31 GoodGymers ran 4km to help TRAID and The Masbro Centre

There was a real chill in the air tonight but this didn't stop a record-equalling 31 GoodGymers coming along to get fit and do good in their community on a special TWO-TASK TUESDAY!...with Chi briefly in attendance we did have a record, but sadly work called and in true Chi style he did his smooth disappearing act!

It was lovely to welcome Aine and Will along to their first H&F group run - hope you both enjoyed it!

Once gathered outside, we first congratulated this month's 'good deed machine', Helen on her 100th good deed and ensured she was dressed appropriately for the run...with her '100' wings of course! So much good done for the community, looking forward to seeing you repping your shiny new red GG tee with wings. Well done Helen! 💯🙌🥳 .

AND, apologies that I forgot until the end of the evening, well done to Mr ‘Speedy Jonzales’ Jonny Knight on his 50th parkrun! 5️⃣0️⃣🙌🏼.

I guess that's why they call it the news...

1. January Challenge 2020 - With 113 good deeds racked up so far we've officially beaten our 2019 good deed total of 107!! Great job team! 🥳 Will we beat the 1,627kms run/walked?! You check on H&F's progress in the GoodGym leagues here.
2. GoodGym H&F Starter Session - Saturday 25th January at 10am - Not just for those who are new to GoodGym! Please come along after Fulham Palace parkrun and lend a hand weeding the historical moat at Bishop's Park. Please click here for all the details and to sign up.
3. Up & Running 10k - Meet at Chiswick Bridge at 8.45am for a 9am start.
4. Ragnar Run - weekend of 19th September - 1 more person is needed for the 10 man team. Please speak to 'Speedy' for more information.

Following a quick-warm up which included high knees, jumping jacks, spotty dogs and a fully mastered brain body warm-up combo with different moves for each number, the team split into two groups. With Helen completing all the poses for the 'gram both teams set off in the direction of Shepherd's Bush.

Task 1 - TRAID Shepherd's Bush

Catriona led 10 runners on a short run up to TRAID Shepherd's Bush. TRAID is a charity working to stop clothes from being thrown away - they believe clothes should be resused and recycled to reduce the environmental and social impacts of our clothes.

Hopefully this isn't too fabricated

Once inside, the team set about moving clothes from the clothing racks to boxes and stock the old display clothes into lots of cages 👕👚. Check out Lucy in action!

Some of the clothing was superbly modelled as they worked away, Matt with a cream dress (definitely your colour!) and Katie with the red trousers was a personal favourite!

With such efficient team working the job was completed, all that was left to do was to take a lovely team photo infront of the 'fully clothed' cages. TRAID's Store Manager was very impressed and thankful for the extra pairs of hands tonight. Good job team!

Task 2 - The Masbro Centre

The rest of the group headed up to the Masbro Centre, a slightly scenic way so as to get in those kms! With Tom and Alice neck-and-neck in the distance rankings for the month both were very amusingly at every opportunity trying to get in those extra few steps over the other.

Despite a slightly longer route, it wasn't long before we arrived at The Masbro Centre, which is the hub of all the Masbro Community Centres. Masbro offer a total community service from early years to older people – with arts and cultural events, sports and fitness classes, adult learning, help with gaining employment, and much more!

Sweep thrills

Tonight we had been tasked with giving the back garden, front garden and car park area a bit of a tidy-up of leaves, plants and weeds. Once we'd got some light, bin bags and a few tools the team gloved up and set to work. Helen set to work sweeping, and the rest of the team began some manual weeding and leaf collected. There was also a few bits of wood that needed a quick chop. Arba and Aine bravely held the wood, though turned away in fear as Biscuits began to chop with his shears. Thankfully, no fingers were lost, and no eyes harmed 😬.

With so many pairs of hands the back garden was completed within minutes, although Arba, head of quality control noticed one patch that had not been cleared of leaves up to standard. Once these leaves had been bagged the team walked through the wonderful inside of the Centre around the 5-a-side football pitch to the front garden and car park area.

Sweeping up appearances

Helen and Bev formed a powerful sweeping duo as Helen swept with the broom while Bev used the dustpan and brush to collect piles of leaves 🍁🍂. Cookie went deep into the depths of the garden area to weed and pull out the dead plants, while Luis and Rosie moved benches to ensure every inch of the car park was covered. Matt and Phoebe carefully nursed the rather split bin bag, continuing to fill it with the last few weeds.

We called it a night and with the other team arriving through the gates managed one big team photo around Helen and her wings. Tools returned we set off back to base with Cookie leading the way.

Drop it like it's squat!

Back at base, I decided to let Helen have the final say on tonight's fitness session....to be, or squat to be? The decision was one of the team's old favourites, 'Sally Squats'! 3mins 25seconds of squatting, what's not to love?! In what resembled a strange camp-like gathering, we formed a circle around 3 phones co-ordinated to start the song Flower by Moby at the same time. Everyone went very quiet as we all felt the burn! Top work team. Check out the song here if you'd like to get in some extra squat practice!

We finished with a stretch off and some well-deserved banana bread made by Helen, with bananas saved from the City Harvest Community Mission at the weekend. Absolutely delicious. Thanks Helen!

Next week we're heading to Eloise’s school, John Betts Primary to lend a hand with a whole range of INDOOR jobs! For all the details and to sign up, click here. Have a great rest of your week and weekend. Hopefully see you next week!

19 Storm Troopers stormed through a triple-task special with much gusto!

Despite the falling rain and strong gusts of winds courtesy of Storm Brendan (a regular at all GoodGym sessions this week), an amazing 18 GoodGym’ers ignored the lure of the dry and warm and braved the elements to get fit and do good in their community.

The good news was that Matt ‘it’s never rained on any task I’ve done’ Nash was in attendance and promised that “It will be fine. I guarantee it will stop by 7...”. And we all very much had our fingers crossed that Matt was somehow controlling the weather 🤞.

With everyone gathered we headed outside to a nice and dry cordoned off area of the Better Gym car park...oh the glam!

We started off by welcoming Mikaela's wonderful housemates, Stephen, Teo and Martina, for their first GoodGym H&F group run. Definitely a baptism of flyer run, thank you all for coming along, top recruiting Mikaela!

Just news it!

1. January Challenge 2020 - We're doing very well with 60 good deeds and over 600km run/walked as a group racked up! Great job team! You check on H&F's progress in the GoodGym leagues here. Will we beat our 2019 totals of 107 good deeds and 1,627 kms?!

2. Upcoming Races - As Sarah kindly mentioned, there's some great upcoming events that other H&F GoodGym'ers are getting involved with: Sunday 2nd February at 9.30am - Wimbledon Common 'Dash for the Splash' 10km and Saturday 8th February at 10am - Richmond Park 5km & 10km.

3. GoodGym H&F Starter Session - A date for the diary...Saturday 25th January. Details to be confirmed shortly!

Tonight we were going to be the session backwards, we’d be starting with fitness, then the group photo and then the tasks. I of course forgot to state this was not in a literal sense as Biscuits turned his back to me while others asked how we were going to be running backwards in this weather...what a bunch of comedians! 🙄😂

Following a quick-warm which included high knees, jumping jacks and spotty dogs we then smashed out a 6-minute legs, abs and arms blast. With some power lunges, jump squats, frog jumps, planks, elbow touches and dead bugs blitzed,all great exercises that build muscle strength and endurance to aid running, and it turns out quieten your GoodGym group 😉. Good work team!

Leaflets, leaves & lumbering

To keep everyone moving as much as possible on this damp evening we had a triple-task special, 3 short and sweet/sharp tasks completed as a group...

1. Open Age H&F provide hundreds of weekly activities for local residents aged 50+ to sustain their physical and mental fitness, maintain an active lifestyle and develop new and stimulating interests.

2. Maesbro Centre - The Maesbro Centre is the hub of all the Maesbro Community Centres. Maesbro offer a total community service from early years to older people – with arts and cultural events, sports and fitness classes, adult learning, help with gaining employment, and much more!

3. Christmas Tree-cycling - one final hunt for abandoned and hazardous Christmas Trees left on and around surrounding streets and roads in H&F that needed to be collect and taken to a Christmas Tree-cycling point.

Task 1: Leafleting for Open Age UK

With the leaflets in hand we captured a wonderfully lit team photo, and as Lucy and Katie humorously said, “you’d never have guessed it was taken in Better Gym car park!” or maybe you would…

Time flyers when you're having fun!

Ready to run and leaflet we began our run up towards Shepherds Bush, pausing briefly to regroup and for the beloved wall sit. Once on Bloemfontein Road the group split into two to cover both sides of the street in the now well-rehearsed ‘leaflet chain’. In just 5 minutes all the leaflets had been delivered and we set off towards the Maesbro Centre.

Task 2: Clearing leaves for the Maesbro Centre

It wasn’t long before we arrived at the Maesbro Centre and were faced with a car park filled with lots of wet and soggy leaves. Everyone gloved up ready to tackle the leaves, and after a long period of absence, Sarah was at last reunited with bin bags which she efficiently divvied up between the team.

A leaf encounter

Lucy and Matt ensured the team had ample lighting, to help with both the leaf collecting and the ‘gram photos. With a few barriers successfully negotiated and many piles of leaves scooped up into the 4 bin bags in just 10 minutes we called time on the car park clear.

In what might be the next promo shot for big bags, Helen, Cookie, Mikaela and Sarah held a big bag over their shoulder as they struck the classic ‘smile and lookback’ pose 📸.

Task 3: Hunting for Christmas Trees!

PINE tingling!

After searching a number of streets with no luck, not even one pine needle, we decided to have one final check through the Trussley Road tunnel and on Hammersmith Grove. FINALLY, success!! We began to spot one Christmas Tree after another. The team divided up and worked either solo or in pairs depending on the size of the tree to collect and carry the Christmas Trees to the Christmas Tree-cycling point outside Loris Community Garden.

Searching FIR & wide!

Lucy and Jonny were still empty-handed so set off on an inTREEpid run up the road to find one final Christmas Tree. They had the important job of neatly placing the final Christmas Tree of the season onto the large pile of rather dishevelled and dead looking Christmas Trees.

PINING for home

With the temperature dropping and the rain falling harder, we set off back to base for a stretch off under the shelter of the car park before heading home for warmth and food. A total of 42 leaflets delivered, 4 bin bags of leaves cleared and 9 Christmas Trees successfully tree-cycled. Top work team! Fingers crossed for better weather next week!

Hope you all have a great rest of your week! Sign up for next week's run here. The monthly social has been rescheduled to next week, so please do join for drink, food and more chats following the run!

AND, if you'd like to get involved with Community Missions, there's lots coming up in the West, check them all out here.