It took a lot of bottle to clear the river, but we were shore up for it

It was so great to see so many of you lovely GoodGymers from other areas coming along to the group run in Hounslow last night. That's one of the best things about GoodGym - you're guaranteed buddies up and down the country!

A huge GoodGym welcome to Charlotte and to Claire who came along to their first group run last night - lovely to have you with us.

A little reminder that next Thursday it is the monthly GoodGym social, and it is a particularly special one because it's the first time we will be hosting it, along with the lovely Ealing and Hammersmith groups. Not one to be missed - sign up here for all the fun.

At GoodGym we have a partnership with the fabulous Parkrun, and as I know so many of you are Saturday morning warriors, this piece in yesterday's Guardian might prove interesting - particularly the bit with the quote from the Old English poem The Battle of Maldon:

“Our spirits must be firmer, our hearts stronger / And our courage greater as our strength diminishes.” Heads bow, before the shout goes up: “Let’s run!”

On that note, we headed outside to start our own run with a warm up that focused on our coordination and balance before upping our heart rate and waking up our muscles. Plus a little bit of advice from us all. What techniques do you use to combat that moment when you're out on a run and your brain is telling you to stop? For us it's the thought of a cup of tea and biscuits, keeping a goal in mind, visualising catching the runner in front, singing a song, running through our day in detail, taking a short cut, counting our steps or imagining we're at the Olympics. Why not give them a go next time you're flagging!

We set off together for our run down to Kew Bridge, stopping once to keep the group together and do a few planks while we were at it. We found Paul waiting for us at our meeting place, who explained that at the Thames Tidefest this weekend an amazing organisation called the Whale Company will be sailing a paddleboard they've made from plastic bottles retrieved from the river to highlight the problem of pollution. We were also meant to building a path down to the river but unfavourable conditions (mud up to our ankles) got in the way of that.

We collected an incredible (and somewhat depressing) number of bottles from the shoreline, and even found an actual message in one of them! The message itself was a little sad, but it still made it's way up onto the noticeboard where hopefully it will stand a salutary tale - if you're planning on sending a message in a bottle out to sea, make sure it isn't in plastic!

Job done, we ran back in two groups, one slightly longer than the other, and finished off the night with a set of circuits with varying options of difficulty. With one final high intensity round of 15 seconds per station and no break between them, it was hard work, but everyone worked to the max. Well done team.

Next week we have a short run to tidy up the flowerbeds and rockery at Turnham Green but will be making up for it with a lovely fitness session! Until then, run happy everyone.