The Woking team were back at Knaphill Lower School to continue working on the clubhouse for the Woking Wolves. Kirsty and Anne, the "cutting in queens", were assisted by one of the Wolves who carried the paint tins, before heading off for his football session. Kirsty and Anne then they got on with cutting in another coat to the walls already painted before starting on the rest of the shed. Julie and Anne's friend then filled in with bigger brushes and the cabin is starting to look more cosy.

We did a quick tour of the gardens that we had previously worked on and were pleased to see that they are being well used and that they survived the summer heat. The painting continues next Saturday however we may not have any Goodgymmers to support, but watch out for more sessions coming up.

Julie and Anne started their run in the dark: it is the first session when we needed to switch our torches on and wear our reflective tops!

Last night, Julie intended to complete her training as a run leader. However, as there were only the two of us running enthusiastically to clean the Westfield Food Bank, we have asked GG Head Office if we should consider the session as a rehearsal or if Julie can now be crowned "Run Leader" 🏃‍♀️ 👑.

When we arrived at the Food Bank, having safely crossed the roads and ran cautiously on the very wet dead leaves, we met Sarah who, after a warm welcome, armed us with brooms 🧹, mops , bucket 🪣 🫧 and dusters.

While we waited for the floor to dry, Sarah told us about this church's community and how much they are close and look after each other. It was interesting to learn how different food banks have their very own approach.

Julie and Anne ran/walked back safely to the Leisure Centre just missing the rain!

GoodGym x Move10 - Garden Tidy

Community Fridge -

🥪 The Great Sandwich Heist: Zoe's First Run & Andy’s Three-Course Carb-Fest

A massive GoodGym welcome to Zoe, who survived her very first group run! It’s the first of many missions, provided she wasn't completely scared off by our post-run catering habits.

The Journey (And the Wedding Gossip)

The squad—Nadia, Andy Julie, Wayne, Kirsty and Zoe—convened at the Winston Churchill School gates. Kirsty clocked a cheeky 2k from home just to show off, while Anne skipped the running part and met us at the site as she currentlt can not run 🏃🏼‍♂️

After Run Leader Nadia gave Zoe the breakdown of the route, we set off on a 2.5k tour of Knaphill’s finest hills. The calves were burning, but the distractions were elite: we got to hear all about Nadia and Andy’s wedding and honeymoon, complete with a mid-run slideshow of the wedding pictures.

The Battle of the Bedding

We arrived at the Knaphill Community Fridge perfectly timed with a massive food delivery. Jules appeared with a wheelbarrow full of tools, and we were assigned our mission: total annihilation of the weeds and dead flowers around the church and food bank tent.

Wayne went rogue at one end with the strimmer. 🤣

The rest of the crew armed themselves with rakes and scissors.

Andy inherited a temperamental leaf blower that was clinging to 1% battery life, yet somehow managed to blow the paths clean through sheer willpower.

Two giant green bins were packed to the brim in record time.

The Legend of the Three-Course Sandwich

Then came the grand finale. To thank us, Jules offered us crates of surplus supermarket sandwiches. While most people took a polite token snack, Andy saw an absolute buffet. 🥪

Andy successfully curated a full three-course meal out of targeted carbohydrate acquisition:

The Starter: A breakfast sandwich. 🥪

The Main: A lunch sandwich. 🥪

The Dessert: A steak dinner sandwich (because nothing says dessert like beef).

He was, unsurprisingly, the happiest lad in Surrey.😄

Jules kindly provided bags so we didn't drop the haul, and the group had the distinct pleasure of jogging back to the school loaded down with a bakery’s worth of bread. Massive props to Zoe for fitting right in, and hats off to Andy appetite! 😄

Last night, six members of GoodGym Woking went on a plogging mission near to the Hoe Valley.

Adam, our designated photographer, Julie, who is thinking about training as a Run Leader, Karen who has now completed 40 good deeds, Kirsty whose enthusiasm for GoodGym knows no bounds, Luan who is determined to join our tasks and missions more often and Anne, armed with Woking Council's litter pickers eagerly joined forces to fill up three enormous bags of rubbish.

Our plogging was met by local people expressing their gratitude, which boosted our spirits! We also appreciated completing this task in the daylight and without feeling cold or wet! Let's agree that this second plogging session was a (rubbishy) success.

5 Woking GoodGymers, Agathe, Anne, Julie, Melanie and Rebecca, made the most of the warm and light evenings while they are still around, to do a littler picking run.

It was a great opportunity to catch up as a couple of us have not completed a mission for a while. We also explored a new route some of us had not been to before while picking up litter next to a stream.

We cleared up the usual crisp packets, vapes and drinks cans but also a sock!

Plogging is meant to be one of the least favourite GoodGym tasks, but here at Woking we love it. It makes our community a better place, prevents more litter being dropped, shows GoodGym doing tangible good in public and a good chance to have a chat. It was nice to be thanked by people walking past.

If you could not join us this time, we might see you next Wednesday? In the meantime, have a great running week.