Oh my GOODness i am still buzzing from tonight's run, tasks and visitors!

15 of us met at Guildhall where we welcomed newcomer Rob on tonight's run and Claire on her second run

When does a Run Trainer look very lonely? When the rest of us are just laughing at him while he thinks we are right behind. Ha Ha Ha! Good one Nicky O. However, he got us back by making us do some pretty crazy moves, see video below.

This time, we weren't following the leader...ha ha ha! #volunteering #Kingston #running #greattime #doinggood pic.twitter.com/wCxPuhqOMP

— GoodGym Kingston-upon-Thames (@GoodGymKingston) July 17, 2018

After the fun it was time for the run, off we went around Kingston only to pause for a "must have" photo opportunity on London Road with the famous red post boxes!

Ok enough messing around! Just a few more meters to Eco-op where half of the group would stay to do good. Eco-op is a worthy cause providing daytime activities for adults with learning disabilities in Kingston and the surrounding Boroughs, helping to ease social isolation and provide life skills. Our challenge for this evening was to clean the central courtyard of weeds and rubbish as well as remove the chalk from the walls and open up the main entrance which had been overgrown by bushes. The 8 runners quickly split up into pairs and set to work on every square inch of the project. We removed railings that had been taking up space, washed down all the brickwork and cleared away all the rubbish to make it safer for the clients who visit. We were a wonderful whirlwind of activity and before we knew it the courtyard was sparkling, bushes were tamed and the task was complete!

The rest of the group ran on a bit further to Eden Walk to the new British Heart Foundation store. Which will be the largest BHF store in the country and we are predicting the largest charity shop! This was the old Primark and BHS site so it is BIG! and it needs to be , they have an amazing array of stuff that has kindly been donated, some of it brand spanking new! So its big, really big and therefore we got our steps in and kept Strava on!

At the shop we were free to "merchandise" , setting out the products so they would look appealing to the customer. Our tactics included matching cushions with corresponding colours on sofas, arranging display pieces ( which included mini London Road phone boxes) and placing two deer door stops in a welsh dresser ....beautiful! The store will be opening on 31st July.

We just made it back in time to be greeted by Paddington the puppy! A lovely way to end a great night.

Looking forward to next week already. Can Paddington come again?

We really got into the swing of things tonight.... pic.twitter.com/B1JU5F8F5z

— GoodGym Kingston-upon-Thames (@GoodGymKingston) June 12, 2018

What a night!!! "Young men" and young women gathered....22 of them at the Guildhall tonight.

After some fancy running drills and LOTS of laughter alongside , we ran along the river to the YMCA Hawker Centre who are a buzzing family centre in Kingston offering children's activities, soft play, group exercise classes, a great gym and much more. YMCA is a global charity and provides support and accommodation for those vulnerable in our community as well as offering so many activities and education for youth and families.

And they are off! Great night tonight #Kingston pic.twitter.com/FzWitNcO4I

— GoodGym Kingston-upon-Thames (@GoodGymKingston) June 12, 2018

Our task at the Hawker Centre was to wash their gym windows, staff members Richard, Zoe and Memory were incredibly welcoming and had laid out buckets of water, cloths and sponges for us. We all grabbed tools and got to work recieving some interesting looks from the fitness crowd in the gym as we practiced our plyometric jumps to reach the top of the window pane....no pane no gain eh! As advised by Mark we were working anterior deltoid, pec major, quadriceps and ...I can't spell it so I will just write "Calves" (there were others too). So really, was the gym inside or outside tonight?

Because of "many hands making light work" some of us also did some weeding. We battled some evil looking plants in order to get the flower bed clear and make room for the summer flowers to bloom.

Richard and Zoe were delighted we came, stating they normally clean the windows by "waiting for rain" . They also gave us a sneak preview of a future task which just looks like AMAZING fun! (soft play area is all I am saying!)

As we ran back along the river a few talked about how in such a short time of Goodgym Kingston being set up they are already starting to feel the benefits. These ranged from feeling fitter, more toned but more than this was the feeling of mindsulness from engaging in a task and then also the social aspect of enjoying a good run with a great group.

It was a grear task and a great group doing good...as Toby stated..."we smashed those windows!" (is this the pun to finish?)

In news this week we celebrated some runners taking part in recent races as well as mentioning the Richmond Run Fest in September, places go fast so sign up quick, you can do that here.

Welcome to new runners Laura and Jacob , great to see those back for a second run with us - from memory - Anita, Kate, Fionn, Andrew, Nicky, Xander, Amy. Apologies if I have missed anyone.

Bored sitting in on a Tuesday night, watching the same thing on the TV? Why not come and have some fun and run with us!
Tuesdays 6.45pm, at the Guildhall, Kingston#running #volunteering #goodgym #kingston #doinggood #goodfun #makeadifference pic.twitter.com/b1FyqNamZW

— GoodGym Kingston-upon-Thames (@GoodGymKingston) June 12, 2018

Setting off through Kingston market square #kingston #Goodgym #doinggood

Tuesday nights, 6.45pm, meet at the Guildhall Kingston pic.twitter.com/axeNuC6paD

— GoodGym Kingston-upon-Thames (@GoodGymKingston) June 5, 2018

Kingston Goodgym hit our 4th run this week, and 19 of us got involved in helping out in a spot of gardening beside the river in the sun.

We started off, as ever with one of Mark's 'not too taxing’ taxing warm-ups making sure we were raring to go. Our first run was 2.9km through Kingston town centre and up and around a local park, stopping for a quick group workout of squats, push ups, lunges and some 'non’ Burpees (they were close, but not quite!)

They are not burpees, but rather a burpee variation #GGKingston #tonight #tuesdays #guildhall #activekingston #getfitbydoinggood #kingston #burpees #fitness pic.twitter.com/HpAG3TR7nt

— GoodGym Kingston-upon-Thames (@GoodGymKingston) June 5, 2018

When we arrived at Hogsmill Community Garden we were taken aback by the gorgeous garden hidden from the roads. Luckily for us they had a lot for us to do! From repotting sunflowers, to moving compost, moving topsoil, raking and even some old faithful weeding....at one point we even had 2 wheel barrows on the go (proper task!) We were lucky enough to have Julie and Brian meet and greet us, give us some great instructions and then "oh my" a cup of tea! How lucky were we (yes there were even biscuits!) They gave us a great insight to the challenges a community garden faces and it's a credit to them how well it is established now nestled snugly in the Kingston community. The intention now is to extend the use of the facility for therapeutic means to assist those that are under GP referral for such a form of therapy.

After the talk and a final dunk of my soggy biscuit, it was time to head back so just shy of 1km run back to Guildhall, we, had a thorough stretch and gave ourselves a high five (some even stretched to a beer!)

Our numbers are strong but we always want more people to run with us! Do feel free to suggest as potential task owners to Mark.

Next week sees us running along the river to the Kingston borders where we will help the might YMCA. A big shout out tonight for all of those on their second run with Kingston, good to have you back. Welcome to new runners, Anita, Xander and Amy as well as visitors Beth and Debs - what a team we have.

Oh what fun we had tonight! #jumpingsquats #plyo #fitnessfun #fitness #goodgym pic.twitter.com/CAAeWthbHw

— GoodGym Kingston-upon-Thames (@GoodGymKingston) June 5, 2018