What a glorious morning we had at Mycenae Gardens yesterday! After joining a post Junior Parkrun coffee with those double deeding heroes amongst us, we had a warm up and quick discussion on what we're looking forward to this winter. Answers ranged from mulled wine to winter being over!

Twelve runners set off on the 3km run, including Roshan who completed his first ever good deed with us - great to have you along Roshan! On arrival, after a briefing from the amazing Fiona we got straight to work.

The task for the day was pruning bushes and low-hanging branches, then dragging the cuttings over to the dead hedge. Everyone pitched in, weaving branches into the hedge to reinforce it and make it sturdy. Seamless teamwork and the hour flew by faster than we expected.

With the hard work done and a few thorny fingers to prove it, we rounded things off with the best reward: coffee and cake. And just when we thought the morning couldn’t get any better, Ceci choreographed some dances to make it an extra memorable session (check Instagram for those!).

I absolutely love our community and how we all bring something different to make it special 😁

Next up: This Wednesday we’ll be painting at Brooklands

On Saturday we've got Talk and Tidy with the friends of hornfair park And maintenance at Westcombe Woodlands.

Until next time! ❤️

Rachel

7 goodgym-ers met in central Woolwich on a festively chilly November evening. After a warm up & ice-breaker discussing recent movie dates, we made our way uphill to one of our favourite haunts, Dee's Childcare Nursery.

Our past tasks have included various garden projects such as putting together a tyre slide which we were happy to see is still in use.

Tonight's task was originally planned to involve putting up outdoor decorations for the childrens' Christmas party, however this was scuppered by squirrels having their own party and chewing through the lights' wires last year 🐿

So we bounced to plan B, partly dismantling a trampoline to turn it into a stage for the party. Helpfully there were plenty of crates and planks of wood around for building purposes, so we stacked and balanced and added some screws for stability. Task completed, we tested the stage with a group photo, then it was on with the show (well, a downhill run then heading home).

Thanks all & see you at the next goodgym mission! On sunday we're gardening at Mycenae and next wednesday we're painting the staff room at Brooklands Primary School.

One Monday night, two great runnings communities and three impactful tasks - what better way to kick off the week?

Last night we had the first - but definitely not the last - collab between the fabulous Monday Night Mood Booster run club and GoodGym. With so many smiles and plenty of good vibes right from the off, it was clear it was going to be a great match.

While here at GoodGym we get fit by doing good, the lovely people at the Monday Night Mood Booster run club start the week with an inclusive run around Hyde Park where people connect over a shared love of running. Join the MNMB crew every Monday and then make it a double header by coming along to GoodGym Westminster every Tuesday evening - you'll be buzzing until Friday!

We kicked off the night with some warm ups in a beautifully festive Hyde Park with MNMB's traditional celebration of the past week's achievement. Huge congratulations to Sophia for smashing a new sub one hour PB at the Nike 10km and to Steven and Simon for an amazing run at the New York marathon (complete with a photo job around the route and beers before the finish line - very impressive!).

With MNMB's run ambassadors leading the way, we ran down to St Andrew's youth club. This amazing community hub is the oldest of its kind in the world. It offers young people in the borough incredible experiences and resources, such as music, dancing, martial arts, healthy food classes, residential trips and access to the arts. It is run by Adrian, who greeted us - fresh from the House of Lords - to give us a run down of the three tasks he needed us to complete.

The first job was to tackle the very full garage, creating more space and keeping it organised for the kids. While this got underway, the second group were upstairs to take on the table challenge. Several extremely heavy tables had to be shifted and built which took not only muscle but some strategic thinking. There were some very impressive Ikea skills on display!

Meanwhile the third team were downstairs in the gym sorting out a cupboard brimming with sports gear, including some of the heaviest medicine balls we've ever seen (check out the photos to see who managed a very respectable strongman style lift!)

After 45 minutes of hard work the garage was neat and tidy, the tables were built and put away, and all the sports gear in the cupboard had been carefully organised. It was amazing to see just how much could be done with everybody working together. Great job everyone!

If that wasn't enough of a workout we just had time to take on a couple of challenges which tested our lower body and abs. First was the progressive squat hold minute before we finished with a core triathlon - it was great to see excellent form from everybody despite the groans!

Thanks so much for all the positivity, hard work and the fun and welcoming atmosphere. Special shout out the brilliant Charlie and Marcus for making it happen. It was great to team up and enjoy a Monday night full of good moods and good deeds!

Thanks to Simon for capturing photos of the night, you can check out the gallery here