GoodGym H&F went off with a bang! Remember, remember the 5th of November, gunpowder, treason and trot....

On a chilly Tuesday evening, 14 H&F GoodGymmers forwent bonfires and instead chose to watch the bangs, pops and fizzes from firework displays on a their run to help out a local church.

A big hello and welcome along to GoodGym H&F to Melissa, thank you for coming along.

News

1. H&F Community Missions - 2 on Saturday! Help pack containers for ERASE Foundation from 9.30-10.30am, all the details are here followed bythe 'Big Planting Event' at Wormholt Park, all the details are here if you can lend a hand anytime between 11am-3pm.
2. Unofficial GG10 party 🔟🎉 - this Friday! At Topolski Bar on the Southbank. All the details are here.
3. GG Christmas party 🎄🎉 - Friday 6th December. Places are limited so make sure you sign up early! All the details are here.

There was some brilliant racing at the weekend....well done to Katie and Eloise in the Richmond Half and to Lucy in the Billericay Striders 10k 🏅🥳🙌🏼 .

Spot my mojo working

Before we headed to the streets we did a quick pulse raising warm-up that began with some high knees, jumping jacks and Johnny Wren's favourite, spotty dogs - he's definitely becoming a pro at these now! This was followed by some different movements when certain numbers were shouted out and some dynamic stretches.

Nicely warmed-up we headed down towards our task tonight at Parsons Green. With it being bonfire night and a Chelsea home game the streets were a lot fuller than normal! Following lots of weaving around pedestrians, and a brief pause for a wall sit while we waited for lights to turn green, we eventually arrived at St Dionis Church.

Orange you glad it's Autumn!

We managed to track down the church vicar, Tim who warmly welcomed everyone to the church amongst the lovely Autumnal colours of the fallen leaves. He explained to the group that tonight's task was to give the garden area and sides of the church a lovely spruce up through some leaf clearing and weed removal.

The church has been closed for refurbishment for the past 6 months and Sunday at 3pm is their grand reopening. It was our job tonight to provide the all inportant tidy up to leave a good first impression, because as Tim humourously said " you can never make a first impression again!"

No sight for saw eyes as GG H&F stand & de-leaf-er

The team gloved up and quickly set about filling green garden bags with weeds and leaves. Lucy and Jonny teamed up for the great rake off and large 'scooping hands' combo while everyone else got stuck in with their hands.

Following last week's strong winds there were a number of large fallen branches that also needed to be removed. Henry and Katie armed themselves with a saw and set about cutting the branches into smaller pieces so that they could be used as fire wood.

Raking it happen

After 30 minutes of raking, collecting handful after handful of leaves, sawing of branches and gravel de-weeding we called it a night. The result of all this hard work was 10 full garden bags and one immaculately looking garden area, one that would definitely give a great first impression!

Tim led us inside and treated us to a sneak peak of the refurbished church. And wow, it was stunning! We took the opportunity to get a team photo under the church's arches and bright lights before we said our goodbyes to Tim and headed off on our run back to base.

We'll keep you postered

En route we stopped at some local supermarkets and shops to distribute some posters for Food2You, a grocery delivery service for vulnerable, isolated older people who can't do their own shopping. It will be up and running in Hammersmith & Fulham very soon and they are currently looking for volunteers to drive the delivery vans and assist with co-ordination.

After another weavy pedestrian-avoiding run we arrived back at base. As we completed our cool down stretches we discussed upcoming races and milestones, and of course Christmas! With strectches completed and the temperature dropping, we all headed home to some much needed warmth. Thank you for tonight team, unbe-leaf-able work!

Next week we'll be helping out at Flora Gardens Primary and will be doing some more postering for Food2You. For all the details and to sign up, click here. Have a great rest of your week and weekend. Hopefully see you next week!

This week 21 glorious GoodGym-ers ran 2.8km/5.2km to sort through a local carehome's DVD collection

This week (the 25th week of GG Barnet) marks the largest ever number on a group run since we started (not including launch day)! Massive shout out to all the new faces this week, helping us smash our PB: Catherine – who actually came last week too, but I wasn't here so still counts as new! Ciara, Jo, Madeleine and Nadia. Give them all a cheer!

Also give a cheer to GG tourists Jessica and Emily! Let's see if we can smash 21 next time!

After a quick warm up by the cinema and several attempts at a number circle, we were off to the Hammerson care home to take on their DVD collection. Damian lead the group up the hill, while I back-marked. It was a real short run but a real steep hill, taking us 1.4km to the home. Once inside, activities co-ordinator Chris offered us water, biscuits and chocolate before telling the team the task. With multiple stations to work through, the team split into groups. Jody took the opportunity to mentally extend her To-Watch list as she sorted through the care home's goldmind of classics.

With such huge numbers we were able to speed through the collection in record time! Heather kindly volunteered to take the team photo as we posed behind our mountain of CDs.

It was then time for the fitness session. Chris let us use the rec room again, which was such a pleasure. Doing the fitness session indoors is wonderful – especially on that soft carpet! A few of the team opted to help some of the residents organise some jewellry, while a couple of the others sat down for a chat. Everyone else joined me for what I like to call the Animal Olympics.

We started nice and gently with the Inch Worm, then worked our way through several different animals, incorporating matching bodyweight exercises at the other side. Chris and Heather were the speediest of the bunch. They picked up some incredible pace on some of those animal walks. Paul requested we include the Aligator Walk (which was actually more like the Spider-Man, if you ask me) and the Shrimp – and even suggested the team all do some burpees. I love when you all request burpees of your own accord. I knew you were learning to love them! Paul also had some smashing plyo pushups, which definitely deserve a cheer!

We soon finished the animal races, said our goodbyes and headed back to base. I took a group back the way we came: 2.8km in total. Damian took the others the scenic route: 5.2km in total. Massive props to Nadia for choosing the long run – today was her first ever run! Super impressive!

Two trusty favourites crowned as this week's Barnet Biscuit: Oreos and Chocolate Chip Cookies. (Thanks, Freya!)

See you next week when we run to Archer Acadamy to build a pond

Pennie

P.S. Thanks for the headline this week, Damian!