Well from a trainer point of view you just couldn't be happier really - The team smashed it tonight, both task and run In addition they are well 'ARMED' now to tackle a home workout to improve upper body fitness and aid core energy transfer through to legs, propulsion and endurance which balances well with the Giant leg sets of the last two weeks! Just watch the form and it will serve you well I say ; - )

Anyway enough of the jargon let's get down to business - Tonight saw 24 at the door of Wholefoods looking fully enthused and ready to take to the streets to do GOOD on a Monday! A great turnout indeed and of course that is because we love to do good in Richmond and help out great community organisations such as Richmond and Putney Unitarian Church which sits very close to Wholefoods. This was our destination this evening and of course we took the scenic route to get there!

With arms hanging after the warm up the legs were itching to get their turn and of course they did with half way up Kings Road, all the way down Queens and back up to the top of Kings again. Sounds a little like a royal telly tubby route as I type but rest assured those who did it may need some extra stretching in the morning. One more 'Down the Hill' and we were there

The 1896 church nestled close to the cinema at the foot of Richmond Hill is used by many different types of local community groups so our work tonight which was to clear what what described as 'THE JUNGLE to the left of the building' would benefit many - straight away from a visual and saftey access point of view this was visible but we further learned that our efforts could make way for raised beds, flowers and other gardening projects that some of the local children may be involved in as well, so a great cause which enables more to participate in within the community.

Well done all on clearing the way for more to use and enjoy and for making such short work of a dense task In awe of the speed some you sprinted back to Wholefoods as well considering the warm up and the hills but hmmm was that the call of the pub for the social that helped there?

I wonder if we put a pint at the top of Nightingale how many PB's we may get - I will see how I can make that work

Enjoy the social and have one for me - see you next week

Mark

Also a big CHEER to welcome Emma on her first run and Ren on his second with Richmond!! Now on another note where's our wings as Sam has some flying to do next week too - Congrats on reaching a 100 Sam ; - )

OK first of all, big kudos to Salwa, the Queen of Puns, for this evening’s report title!

Now to the report. Eighteen intrepid Richmondites gathered at Wholefoods on Monday evening for our weekly fix of doing good. With Mark and Jenna taking a well-earned break, it was over to Jack to lead the run. We were pleased to meet Maynaha and welcomed her on her first Goodgym run, give her a cheer! After Jack counted us all in and did the briefing, we headed over to the green.

Warm up this week was a series of stretches, strength exercises including some imbalance-inducing single-leg squats, and a sprint-squat combo. You like punishing those quads, eh Jack? Then off we trotted on a familiar route to our task for the evening. We headed along Sheen Road and turned up Queens Road for the slog up to park gates, before bounding down Nightingale and along the river by the cow field to reach the Petersham and Ham Sea Scouts digs, just off the towpath.

Having helped the Sea Scouts a few times, including varnishing their submarine on a summer group run and helped clear the grounds on Super Saturday, this would be the last time we would visit in 2019. As usual the team had plenty of work to go around so there was no need to go scouting for jobs. We were split into 4 groups to take care of a wide range of tasks – one group painting tent pegs and sanding and varnishing a picnic bench, another group folding the huge tents the Scouts use for their camping trips, a third transporting soil to fill an ex-sandpit, and a fourth doing yet more sweeping of the Path of Never-Ending Sweeping.

The rain held off and it was a fun night all round, with headtorches flashing through the trees on the outdoor tasks, and much merriment emanating from the Scout hut. Despite increasingly wet and heavy leaves the team on the pathway swept their challenge aside… the folks working on soil transport really pitch(fork)ed in and had a ‘hole heap of fun… the tent-folders quickly de-creased the work to be done, and the painter-varnisher team were certainly not bench-pressed. Phew.

Soon enough it was time to bid farewell to the team, and we headed up the river and back to base. But not before promising we’d be back soon – Scouts Honour.

Tonight, 18 brave runners turned up to help Petersham Common. Our task tonight was to move bundles of fencing from the bottom of the hill to the top, ready to be put in the ground tomorrow.

We started off the night with a fun and fast paced warm up on the green. Head-torches were necessary as it was already dark, but thankfully the rain held off.

We set off along the river on our run. As it was very wet & slippery, we hard to be sure of our footing but we soon got into a good rhythm with everyone chatting away as we ran. We passed by the 3 Pigeon Plot and noted the newly installed flowers. Then we headed to the bottom of Nightingale Lane. Most people battled their way to the top of this mega hill not once but twice, which is no mean feat! We were joined by a fellow runner doing sprints up the hill, so we gave him some encouragement too.

Thoroughly worn out after that, thankfully we didn’t have far to go to meet Ken at the task. He handed out orange hi-vis vests and showed us to the mountain of fencing bails. We were prepared for this though & keen to get on with it, we knew we had a big task ahead of us! We took the bails in pairs, making sure at least one of us had a head torch, and climbed the hill through the wooded pathways of Petersham Common, following Ken’s trail of hi-vis vests hanging in trees. Progress was slow and steady, with plenty of stops to adjust hand holds or swap arms. The bails were heavy & awkward plus the paths were dark, muddy & narrow, it really was a meaty task!

There was much discussion over technique, with some preferring the bails on shoulders or heads, others carrying them in their arms with one person walking backwards (impressive) or a simple one handed affair so long as you could get good purchase on a stake.

Each pair managed to make 2 trips to the top, with Emily marshalling us across the busy road. We didn’t manage to move them all but Ken still estimated we’d saved him a full days work- not bad team, not bad! I’m certain we’ll all be feeling it tomorrow :)

Well done to Harry on his second run & welcome to Charlie who joined GG Richmond for the first time, glad to have you with us tonight!