliant GoodGym runs around the country is going to start off like this but...man, was it HOT last night! So what did 38 of us decided to do? Run up to 10k in the sweltering heat. Because why not.

Sticking to the astroturf in the Tellytubby room last night, we began by welcoming the lovely Imogen, Hugo and Jo to Wandsworth. Give them a massive cheer! We also had a number of intrepid GG tourists last night, so good to see Tom, Dom and Helena, you complete legends. A massive congrats to Tom, who has done the red-black-red and got his red wings tshirt for smashing 100 good deeds. Show us the way, Tom! While we're at it, let's all put our clicking fingers in motion, and cheer on the wonderful Alyx, who has nailed no less than eight good deeds so far this month, and the speedster Jo who has run the furthest (in this heat!). CHAPEAU. Well done, finally, to all those excellent runners who went to Tooting Park Run, and ran, cheered and volunteered - making this park run a brilliant event (despite a club that shall not be named. But as Jo said 'chase this!).

Last week we stuffed no fewer than 1000 envelopes for the local RSPCA branch, which were destined for all their regular donors. I think you all knew what was coming next. Yep, this week we were posting them. Not all of them, mind, but around half made it into our sweaty little mitts. Braving the still scorching sun (did I mention it was hot last night?) we legged it outside for a warm up, and, equally importantly, to find out everybody's favourite ice-cream/lolly/ice pop. There were some liberties taken with the definition, but overall magnum came out king of frozen goodness.

Our initial destination was Spencer Park, which we soon arrived at in the first of what would be a series of very sweaty runs. With a member of the Task Force of Dreams taking a group each, we all took a bundle of letters and set off for various areas around Wandsworth and Earlsfield. Team Jessie's Blondentourage, armed with psychedelic whistle, stormed off first, with each group scarpering in different directions and all aiming to meet back at the same spot at 8pm. The clock ticked on, and bang on schedule, who was it that came bowling over the hill first, but Team Blondetourage! So efficient. They were quickly followed by Team Magdelen, Team Cephalopod, Team Laidback, and Team Roshan-is-cool. There was just one group left, so we decided to crack on with our fitness session. I'm sure they weren't disappointed at all.

We started off with a mighty abs blast, which included three exercises of 30 seconds each in a row, broken up with a 30 second rest. The drills included planks-a-plenty, core triathlon, Russian twists and crunches. A strong core is vital for a good running technique - it stabilises your body when you run which increases efficiency and helps prevent injury. It's also a lot of fun. Maybe (see photos). With the last team yet to make it back (we weren't panicking. Honest.) we moved on to Clusters, which saw some very energetic high five burpees from Roshan and Luke, and the blow-the-whistle game, which revealed some secret crushes, some dodgy maths, and who got a medal in the recent GG Super 'Limpics. We were just about to send out the search parties when our final delivery team appeared over the horizon - hot, victorious, and having run almost 10k. Superstars, every one of you.

With the Wandsworth playlist pumping (find it on Spotify under GoodGym Wandsworth and add your fav tunes), we ran the final stretch back to the BAC, and cooled off with some nice stretches and last bits of news; there is a tag rugby friendly run by Joon Saturday (drop her a message for more info), and don't forget to enter the Strava mile to win trainers for your friends (us). Well done for some sizzlin' running last night, team. After a bit of number crunching, I reckon we clocked over 40k between the groups, and delivered around 400 letters - thereby saving the RSPCA the cost of a stamp for each one. Just think how many puppies you saved.

Next week we're going back to school. Sign up here!

Wandsworth was on top form last night, spurred on at least in part with a task that featured JELLY BABIES and JAFFA CAKES.

But first, we had some fabulous new runners to welcome to the group – hello Chloe, Anna and Lorna! Wandsworth, give them a cheer.

Well done to Jo who sliced a tidy 30 seconds off her time on her third ever park run, and to Matthew and David who both reached that golden 50 milestone. Well done team! Hat tips also belong to Matthew Sarah and Sophie for covering the most miles this week.

Tonight’s task was a great new one at Allfarthing Primary School, and in a Wandsworth first, we even had the lovely head, Tom (ahem Mr Holmes) join us on the run to the school. It was great to have you along, sir! After Tom had told us a bit about the school, and we had done our weekly CoRUNdrum (Which seaside resort is closest to London?) we set off. With only one minor detour and a few squat stops, we arrived at the school to find the amazing PTA waiting for us with sweeties, chocolates and jaffa cakes. If we didn’t say it enough at the time, Allfarthing School, we are always happy to help out. Anytime. Seriously, just say the word.

The team split up into three groups – painting sheds in black and brown, clearing the fence of ivy, and running up and down stairs to transport bags to the bins. We were kept very well fuelled throughout the tasks – turns out a sugary high is great for our work ethic. It was a lovely place to help out, surrounded by beautiful playgrounds, a teletubby hill and a vast expanse of astroturf which we were allowed to borrow to do a quick fitness session. This included doing a Core Triathlon – three segments of ‘swimming’ planks, bicycle crunches and mountain climbers – followed by a set of sprints. Before we left for the run home, the PTA let us know that every Tuesday morning at 7:45 Allfarthing Running Club meets to take students on a local run, and very kindly invited us to join them. Drop me an email if you’d like more details.

With the Wandsworth playlist turned up high, we began the run back to the BAC. Feel free to add any songs to the list for our aural pleasure – you can find it here: https://open.spotify.com/user/monsieurbullfrog/playlist/1vkh31Mku1qkU3nPYkJLRm. After a nice push on that last hill, we had a good stretch with several people cracking the CoRUNdrum, knowing that Southend on Sea is the closest resort to London. Thanks to Vicki who sent us that one all the way from Oz! Thanks also to Jen for the ace pun this week. Keep 'em coming! Don’t forget if the London Marathon inspired you yesterday that the ballot opens on May 2nd – get in there quick. We have the GoodGym Olympics on June 10th – entry is now live so make sure you sign up here!. Wandsworth FTW!

Next week is bank holiday but we will be running because doing good don’t stop. Of course we’ll celebrate with a couple of drinks afterwards, as all work and no play makes for sad Wandsworthians. You can sign up here:

https://www.goodgym.org/happenings/a-spot-of-doing-good