This week we headed back to the beautiful grounds of Chiswick House, where we visit regularly to keep this historic green space looking its best. It helps keep the gardens and grounds free for everyone to enjoy, and it is always rewarding to know that an hour or so of work has a lasting impact on a community space.

A special welcome to Emma, who joined us for her very first GoodGym Hounslow session! Great to have you join us.

After a warm up and a quick run, we met up with the rest of the group, grabbed our tools and got straight to work on two important conservation tasks.

Our first job was tackling epicormic growth—the shoots that sprout from the trunks and lower branches of trees. While these shoots are a natural response to stress, they divert energy away from the healthy canopy and can affect the tree's long-term health. Removing them helps put energy where it's needed most.

Our second task was trimming back the browse line—the lower branches that create a neat line beneath the tree canopy. The name comes from the height at which deer naturally browse leaves in woodland. Maintaining this browse line improves visibility and allows more light to reach the ground, supporting a greater variety of plants and wildlife.

As always, there was plenty of conversation while we worked. Topics ranged from upcoming races and ambitious cycling adventures to remarkable hospital coincidences and plenty of plans for future events. Time flies when you're catching up with good company!

With an impressive number of trees tended to, we headed over to the estate yard for fitness. Tonight it was Tabata - a high-intensity interval workout consisting of short bursts of hard work followed by brief recovery periods. It's fast, energetic and efficient. There were plenty of laughs, lots of determination, and some truly impressive squats on display!

Next week we're off to help at a local school. Hope to see lots of you there! Sign up here for all the details

Last night GoodGym Westminster combined food rescue with community outreach. The evening started with an unexpected bonus – bumping into Brenda on her way to Gail's! After a quick hello, I headed off to Hyde Park to meet Khai, and together we ran back to reunite with Brenda outside Gail's Bakery for GoodGym Westminster's first food rescue from this location.

There was a little bit of confusion to begin with but once we'd cracked the issue, we successfully rescued three bags of perfectly good food that would otherwise have gone to waste.

Our next stop was to meet Under One Sky, a charity that supports people experiencing homelessness by providing essential items, food, hot drinks and compassionate outreach. Their volunteers head out onto the streets to build trusted relationships with rough sleepers, offering practical help alongside signposting to longer-term support services. In Westminster, where rough sleeping remains one of the biggest challenges facing the borough, organisations like Under One Sky provide a vital lifeline for people who are often isolated and in crisis.

The second challenge of the evening was finding the team, who were already on the move with their trolley full of food and hot drinks! After a bit of tracking them down, we caught up, handed over the rescued goodies, and had a great chat about making this a regular Tuesday evening partnership.

Our collaboration that ticks every box: delicious food is rescued instead of being wasted, and it reaches people who can really benefit from it the very same evening.

No food waste, more people fed - a real win-win.

Another fantastic Monday night in Wandsworth saw us back at the Gwyneth Morgan Day Centre. The centre provides vital support, activities and companionship for older people in the local community, helping to reduce isolation and enabling people to stay active and independent. Keeping the outdoor spaces looking welcoming makes a real difference to everyone who visits.

First up, there was plenty to cheer about. We chatted about Josh Kerr's incredible 1500m world record at the weekend, before giving a huge round of applause to Felix, who absolutely smashed his PB at the recent London 10km. Amazing running! We also got to welcome Fliss to her first group session - so lovely to have you join us.

After the warm up, we headed out to meet the rest of the crew at the Age UK Wandsworth centre.

Once there, we split into teams and got straight to work. There was weeding, spreading compost, sweeping paths, tidying up huge areas of the garden and plenty of general gardening. But the most coveted task of the evening in this hot weather? Washing the mobility bus! Naturally, the hose had its usual ideas about how the evening should go, but after the customary battle with the equipment, everyone got stuck in (with a few extra splashes over the side of the fence...purely in the interest of keeping everyone cool, of course).

By the time we packed everything away, the transformation was obvious. The garden looked so much tidier, brighter and well loved, and the freshly cleaned bus was gleaming. It's the kind of difference that the centre's users will notice when they come in today.

With the task complete, it was time to raise the heart rates with a Tabata session. Twenty seconds of hard work followed by ten seconds of rest—simple, brutally effective and guaranteed to get everyone working! We rounded things off with a squat challenge and finished on happily wobbly legs.

Well done to everyone for another brilliant evening of running, positive impact and fitness.

Don't forget our big 10-year anniversary party on the 10th—keep an eye out for the sign-up link coming soon.

Next week we're back at Larkhall with Sophie. Sign up and all the details you need right here