This week 16 incredible GoodGym-ers ran 2km (ish) to dig a moat around a pond and chop some sticks.

As ever, the team met at the Phoenix for intros and sign-ins. Thanks to an unexpected level of traffic along the North Circular, I was running a little late. Luckily, Freya and Damian were on hand to welcome the gang until I got there. Two new faces this week: Ves who works with me in Finsbury Park and Anja who is new to Barnet but not to GG. Give 'em a cheer!

After a super speedy intro and headcount, we gently jogged to Cherry Tree Woods to warm up in the park before heading off on a little loop to Archer. The Hammerson Nightingale care home we were supposed to be helping wasn’t ready for us yet, so Maaike at Archer came to the rescue with an extra Archer Task. This week was all about digging a moat around the pond to tuck the lining in to.

The team quickly got to work, with several people taking a go on the mattock. The ground was hard as hell today, so the mattock was the only thing to break past the solid upper layer of mud. Louis let me have a go, so I could demonstrate how to generate more power and Damian made a Buffy reference (where I was Buffy), which basically made my day.

Kim and Paul arrived slightly too late at the Phoenix and ended up running to the other Archer by mistake, meaning they ended up running an extra km. They sure made up for it on site though, with some super speedy digging.

Once the moat was dug, we tucked the pond liner in and filled the gap with mud. I even added a ceremonious branch to kickstart the decoration phase. Chris did a wonderful job filling a particularly deep bit and Phil did some great stomping.

It was soon time for finisher photos and a game of football before heading back to base.

Barnet Biscuit of the Week: White chocolate chip cookies AND Jaffa Cakes courtesy of Freya.

Thanks to Jody for this week's pun.

Next week we are running back to BFC for more upcycling of old furniture. Sign up here

42 runners went to Vauxhall Foodbank to sort a MEGA Christmas delivery. Phew!

It was a MEGA turnout in Lambeth last night with runners old and new gathering for a run to the lovely Vauxhall Foodbank. They had spent 3 days over the weekend asking shoppers to buy and donate one item of food from their list and the public had been very generous. The Foodbank supports individuals and families who are in sudden crisis over a short period with food donations. Christmas is a key time for families in need and we always enjoy helping them out.

We split into two groups and headed off to Vauxhall. One group took the shorter route of about 3km each way and the others headed off on a longer version. Once we arrived, the lovely Faith gave us an intro and we got down to the sorting.

There was so much food that we ran out of crates and had to use the cardboard boxes to store everything in. Some people did some excellent labelling and others did tremendous packing. All in all it was a massive effort and we look forward to hearing exactly how much we weighed in - it must have been a record!

I wonder if we made a weigh-in record?! Wondered everyone

On the way back we ran in three groups - the relaxed runners set off, leaving the other two groups to finish weighing and squash any unneeded boxes. The entirely mediocre group 2 headed off next: would we be equal to grade C+or a B? Who knows.....

Finally the speedy group took to the streets and headed home for some stretches and a well earned dinner. Great work team and thanks for coming. We made a massive difference tonight.