It was lovely to see faces old and new, from GoodGym Hounslow and beyond tonight for our Wednesday run.  We started off the night with some news:

• Congratulations to Matt who earned himself a new personal best half marathon time last weekend 

• Welcome to David who came along for his first group run tonight - great to meet you!

• Look out for the Fareshare, a food poverty charity, and GoodGym community missions like this one happening in Wimbledon which are happening all over London. 

After a warm up we asked what the first object we would rescue in a fire - answers ranged from photos, to paintings, to bottles of wine and, perhaps the best suggestion - a fire extinguisher. Makes sense!

We set off for our task of the night which was at Cultivate London. This brilliant urban farm and social enterprise in West London repurposes disused land and trains unemployed young people in landscaping and horticulture. So after a good run down there where we stopped for a just a few minutes to let a train pass and do some wall sits ("I love it when you humiliate us in public" - Remy) we arrived at the site.

There was a bit of a false start as we struggled to find the entrance of somewhere we'd been several dozen times before, but eventually we got in to find a genuinely enormous pile of plastic pots which we had been asked to sort. Auberon, who manages the site, had asked us to put them in correct sizes so that they could be used again.

After 25 minutes of sorting, one dodgy human chain and several hundred marginally different sized plant pots Lindsay declared time, and so after a photo op and a run back to base it was time to do some fitness.

We kicked off the session with a pacing exercise, before moving onto alternating laps of sprinting with conditioning. It was tough going but there was some great running and impressive form - great work.

Next week we're off to a new task at a school to help with various jobs, including shifting stones and some clearing. Hope to see you there. Until then, run happy!

It was party night in Hounslow yesterday as we celebrated three whole years of doing good and getting fitter.

In that time we have planted trees, painted scout huts, picked plastic along the river, learnt how to prune roses, shifted several tonnes of soil, dug flower beds, weeded (and weeded and weeded), delivered leaflets and litter picked. In some of our stranger tasks we have even transported bamboo across Chiswick, washed baptismal pools, cleaned murals and dug in the snow!

Over three years you amazing people have clocked up a whopping

1772 good deeds!

We've also run countless miles, entered races, finished first marathons, done many parks runs, got PBs over all the distances, and gone to the pub together a lot. Perhaps most importantly, we've made new friends.  Here's to the next three years and all we'll achieve at GoodGym Hounslow!

We started off the celebrations with sweets, party hats, balloons and congratulations to Andy and to Mikaela for a 5km and half marathon PB respectively. Brilliant running. 

After our birthday themed warm up, we discussed what we'd most like for our next birthday as a present. Some were more attainable than others, from chocolate and wine, to a brewery, time machine and summer.

Our task for the night was at a local school that are creating a green wall to protect the children from the air pollution which is a real problem in the area. So we set off at a good pace, and arrived after a few pit stops for tricep dips and squats, to find Kate, a member of the PTA, and headteacher Debra waiting for us.

We got straight to work weeding and clearing the borders ready for the trees, and got the job done in no time at all - next week we're back at the same place to plant the 25 hawthorns and spread wood chip. Sign up here to get involved.

After a run back to base it was time for a birthday party themed fitness session. We started off with Over and Under, which the aptly named Team Winner won, then moved onto Squat Squat Goose which saw some suspect moves, followed by Planking Lions (with a fantastic show of strength from Alan, Naveed and Alex), and finishing off with Stuck in the Mud.

Happy Birthday GoodGym Hounslow!

The rain had finally stopped last night, but that wasn't the only thing we had to celebrate in Hounslow...

• It was Luis' 100th good deed! Thats a lot of miles, doing good, fitness session and even a few trips to the pub. Well done Luis!

There had been some great racing over the weekend -

• Congratulations to Alan and JP for doing the Ealing Half, and to Andy at the Great Windsor half.

Don't forget if you're on the lookout for a new pair of runners and are done with your old ones, you can trade them in at Runners Need for a £20 voucher off shiny new shoes and a nice sense of wellbeing that your old ones are being recycled. Bargain.

There was a definite chill in the air last night, so we headed out for a good old warm up before setting off for our task. After getting our hearts pumping, we were feeling all autumnal and had a quick poll on our favourite soups. All the classics were there, and good old tomato came out top, and anything with cheese got a very positive response. We have very lofty and important discussions at GoodGym Hounslow.

Up to mulch this week?

It was a short run to Chiswick House and Gardens, which as a registered charity relies on support from volunteers to keep the place open to the whole community. Unfortunately, despite being warned (sorr-y!), we arrived to find our normal entrance closed but soon found another gate where staff gardener Andrew was waiting for us with a big set of keys and a list of jobs.

As well as green fingers, it turns out Andrew has a good pair of running legs on him too, so we followed at a trot to the kitchen garden where we divided into teams and tooled up. Tasks to tackle included shifting bricks and slate, spreading mulch, breaking up pallets and weeding, and we got straight to work. Unfortunately the fabulous new floodlights lasted about two minutes, so a fairly straightforward job turned into extreme weeding, but after half an hour of hard work loads got done. Andy and JP even had time for a game of big pumpkin, little pumpkin (small, or far away?).

After a short jog back to Turnham Green, there was a big fitness challenge to take on. We alternated sprints with increasing numbers of press ups or burpees - this was a real toughie so well done on giving it everything.

Next week we're off to a new task at Chiswick School allotments, where we'll be helping create an area for disadvantaged kids to use. You can find out more details and sign up here. Until then, run happy!

Another Wednesday night, another dose of doing good and getting fitter in Hounslow!

We kicked off the night with a round up of the news...

• Welcome to the group Mikaela, great to have you join us for your first GoodGym run!

• Nice work on a new marathon PB Remy

• Don't forget the GoodGym social tonight - from 6:30 at Tottenham Court Rd. It's a great chance to meet other GoodGymers, hear about all the great stuff that's been happening and have a good old knees up!

We headed outside to do a warm up where we really tested our coordination with a series of new moves, and then discussed our fave comfort foods, which included pasta, pizza, chocolate, crisps and beer. All the healthy stuff then!

Setting off on our 2km run to Cultivate London, an urban farm and social enterprise in West London which uses derelict land to train unemployed young people in landscaping and horticulture, we raced to beat that train crossing. We almost did it, and our reward was a series of wall squats and jumping jacks.

We arrived not long after to Auberon, the manager of Cultivate, waiting for us with two big jobs to do. The first was shifting compost into bags, and the group of eight got stuck in to that straight away. The second was pulling nails out of old planks so they could be repurposed into beautiful planters. This was a little more tricky as those blimming nails did not want to be parted from the planks, but with a little bit of practice and a lot of brute force the technique was soon perfected. Half way through the two groups swapped over so everybody could experience the joy of both jobs.

After 45 minutes of work we waved goodbye to Cultivate and headed back to Turnham Green where we did a six minute workout which really got our heart rates back up. Featuring jump squats, press ups and burpees, the session got progressively harder, but nobody gave up. Fantastic effort, team.

Next week we're off to Gunnersbury Park to help out with loads of jobs there. You can sign up here for another week of GoodGym fun. Until then, happy running!

It was a special night in Hounslow yesterday, and 22 runners came to celebrate!

• The excellent Thames Tradesmen Rowing Club had invited us for a land based session at the clubhouse, which we were very happy to accept. A club and a charity, the rowers encourage disadvantaged young people to be active, and improve their physical, social and mental wellbeing. They help develop crucial life skills, and enable young people to participate in rowing regardless of background, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, disability or ability.

• We welcomed some lovely GoodGym tourists from Lambeth, Brent, Hammersmith and Richmond, and cheered Sonia who came along for her very first group run – give that lady a high five!

• It was Matt and Eloise’s last session before they run off into the sunset to get married – we wish you all the best you lovely pair. Maybe your future be filled with PBs!

• On Saturday a load of GoodGymers will be helping out at Gunnersbury parkrun by filling in the volunteer roles there. Sign up here for a great opportunity to help out at this local community event.

While leading group Michelle and Sonia set off ahead of us for the rowing club, the rest of us did a warm up to get our heart rates going (with loads of squats)- and then we all told Matt and Eloise something that makes us happy ahead, just in case they wanted to introduce it in their marriage! Puppies, dancing in the kitchen, singing, more running, getting drunk together, more GoodGym – of course!

We then set off at a good steady pace towards the river. It was a beautiful night, everybody was chatting away, we were having a lovely run….I blame all of that on the reason I missed the turning and took us all on a much longer route than intended. Sorr-y! Eventually, almost 5km later, we arrived to find Pete waiting for us.

Thames Tradesmen is a very community minded organisation, as well as working to make rowing for everybody, they are also introducing loads of exciting new things including yoga on Tuesdays and even a new parkrun which means those chasing the elusive ‘X’ on their parkrun alphabet will be happy! It’s open to everybody, so have a look here to find out what’s going on.

We split the group in half, and while one group got stuck into a good litter pick around the club, the second went with Pete for the fitness session. And what a session it was! We were surprised to find out that rowing isn’t as much about the upper body as we might think, but the legs come significantly into play – good news for runners! Focussing on team work and form – both things we love at GoodGym! - the groups were taken through their paces, and Georgia and Johnny both got a chance to lead their crew as ‘the stroke’. After the groups swapped over, and bags of plastic bottles and other rubbish had been collected from around the club, Pete brought out two rowing machines for the grand finale.

The two groups had a machine each for the Great Oxford V Cambridge GoodGym boat race, and the tensions were high. The whistle blew and the two teams gave it everything, swapping members in and out. It was a very tight race – check out the video here to see who won!

We took a shorter route back in the last of the light, and finished off a very fun night with stretches. Next week we’re off to Cultivate London to help with various jobs at this charity which repurposes destitute land for good. Sign up here for all the details. Until then, happy running – and rowing!