Some excellent news to start off our Monday evening yesterday - give yourself a big round of applause GoodGym Wandsworth for raising a huge £77 from our cake sale after the run a couple of weeks ago for Paul's Cancer Support Centre. Amazing job!

There was also some great running this weekend, from parkruns all around the country and some great PBs. A special mention to Steph for running her first ever 10k - way to go!

Don't forget we're doing the Tooting Common parkrun takeover on 17th November - loads of roles up for grabs, including marshalls, pacing, token collector, tail walker and more. Sign up here to let us know you're coming!

Light bulb moments

After our warm up last night, we did a quick survey to find out which one tip we'd give a tourist visiting London for the first time - getting on a boat, seeing the Shard, doing the parks, and coming on a GoodGym run - before heading to our task.

Our job last night was for the amazing Kambala Cares project. This award winning residents' association improve life for local people of the Kambala Estate, creating strong links in the community, supporting local businesses, charitable organisations and community projects and taking isolated residents on trips. They are a non-profit organisation, run solely by volunteers who are committed to supporting the local community, and we were happy to lend a hand to clear raised beds and plant bulbs for spring.

After a short run down there we met with Donna, the chairperson of the organisation, and other local residents waiting with tools, gloves, and a whole trolley full of bulbs! Straight away we got into teams, and while one group swept and cleared leaves, the other groups got on with the digging and planting. Half an hour passed and we were still working on our first lot of beds so after a nearly unanimous vote to forego the fitness session (I won't take it personally, honest!) we carried on with the task and realised that the digging in itself was enough of a workout! Even after the extra time, we realised we were not going to get it all done, so agreed with the lovely Donna that we'd come back next week to finish the job!

After a quick run back to base with Andrew and John leading, there was just time for a few stretches. Next week I'm on my hols so excellent Lambeth trainer Katie will be leading you guys back to the estate to plant some more bulbs. You can sign up here for another night of GoodGym fun - and for those of you worrying (and I know you are) - I will let Katie know you had to do without a fitness session last night and see if she'll put a special double lot on for you next Monday!

It was an extra special cakey night in Wandsworth yesterday, as we had a bake sale after the run to raise money for Paul's cancer Support centre. Last week was the Macmillan Cancer Support cake morning across the UK, so we thought we'd join in with our own event for a local cancer support centre that we have volunteered at as a group at in the past, and which does so much for the community. It was hard to resist the scent of delicious baked goodness, but first we had a run to do!

News you can use

It's monthly social time! This Thursday we'll be meeting up in Islington from 6:30 to discuss all things GoodGym, pun and running related. Click here to sign up and for all the details.

Well done to everybody that raced this weekend - if you're up for a challenge this coming Saturday, Herne Hill Harriers are putting on a 6 mile cross country in Streatham. Local, well organised, and a bargain entry too.

Welcome to Lucy, whose first group run was last night - give her a cheer!

No half-baked efforts here

Our job tonight was at a local school that is creating an incredible hidden garden for the pupils. They are doing all the work themselves and raising the money for it from fundraising - it's a huge project but one that will see created a lovely and educational area for the children to use all year round.

As we were warming up ready for the short run down to the site, we voted on the best cake out there. Cheesecake and chocolate cake were the outright winners, with a paltry two votes for the classic Victoria sponge!

We made it down there in good time to find Barry the caretaker waiting for us with jobs and tools, and got stuck straight in. Dividing up into groups we shifted tyres and paving slabs, moved fences, wood and other bits and pieces, cut back prickly bushes and prepared things for recycling. After the task was done we got a little talk from Barry about the future of the garden, but if you want to find out more check out this link to the project. We'll be back next week to tackle more jobs, so bring your headtorch if you have one!

After a shortish run back to base we took advantage of the newly opened road at the back of the BAC to tackle some conditioning and hill sprints. Seven minutes might not sound that long, but when you're switching up squats, planks, and lunges with tough hill reps, it can feel like an eternity. This is really great for your general fitness though - the reps against resistance increase your endurance, power and muscle elasticity while the conditioning exercises are great for strength and therefore preventing injury. Excellent to see you all putting in maximum effort and working so hard!

All that was left was a nice long stretching session and then CAKE. Thank you so much for all your efforts - I'll let you know how much we raised once I hear back from Paul's Cancer Support. Next week we're back to the school, see you then!

Another Monday night in Wandsworth, another chance to meet up with some ace people, make a real difference in the community and to knock out a few planks.

And it was a extra special one because we celebrated the 50th good deed of one Ms Morag - that's a huge amount of doing good and commitment to others. Way to go!

Hannah, Karen, Zoe, Emily, Hannah and Charlotte all came for their first GoodGym run last night - people, give them a massive cheer!

Before our task tonight we popped outside to knock out a warm up which fired up our muscles and got us thinking about coordination and balance ahead of the run. We also did a quick poll to find out which object we simply could not live with out. It quickly became apparent that food and drink topped the list (with beer, wine, cheese and peanut butter the hot favs) and as well as our indispensable phone, Helen's hugs, and trainers, we had a very sweet moment from one corner of the group who decided they could not manage without eachother. Ahh!

Our job tonight was at Bramford Community Garden, which is managed by volunteers and especially Sha - a tireless lady who can often be found gardening into the night with the aid of a headtorch in order to make the garden a nice place for everybody to be. So, after a 2.5 km run down there we found her waiting for us with gloves and a list of jobs.

While a big group got stuck into picking up the many, many cigarette butts (non-biodegradable!) and scraps of plastic around the garden, a few people used troughs to fetch water from across the road for the desperate trees and plants. Other jobs included crushing cans for recycling - universally agreed to be a great stress reliever and perfect for a Monday!

After half an hour of hard work, we got stuck into our fitness session, which last night focussed on conditioning exercises for three main parts of our body - arms, legs and core. Many press ups, plié squats, planks and bridge lifts later we left the garden behind and made our way back to the BAC. Great work everybody!

Next week is a bank holiday, but we will still be running to a local rooftop garden. What better way to spend it?! Sign up here to do good and get fit on your day off [https://www.goodgym.org/happenings/lending-a-hand-at-rooftop-community-garden]!

With 44 runners ready to run to an amazing community café, we kicked off the week good and proper last night.

We had some great parkrunning over the weekend from the Wandsworth troops - don't forget to wear your tshirt if you're heading to a parkrun this weekend, and you'll be almost guaranteed to find another GG buddy there!

Nicola, Flora, Chris, Matt, Olivia and Martynas all came for their very first GoodGym group run and for that they deserve a massive cheer. Well done!

Before our run down to Caius House, an amazing community youth centre, we had a warm up outside the rapidly refurbishing BAC. After getting our heart rates up, we asked everybody to tell the group one nice thing they planned to do this week. From treating friends to meals, to ringing elderly relatives, to making a cup of tea for flatmates and baking cakes, you lovely lot have a week full of kindness ahead of you.

With a shortish run we set off down the hill, and it really is heartwarming to see the general public's reactions to the sight of almost 50 runners streaming through the streets of Wandsworth on their way to do good. We soon arrived and met Aisling from the Grub Club waiting for us with a list of jobs.

There were lots of painting jobs to do, so we split into teams to tackle furniture, walls and those lovely murals, while one massive group set about giving the kitchen a huge clean ready for the café's upcoming inspection ahead of the big opening. The Grub Club will run free after-school cooking courses for disadvantaged families who wish to improve their cooking skills, confidence and knowledge, and we've been helping them set up this brilliant initiative for a little while now. With the opening in sight, Aisling has promised us an invitation, so watch this space!

With all the jobs done, we enjoyed the watermelon and cola bottles that the Grub Club had laid out as a reward, and headed off for a nearby park for a quick fitness session. Dividing up into small groups we took it in turns doing sprints and thinking up fiendish exercises for the rest of the group to do. After that we nailed a little abs blast featuring a variety of planks, before heading back up that hill to the BAC.

Great job everybody! Next week we have a massive community garden to help out - sign up here.

The past two years have flown by in a blur of gardening, painting, human chains, cleaning, sanding and many, many squats. Last night we celebrated our second birthday in Wandsworth!

In this time we have done a colossal

3707 good deeds

184 jobs for older people

62 runs to our coaches

37 413 kms run in the process

That is pretty inspiring stuff!

It was a first group run for a some lovely people. Put your hands together and give a huge cheer for Alice, Emily, Alex, Isabelle, Rebecca, and Emma!

A huge shout out to Anil who reached a very special milestone last night, having clocked up a massive 50 deeds. Next time you see him in his black 50 tshirt, give him a high five for all the good he's done! A special mention should be given to Matthew who has not missed one single Wandsworth group run since we very first began. Way to go!

It was also lovely to have some great GG tourism from Lewisham, Hounslow, Westminster, Haringey and Lambeth - great to see you all!

Our task last night was a very well timed one given the ongoing heat. We had been asked by Leonard Cheshire, a fantastic organisation in Battersea that supports disabled people, to come and wash their fleet of mobility buses. So after a nice steady mile run down, we arrived to find buckets and sponges and a list of jobs to do.

While half the group got started getting those buses squeaky clean, and themselves a little dirtier, two other sets of runners got stuck into sorting out the garden and washing windows respectively. Forty minutes later, the place was looking much tidier, and we could see our hot and sweaty faces in the shining buses! Setting off for the park we were even 'treated' to a surprise watery ambush by Chi and Andrew from behind the fence. Naughty!

After a little jog over to the park, we eschewed the usual fitness session for a series of party games that still managed to get our hearts pounding. There was some excellent action from the ladies in the biggest British Bulldog game of all time, so amazing super strong Planking lions, and a semi successful game of Blob Tag.

All that was left was a run back to base, a good stretch and then to head over to the common to celebrate our birthday with a special Wandsworth picnic. There were laughs, there was cake, there were party poppers and hats!

Here's to you, GoodGym Wandsworth, for making our borough proud and putting so much into doing good. Happy birthday!

ps our special birthday video will be making an appearance on twitter and facebook, so keep an eye out for it!

After a few weeks of sweaty running it had cooled down a bit and we had some pretty perfect conditions for our group run last night.

Lots of lovely new faces joined us for their very first GoodGym run. Welcome to the gang Seb, Wendy, David, Karen, Claire and Evan, great to have you with us!

During our warm up we asked the question, 'what one thing should everybody do at least once in their lifetime?' Some of the answers were super sweet - telling your family you love them, falling in love, learning to love yourself, and finding the thing that makes you happy - while others were more adrenaline-fuelled - visit Malaysia and Ireland, jump out of a plane, travel the world ...and come on a GoodGym run of course!

Our task was just a short run away at a local school, so we set off at a fair lick, and helped along by the nice downhill first leg, we were there in no time at all. Our job was to carry over several dozen bags of compost, and transport lots of rubbish back so that the beautiful hidden garden the kids use to grow their own plants is a safe area.

Judith and Ella started off the human chain, and before long we were working like clockwork, and the back of the greenhouse was getting clearer and safer by the minute. Meanwhile, other groups started on the weeding and composting, and trying to resist the temptation of the very good looking raspberries growing nearby.

After 40 minutes of work, we had managed to clear the overcrowded bits of the garden, with the headteacher letting us know how grateful she was that such a big job had been done for her in record time. Well done team!

After such a short run we needed a tough fitness session, so ran over to the nearby park to get working hard. Tabata is the perfect workout for when we're a bit strapped for time - this kind of short but high intensity training really has a positive impact on our aerobic systems and our endurance. With eight rounds of 20 seconds hard work, featuring burpees, spidermans, shuffle squats and high knees, we certainly got our heart rates up. Nice going!

However, it wasn't over until we attacked that last hill, so after a ten minute run back, we finished off the night with an extra bit of work. Another Monday evening of fun and doing good done!

Next week we have a very special occasion to mark - it's our SECOND BIRTHDAY! Come and help us celebrate two whole years of doing good with a picnic on the common after our run. Sign up here, bring along your fav snack and tipple, and get ready for some birthday fun!

The beautiful days seem endless at the moment, adding an extra sprinkling of GG magic to our runs...

Last night we were happy to see a number of lovely new faces joining us for the first time. Give a massive cheer for Ciara, Alison, Debra, Lizzie and Emily, who cam on their first group run!

I mentioned the exciting news last week, but Gardeners' World want to film GoodGym doing their thing, and have chosen one of our favourite tasks in Wandsworth. On 1st August they will be coming to the Doddington & Rollo community roof garden, and it would be great to have as many of you there in your red GoodGym tshirts as possible! The task will be watering, weeding, shifting compost and planting, and it would be amazing to have a big Wandsworth GG crew down there to represent us on the BBC. Sign up here!

We had something very special to celebrate last night, as not one but two of our lovely GG Wandsworth team had both reached that 50 good deed milestone. Absolutely cracking work Emily and Helen, you total stars. These two have committed themselves to do good for their community, I'm pretty sure they deserve a massive cheer!

It was a two task night yesterday, so there was plenty of fun to choose from. En masse we ran over to Harding House, a residential home for deaf people. Our job there was to dig over flower beds and tidy up the garden so that the users there can enjoy the outside space during the lovely weather. So while a large group got digging, a smaller team ran further down to Bramford Community Garden to give their desperate plants a really good watering. The council had recently planted a whole load of new trees there after the community garden had campaigned for them, but the recent spell of hot weather is causing them to struggle. So with water being provided by a local Homebase and the Golden Arches across the road, we got busy ferrying canisters over to the thirsty plants.

Half an hour later we met up with the rest of the group, who by now were having a plank-off in the common, and got stuck into a game of Men V Women stuck in the mud. If you were 'got' you had to do jumping jacks until someone on your team high fived you. The first round, where the women were 'it', was over in record time in a barnstorming victory for the ladies. Was it the slightly uneven numbers, was it the speedy running? Who knows, but it was a lot of fun. We then did some plank variations, holding different plank positions for 30 seconds at a time before moving on to the next one. It's a great core workout, and as we all know, a strong core is vital for good running form.

After a hot and sweaty run back (plus hill!) we stretched it out, and moved on to the bar to celebrate Emily and Helen's excellent achievement. Next week we're running to a local primary school. Sign up here to lend a hand.