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!

18 excellent @ggsheff runners ran 3km to help the CATHEDRAL ARCHER PROJECT tidy up their community garden.

After hearing about the teams efforts on Sundays run at DIG DEEP we set off into town taking on a few obstacles on route to the CATHERDRAL ARCHER PROJECT.

On arrival LOVELY LYNN welcomed us with cold bottled water and a brief about the project and the tasks for the eve which included a lot of cutting back of overgrown plants. The aim is to be able to use the garden as an activity for the project and its users who will hopefully take ownership of the garden.

After a good 45mins of hacking away the area looked a lot clearer and ready to be used once again. Lynn gave us a lovely thank you before we headed back off into the city for the fitness session.

This week we took advantage of the cities structures and landscape and focussed on some stair sets, box jumps and a killer hill rep session to finish off before heading into the SHOWROOM for a well earnt drink and natter.

Until next time.

HAPPY RUNNING

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.

Happy Golden Run Anniversary, Wandsworth! Over the past year we have run together to make the borough 50 times better, which is pretty amazing. It is a nice little warm up for next week when we will be celebrating our very first birthday. Join us for a special celebratory run, some fun little surprises, and a picnic after the run. So grab your party hat and sign up here.

So many congratulations this week - you've been busy, team. First a huge well done to the lovely Sophie who has motored through the good deeds, and shares her 50th good deed with Wandsworth's 50th run. That is some very pleasing symmetry. Way to go, Sophie!

Another huge well done to Sally who had a cracking run at the Richmond Half on Sunday (and still turned up to run on Monday!) and came in as 5th woman in a huge field. Wow.

During our warm up session outside we asked which one food we would choose to eat for the rest of our lives. I suspect some of you would last longer than others, with answers ranging from cheese to malteasers. Peanut butter came in as one of the top answers, plus various forms of curry. This picnic next week is shaping up to be a belter.

We only had a short run to our task tonight, so we set off at a nice lick and arrived at the Omnibus theatre. This lovely place receives absolutely no guaranteed funding or statutory support, and box office proceeds only cover a fraction of its income. They rely on donations and volunteers to keep the doors open and to provide creative opportunities for the whole community, so we're always happy to lend a hand.

Tonight's job was to clear a newly acquired section of land at the back of the building which was very overgrown. It has a lovely apple tree right in the centre and the aim is to turn it into a garden plot where botanical gin will be grown to sell at the Omnibus bar. Gang, I think it's only right we come back and check out the finished product after our efforts. Who's in?

Annoyingly, someone (cough, me) forgot to take a before shot, so there's no photographic evidence of our work. Shame, because as Ben said, 'this is probably the best example of swarm of locust efficiency'. Still, we got a nice after shot - check out the pics attached.

Job done, we took ourselves off to the common to do a fitness session which involved dividing up into teams of five. There was a bag of exercises to complete, and whoever had collected the most slips of paper at the end won. How one team, who shall remain nameless, got three freebie passes, is unclear, but the ultimate winners came in with a massive 11 sets of exercises complete. As a reward they got to choose a game. They selected, um, a core blast.

After a series of exercises that strengthened our abs, we set off back to the BAC, with Jo, Luke and Matthew making a dash for the end. All that was left to do to mark the end of our 50th run was a few stretches and a drink at the bar to celebrate Sophie's landmark good deed.

Have a great week, Wandsworth, and see you next week for our birthday party!