50 sheds of black (and brown)

Wandsworth was on top form last night, spurred on at least in part with a task that featured JELLY BABIES and JAFFA CAKES.

But first, we had some fabulous new runners to welcome to the group – hello Chloe, Anna and Lorna! Wandsworth, give them a cheer.

Well done to Jo who sliced a tidy 30 seconds off her time on her third ever park run, and to Matthew and David who both reached that golden 50 milestone. Well done team! Hat tips also belong to Matthew Sarah and Sophie for covering the most miles this week.

Tonight’s task was a great new one at Allfarthing Primary School, and in a Wandsworth first, we even had the lovely head, Tom (ahem Mr Holmes) join us on the run to the school. It was great to have you along, sir! After Tom had told us a bit about the school, and we had done our weekly CoRUNdrum (Which seaside resort is closest to London?) we set off. With only one minor detour and a few squat stops, we arrived at the school to find the amazing PTA waiting for us with sweeties, chocolates and jaffa cakes. If we didn’t say it enough at the time, Allfarthing School, we are always happy to help out. Anytime. Seriously, just say the word.

The team split up into three groups – painting sheds in black and brown, clearing the fence of ivy, and running up and down stairs to transport bags to the bins. We were kept very well fuelled throughout the tasks – turns out a sugary high is great for our work ethic. It was a lovely place to help out, surrounded by beautiful playgrounds, a teletubby hill and a vast expanse of astroturf which we were allowed to borrow to do a quick fitness session. This included doing a Core Triathlon – three segments of ‘swimming’ planks, bicycle crunches and mountain climbers – followed by a set of sprints. Before we left for the run home, the PTA let us know that every Tuesday morning at 7:45 Allfarthing Running Club meets to take students on a local run, and very kindly invited us to join them. Drop me an email if you’d like more details.

With the Wandsworth playlist turned up high, we began the run back to the BAC. Feel free to add any songs to the list for our aural pleasure – you can find it here: https://open.spotify.com/user/monsieurbullfrog/playlist/1vkh31Mku1qkU3nPYkJLRm. After a nice push on that last hill, we had a good stretch with several people cracking the CoRUNdrum, knowing that Southend on Sea is the closest resort to London. Thanks to Vicki who sent us that one all the way from Oz! Thanks also to Jen for the ace pun this week. Keep 'em coming! Don’t forget if the London Marathon inspired you yesterday that the ballot opens on May 2nd – get in there quick. We have the GoodGym Olympics on June 10th – entry is now live so make sure you sign up here!. Wandsworth FTW!

Next week is bank holiday but we will be running because doing good don’t stop. Of course we’ll celebrate with a couple of drinks afterwards, as all work and no play makes for sad Wandsworthians. You can sign up here:

https://www.goodgym.org/happenings/a-spot-of-doing-good