It was freezing, it was wet, it was dark - and yet, in true GoodGym style, a brilliant crew gathered to run, graft and contribute to the community.

Despite our lucky charm being present, which usually guarantees dry conditions, the weather did not comply. So after a bit of persuasion we stepped out of the Town Hall for a brisk warm-up and then set off through the rain towards one of our regular tasks — a local school we know and love. We’ve been there plenty of times before, but this visit came with a well timed upgrade. For once, we were allowed inside.

Well… almost all of us.

Two absolute heroes remained outside to shovel woodchip in the rain — proving that some people are simply built different. Gus and Steph, take a (soggy) bow!

Inside, it was all hands on rollers and sandpaper. There were lots of different jobs to do, including

• Painting skirting boards in a sophisticated 'mushroom' shade
• Rolling walls like pros
• Sanding, prepping and testing knee joints
• Loo transformation by Alan and Lucy

There’s something deeply satisfying about a new paint job, it really makes a difference. An epic collective effort and Caretaker Claire was over the moon. The school needed to look tidy and properly cared for ahead of an upcoming Ofsted visit, and thanks to a high-energy GG visit in damp trainers, its now fresh, smart, and inspection-ready.

Meanwhile, in a herculean effort, Steph and Gus had managed to shovel the entirety of the woodchip into the wood so the kids can use the area again when they're back from half term. So impressive - next stop Barkley marathon?

Task complete, tools down, photo snapped — it was back out into the rain. We splashed our way back through the streets of Hounslow, earning ourselves the warmth that comes from a good deed well done (and the pub).

Massive kudos to everyone. Next week it's a visit to Comboni spiritual centre with Michelle, who I know will bring the sunshine!

GoodGym Ealing already cemented their position as speedy and resourceful engineers when they replaced a row of rotting wooden posts with new bollards within a short group run task at the Hanwell School of Boxing last year. Impressed by the concrete evidence of solid delivery, Linda, the task owner for both the boxing club and Blondin Park, rehired them for another construction-type task. This time, the job was to erect two new boot scrubbers in front of the Blondin Pavilion and lay woodchip on a muddy area serving as an overflow car park for the pavilion.

On a chilly Tuesday night, one walker, one cyclist, four runners, and one late runner landed on Blondin Park’s tarmac path, famously lit like a runway. In front of the pavilion stood a wheelbarrow with spades and shovels prepared by Linda. It was time for everyone to choose the tasks. Our close neighbour from GoodGym Hounslow, Breda, for her first Ealing group run, decided on the shovel+wheelbarrow action, accompanied by Sevan. James, Conor, Harvey, Steph Ducat and Kash were more in the mood for DIY and opted for the unique boot scrubbers installation experience.

Linda, experienced with larger construction projects, knew that for quick jobs involving securing fences or posts, there was nothing better than GoodGymers and Postcrete. We all know how GoodGymers work - but what’s postcrete, you may ask. It’s a rapid-setting cement solution that requires only the addition of water, and no mixing, making it ideal for occasions when you’re short on time.

The five GoodGym builders first dug four narrow and knee-deep holes, then tried the boot scrubbers on them, testing their evenness with a spirit level. The levels turned out to be perfect, and the GoodGym spirits were pretty high, so the team enthusiastically poured generous amounts of postcrete and water into the holes. And waited. And waited. To be frank, the mixture was set within 10-15 minutes, which may seem like no time in the grand scheme of things. On the other hand, seeing Sevan and Breda still racing their wheelbarrows and raking like there was no tomorrow, made the builders' team feel pretty idle.

With the scrubbers literally set in concrete, there was not much else to do on the night than claim the delicious refreshment Linda prepared: sweet and dense hot chocolate! After warming up in the pavilion with a hot beverage, the runners set off for the run back to Ealing Broadway, which was the location of our following week’s group run: a gardening session in Walpole Park.

The latest Sunday session for Care4Calais, a charity that helps asylum seekers and refugees receive clothing appropriate for living in the UK, saw a sudden deficit of men on the task. The all-female crew, Angela, Libi, Kash, and task owner Tamzin, was capable of everything that the male GoodGymers could do, apart from one job: reliably testing the sizes of large men's clothes as trying them on would have been futile.

"The concept of being a large man is so abstract to me. How can I tell large from double extra large?" - Kash.

The community mission was the first Care4Calais session for Libi, who returned with enthusiasm for her second even GoodGym task. She joined Kash in making standard small men's packs, preparing customised parcels for hotels that received funding for clothing for refugees, and then sorting donated men's t-shirts by size - the trickiest task.

Meanwhile, Angela, already familiar with the basics of the Care4Calais system, joined Tamzin in making custom packs, carrying boxes up or down the stairs, and then helping Tamzin load the donations into the car for later distribution.

Tamzin has recently refurbished her Care4Calais hub, making more space for volunteers to work next to one another. We're looking forward to returning for the next session very soon and clearing the abundance of donations with double efficiency! We will be back for that task next week.

This was a super fragilistic soggyalidocious visit to Mr P's back garden. It took a little while for Mr P to get things sorted so he was happy for Kash and Harvey to crack on in the garden. It took most time to find those red secateurs, well, Kash found them near the end of the session. But, no worries, they'll come in handy next time!

There was ivy clearing to do so that Mr P's favourite trees could be seen again, and a new compost bin to construct for the cuttings. He's looking to create a peace garden as he says there are too many wars in the world, and what can an individual do? Can't argue with that.

After a short break from the constant downpur on Saturday, the havy rain was back on Sunday morning, bringing plenty of puddles and mud to Pitshanger junior parkrun course. The weather wasn't without impact on the turnout as only 30 young runners showed up and completed the course despite miserable conditions - well done to all of them!

Among three GoodGymers who helped out at the event, was Maria, who came prepared with an umbrella, with which she famously ran to the marshal post number 3. Sevan was guarding the marshal position number 1 and witnessed karma in action when one of top three runners decided to cut the corner and slid on the muddy patch. Kash came into the most contact with the puddles, running the course with the children as the tail walker.

Maria, apart from being an umbrella runner, came to fame, donning the 50 good deeds rosette and the Wonder Woman headband, and bringing her usual upbeat self to the otherwise gloomy day. Well done Maria - onto the next 50 good deeds!

Once upon a time in February, on a damp Sunday morning, two GoodGymers shunned the comforts of a weekend lie-in and headed to Pitshanger Park for a short but intense interval workout. Maria and Kash hit their usual spot: the Cafe Berry terrace, and opportunistically found a convenient refuge from rain under a huge umbrella covering two picnic benches.

This month's workout, like most of our winter fitness sessions, strayed away from sitting or lying on the muddy ground and utilised benches instead. Maria and Kash did three sets of five exercises: push-ups, dips, jump squats, lunges and side-to-side jumps. Did they get to rest in between? Only if you count jogging on the spot as rest! They wasted no time today, keeping their heart rates up throughout the workout and staying warmed up - just ahead of the monthly junior parkrun session.