Area Activator for Wandsworth and Hounslow. All things running. For fitness, fun, racing and to feel good - and for everybody!
65 Month Streak
106 Month Streak
Block or report Anastasia Hancock
Wandsworth
📍Battersea Arts Centre SW11 5TN
Join us for a session reaping the rewards of a summer of planting!
Mon 1st Dec at 6:30pm
Come and join us for a great session in a thriving community space
Read moreMon 3rd Nov at 6:30pm
Come and join us for a great session in a thriving community space
Read moreMon 6th Oct at 6:30pm
Come and join us for a great session in a thriving community space
Read moreMon 19th Jan 2026 at 6:30pm
Mon 8th Dec at 6:30pm
Mon 27th Oct at 6:30pm
Wed 1st Oct at 6:30pm
Wed 17th Sep at 6:30pm
Hounslow Report written by Anastasia Hancock (she/her)
What we lost in distance last night we more than made up for in productivity, positive impact and a bumper balancing session!
Our task for the evening was just across the road at Turnham Green, so we wasted no time heading over to the wild meadow where Jan from Friends of Turnham Green was waiting for us. Many of the tasks we do have an immediate impact - washing the Chiswick mural, uncovering the old pillars at Chiswick House or plastic picking at Kew Bridge, for example. This job was a little different as we were investing effort now so that come next spring, the area will - hopefully - be an amazing display of wild flowers for local people to enjoy.
Dividing up into pairs, we each took a 2 X 2 metre patch of recently mowed grass in the meadow area and began the laborious job of scarifying. For the uninitiated, this means pulling up all the loose grass and weeds to reveal the earth so that seeds can be spread. It is hard work, but ultimately satisfying - the pile of dead grass quickly grew to monster proportions.
Once that part of the task was complete, we moved on to the more delicate process of using a tablespoon to disperse the cornflower and poppy seeds far and wide. Let's keep our fingers crossed for rain to help them bed in, as if they so come up successfully next year it's going to be a glorious riot of colour.
All that was left was to use the GG red roller (very on brand) to complete their journey into the soil. Great work - can't wait to see the results!
Without a run this week we had plenty of time for a longer fitness session, this time focusing on balance for runners. And if last night was anything to go by, should Cirque de Soleil need any last minute stand-ins, GG Hounslow have plenty of candidates! As runners are constantly propelling their weight from one side to the other, good balance is important for stability and efficiency. It's definitely worth including some of the drills from last night into your weekly training.
Next week we have a new (woohoo) task. We're going to be going to a school in Brentford to help transform an overgrown space into a community growing space.
There is also a fun mission marshaling at local centenary celebrations on Saturday and setting up for a community event in a conservation area on Sunday - we definitely need a few more pairs of hands for these ones, so if you're free this weekend and want to do some good why not sign up?!
Wed 17th Sep at 5:00pm
Tue 16th Sep at 6:30pm
Westminster Report written by Anastasia Hancock (she/her)
It might not have been the task we were expecting last night, but it was certainly a job that tested our creativity and helped cheer up an important local resource - so it was gold stars all round!
It was also excellent to welcome Aman to his first GoodGym session - lovely to meet you Aman and thanks for your amazing paint mixing skills!
St Vincent's Family Project is a centre which provides support for vulnerable families. They have several projects that give priority to those most in need, including offering a family space, therapies and courses including creative art, support groups, parenting courses and healthy living courses.
We definitely leveled up our skills when we were asked to create an Autumn display for the kids area! At first there was a little trepidation - after all, this was slightly more challenging than washing the ball pit balls, which we thought we'd be doing. It didn't hold us back for long though. With Becca acting as art director, Susan taking on creating the tree, Aman mixing colours for the paints, and Dan acting as chief stapler engineer, we soon created the vision that the centre had given us.
Check out the award winning (we like to think!) design that we ended up with! It was great to get something up on the wall for the kids to enjoy - we hope!
Next week we have a more physical task helping transform an abandoned corner of an estate into a community garden. You can find out all the details and sign up right here.
Hope to see you there!
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