Every bit of training starts with getting to the start line, and today the Northern line added an extra challenge by closing for the weekend. Some of us found out the traditional way: at the station. Cue rail replacement buses, Route 93 buses rarer than a PB in a headwind, and arrivals with mere minutes to spare. All in aid of the Run South London half in March, where GoodGym is raising funds for Sustainable Merton.

It was a sunny morning at Morden parkrun, with the course frozen solid on lap one and thawing over laps two and three. Jade and Jon were on pacing duty, and whilst Jon may have been tempted off pace early on by some chat (my bad! 😳), he pulled it in for a solid finish.

Meanwhile three GoodGymmers put in a solid training run, getting our hill reps in and a recce of the half marathon start and finish. Thrice up that hill is no walk in the park, even for our parkwalker Felicidade!

Home turf advantage: unlocked 🔓

As for getting home: two buses and a walk for some of us. Homer would've written a sequel.

The first frost of the winter didn't stop a team of GoodGymers from digging out the thermals to help the Friends of John Innes Park remove a pesky patch of bamboo.

It turned out to be quite the workout, but we dug deep, clearing a large area of bamboo, roots and all, in the hope of stopping it from spreading any further.

Fingers crossed we've got to the root of the problem and it doesn't make a comeback next year!

Our 13 strong team descended upon Critical Support Mitcham to help manager Puja with the running of this great support charity.

We soon split into small groups to maximise our effectiveness. A team of 5 headed upstairs to sort clothing donations and wrap Christmas toys and games kindly donated by local businesses.

Meanwhile on the ground floor, cardboard boxes were being flattened, a large consignment of bread was sorted and repacked ready for distribution, fire extinguishers replaced and stairs dusted and cleaned.

Back in the kitchen and perishable food store, the rest of the team rolled up their sleeves and got stuck in quality checking fruit, veg and yogurt. A messy job but someone has to do it!

Finishing off with a well deserved cup of tea, we left the unit in great shape, ready to start a new day.