6 wonderful goodgymmers ran 4.5km to help promote goodgym in Ealing!

It was a sad day for many as it was the first day back at work after all the festivities! However this didn't stop this hardcore bunch from getting out there and smashing the first run of the year. A big welcome to Manvir who came along for the first time and did an amazing job especially with all the squats in the middle! And welcome back Gaia, so glad you are back and running with us again!

We started off with a jog along good old Gordon Street heading towards West Ealing and the Salvation Army building in a bid to introduce ourselves! Sadly they weren't open so we posted a flyer and got to work doing some squats...10 body weight squats, 10 pulse squats and 10 squats with a 10 second squat hold...a nice little quad burner for everyone and, of course, squats make you better at running!!

We then took a nice jaunt around West Ealing, flyering into all the charity shops and getting a bit of obstacle work through the busy streets! We managed to fit in a few 'round the world' lunges working on proprioception and unilateral training before arriving back at Haven Green for some final bodyweight exercises and balance work; single leg deadlifts, lunges, hip mobility and a few nice stretches. We discussed the merits of yoga as an aid to running (and life in general) and before we new it, boom, the first run of 2017 was over!

So if running with an awesome group of people and working on improving your form, balance and general fitness sounds good to you...join us on the next run! We have a starter session this Saturday and sign up to next Tuesday's run here I can't wait to see you there!

42 runners went to Vauxhall Foodbank to sort a MEGA Christmas delivery. Phew!

It was a MEGA turnout in Lambeth last night with runners old and new gathering for a run to the lovely Vauxhall Foodbank. They had spent 3 days over the weekend asking shoppers to buy and donate one item of food from their list and the public had been very generous. The Foodbank supports individuals and families who are in sudden crisis over a short period with food donations. Christmas is a key time for families in need and we always enjoy helping them out.

We split into two groups and headed off to Vauxhall. One group took the shorter route of about 3km each way and the others headed off on a longer version. Once we arrived, the lovely Faith gave us an intro and we got down to the sorting.

There was so much food that we ran out of crates and had to use the cardboard boxes to store everything in. Some people did some excellent labelling and others did tremendous packing. All in all it was a massive effort and we look forward to hearing exactly how much we weighed in - it must have been a record!

I wonder if we made a weigh-in record?! Wondered everyone

On the way back we ran in three groups - the relaxed runners set off, leaving the other two groups to finish weighing and squash any unneeded boxes. The entirely mediocre group 2 headed off next: would we be equal to grade C+or a B? Who knows.....

Finally the speedy group took to the streets and headed home for some stretches and a well earned dinner. Great work team and thanks for coming. We made a massive difference tonight.

18 GoodGym-ers ran 4km to help a children's centre this week

We broke GG Barnet records yet again this week with 18 people showing up to run – the most people to date (not including launch night)!

Big shout out to Graham, Lara and Eleanor who all joined us for the first time this week! Be sure to click their names and give them a cheer!

After a quick intro inside the cinema, we went outside to warm up the side road. It's always important to warm up properly to make sure our muscles and joints are ready for the task ahead. It was a nice easy run this week to Newstead, a nearby children's centre, to paint the hall. We ran 1.4km there, with Hazel our trusty backmarker.

Teje was there to meet us, armed with all the painting essentials and a box of biscuits! The team blitzed the first coat of paint in the hall in 15 minutes, leaving plenty of time for our fitness session in the back room. Today the focus was on agility, strength and conditioning, starting with some duck walks and knee tag games and finishing with some press-ups, crunches and jumpning squats. There were obviously also some burpees, because everybody loves burpees.

Thanks to Hazel for taking lots of pictures during the workout!

We then said our goodbyes and ran back to base, splitting off into two groups and taking a slightly longer (2.5km) route back. Damian and Mark lead the speedy lot back while I lead the less speedy group. Paul was my trusty back-marker on the way back, with Eleanor and Freya navigating the back roads of Finchley for me.

The run back was pretty much all up hill, so kudos to everybody for doing so brilliantly.

The Barnet Biscuit of the week: Freya's homemade gingerbread polar bears

We also had the biscuits from Newstead AND a box of chocolate fingers that my gran gave to Hazel on Sunday after a mission to clean her greenhouse.

We have two missions in Barnet this weekend. If you're already DBS checked you can sign up: Help deliver fliers for the Safer Neighbourhoods Team in High Barnet on Saturday (who have promised biscuits to any volunteers – unprompted) and clear the way for Ms D's carers on Sunday also in High Barnet.

If you're not DBS checked yet, just bring some ID and proof of address (two of one and one of the other) along to next week's run. We'll be flyering for a local christmas fair. We'll also be going to the pub afterwards for some food.

The following week will be the last GG Barnet of the year – running to set up SANTA'S GROTTO. And the Phoenix will be providing Mince Pies and wine for us when we return to the cinema.

See you next week!