Remy Maisel

It all started so well last night! Little did we know there would be a minor hiccup to come...more on that later.

First, the good news. We got to welcome Carly to her very first GoodGym session - give her a huge cheer! Then, after our warm up, we discussed the best tips we had for motivating people struggling to get out for a run, and there was some fabulous advice. From finding a pretty route, to going with a friend, warming up properly, to 'just do it', there really is no reason not to get out there!

With rain threatening, we set off at a nice lick to Gunnersbury Park, a beautiful public space where we regularly help out to keep it safe and welcoming for local people. We found that we had been left a sweet treat to say thanks for our previous work, and especially because the park has just been awarded Gold in London in Bloom competition and also The Green Flag Award for this year. Monika, one of the gardeners at Gunnersbury said, ' It is thanks to the help of our gardening volunteers and groups like GoodGym, that we are able to maintain the park to such high standard. Having the help gives us also a chance to look after the existing flower beds, create new planting areas, and by managing the brambles, to increase the biodiversity of the parkland.' So well done team!

Our job for the evening was the cut back the brambles that were choking a sweet chesnut tree and becoming a trip risk for park users. Off we merrily went, found the tree in question - or so we thought - and started happily trimming away.

Until.

A bit of (far too late) sleuthing was done and we realised we were at totally the wrong tree. Oops. We quickly moved over to the correct location and furiously made up for lost time with some super speedy snipping.

We managed a nice run back to base for some stretches, timing the start of the rain perfectly. Another sprinkling of GG magic. I'm just waiting for next week's task to be confirmed, so watch this space!

What's your favourite post run snack? In Hounslow we love all forms of avocado on toast, pizza, peanut butter with and without banana, and...beer.

We started our run last night with this highly important discussion, before heading over to Chiswick House and Garden, a charity organisation which keeps the grounds beautiful and open to the public all year round.

Our job last night was trimming off the new shoots on the huge trees that line the main avenue. Or, if you're fancy, like us, the 'epicormic' growth. We'll be on Ground Force before you know it!

We relished the use of the very fancy secateurs which blow the usual tools we have to use out of the water, whilst learning about the life cycle of the ladybird and weevil, and hearing about everybody's amazing running, from parkrun right up to marathon.

After 45 minutes of work the trees looked smart and de-epicormiced so we posed for a beautifully lit photograph thanks to gardener Chris' excellent floodlights. Then it was over to Turnham Green for a fitness session that really saw us test those ABCs -agility, balance and coordination. Sorry about all the reverse lunges!

Next week we're back at Gunnersbury Park, so hope to see you there! Have a lovely rest of the week with some very happy running.

In perhaps a record for GoodGym Hounslow we had not one, not two, but THREE huge good deed milestones to celebrate. Congratulations to Jon and Chris who have both racked up a fabulous 50 good deeds, and to Leticia who has reached that magic 100 mark. Give them the biggest cheer ever!

It was also lovely to see Leanne, Stella and Dilly at their first Hounslow run - welcome to the gang - and to celebrate our marathon runner Remy (and the cheerers!). What a lot to feel happy about.

Our task was just across the green, so we wandered over after having a quick poll about all the things we'd like to do before we get to 100 years old. Traveling the world was high on the list, as were PBs, running half and full marathons, and many other fabulous things which I have no doubt you will all achieve.

Jan, as one of the lead volunteers at Friends of Turnham Green, had a barrow of tools and gloves waiting for us and we quickly set about getting rid of the thistles and weeds that plagued the wild meadow. Luckily for us, with all this rain the thorny little blighters were easy to pull out, unlike at the height of summer, so we were soon done. A good job too as night had quickly fallen and we were soon struggling to spot them.

Luckily it was not too dark for a fitness session, so after a quick warm up where we tested our coordination skills, we set about smashing out a circuits session where one pair acted as our 'clock' to determine how long we had to do each exercise. Great effort everyone!

Next week we're at Chiswick House Gardens, you can sign up here for more doing good and getting fitter. Don't forget your headtorch if you have one!