Here's a draft in a GoodGym run report style:

Last night we headed back to St Mary's Church, the oldest church in Battersea and quite possibly the most beautiful too. Sitting right on the Thames, St Mary's is famous not only for its stunning riverside setting but also for its links to William Blake, who was married there in 1782, and to the artist Turner.

Before setting off, we got warmed up and kicked things off with a World Cup-themed question. Judging by how quickly everyone got it, it may have been slightly too easy. I'll think of something more challenging next time!

A huge congratulations also to Jack and Hazel, who smashed the Blenheim Triathlon at the weekend, racing alongside one of the famous Olympic Brownlee brothers. An amazing achievement.

We then set off, running through the beautiful Battersea Square, which felt like we were on holiday, before arriving at the church. We were greeted by a little and large dog duo featuring the vicar's Great Dane (or was that pony?).

Our task was to help the volunteer gardening team who work to keep the church grounds looking fantastic and welcoming. There was plenty to get stuck into: weeding along the church walls and around the perimeter, sweeping paths, strimming overgrown areas and raking up the results.

As we worked, the church bells rang out across the grounds, the Thames flowed beside us and a family of geese wandered past inspecting our efforts. It was one of those evenings that reminds you why outdoor tasks in summer are hard to beat. Especially when we were rewarded with so many snacks! Eventually prising Felix away from the strimmer and everybody else from the haribo, we headed back towards base, breaking up the run with a series of fitness stations. Single-leg squats, planks and tricep dips were all on the route, and there was also supposed to be one final exercise station, which I forgot and strangely nobody reminded me....

Thanks to everyone who came along and made it such a lovely evening. Next week we're off to rescue the pétanque court at Lark Hall Park. Hope you can make it!

A big Monday night in Wandsworth after a huge weekend in London! There was still a buzz in the air after incredible atmosphere at the London Marathon on Sunday—crowds out in force, sunshine, four world records and thousands of inspiring performances. If it got you thinking 'maybe next year', why not go for it? You can enter the ballot here: https://www.tcslondonmarathon.com/enter/how-to-enter/ballot

Massive congratulations to GG OG Jack who smashed it on Sunday—what a legend 💥

*Mission alert *

We’re looking for a helping hand tonight to transport food from Streatham Hill to Clapham Common. If you’re around and can lend your legs (or wheels), we’d love your help! Sign up here

*Last night’s run *

We headed down to the Scout Hall in Battersea to get stuck into a pre-election spruce-up. With voting day around the corner, the place needed to be looking its best—and we delivered.

Jobs included:

• Mopping floors
• Hoovering throughout
• Deep-cleaning the kitchens
• Wiping windows
• Weeding outside areas
• General tidying and making everything shine

Everyone pitched in and we got through the list in no time, so it was on to the fitness part of the evening! We headed outside for a session focused on stability, conditioning, and strength. There was lots of controlled movements, core work, and a bit of coordination—all while keeping an eye out for reversing buses.

At that was left was a run back to base for stretches before heading to the pub to celebrate marathon triumphs 🏅, recent weddings 💍, the return of familiar faces 🙌 and the exciting challenges ahead (both land and water based).

We’ve got two brilliant weekend missions on the horizon—the perfect start to the weekend. Fancy cleaning up and clearing out a greenhouse at a local nursery school? or making a petanque court accessible for everybody?? Course you do! Hope to see you there 👏

Last night’s GoodGym Wandsworth session kicked things off by welcoming Dominic to his very first session—great to have you with us, Dom! After a quick intro and a warm-up to get everything moving, we fired up our muscles and then our brains with a quiz question: which country drinks the most coffee per capita? A deceptively tricky one this week!

Then it was time to head out, jogging down to St Mary’s School where Isa was waiting to guide us to the nursery garden. School resources are tight, so the work we do here helps free up the caretaker to focus on other essential jobs around the school. And as we arrived, it was clear there was plenty to get stuck into.

The team didn’t hang about. Hannah, Sophie and Matthew took on the challenge of wrangling the old netting, carefully bringing it down ready for replacement. Dom did a fine job putting up the new netting like a pro. Nearby, Letizia and Felix turned their attention to the benches and raised beds, creating a work of art with a fresh coat of yellow and green paint.

Jo and Beth gave Mary a makeover, while Steph, Annabel, Ali and Caroline tackled a serious weeding task, which really made a difference. Everywhere you looked, people were grafting, chatting, and transforming the space bit by bit. By the end, the garden looked so much tidier and more welcoming. But the night wasn’t over just yet!

We made the most of the lovely outdoor space to squeeze in a fitness session—the “3-minute mountain leg challenge.” No hills? No problem. This session is designed to replicate the strength and endurance demands of hill running: three minutes per leg, split between one-legged step-ups and reverse lunges on the same leg. It’s tough, a little bit wobbly at times, but brilliant for building single-leg strength, stability and injury resilience—everything you need to power up real hills when they do appear.

After some determined efforts and some burning quads), we ran back to base for a well-earned stretch.

Next week’s task is still being confirmed, so keep an eye on [this space…] ( but we do know there will be a pizza social afterwards! Let us know if you’re coming so we can book enough space for some lovely carb loading!

Same time next week!

We had a flipping great time in Wandsworth last night as we enjoyed pancake day, birthdays - and a whole lot of positive impact!

There was lots of good news to share, including these two upcoming missions:

• at a local nature reserve on Saturday where you will be creating safe access, building 'dead hedges' and log pile habitats which provides refuge for important wildlife species such as hedgehogs

• and prepping or delivering food on Sunday so that our most vulnerable people get a hot meal

Not only was it almost pancake day and a sweet social to look forward to, but it was also Jo's birthday - so there was plenty to celebrate. After our warm we each guessed how many pancakes are eaten across the UK today, with Ali's guess coming closest to the whopping 117 million total!

We set off for our task at Larkhall Park where after a bit of confusion about our meeting spot we met Theresa with tools and instructions. Our job for the evening was to weed an area so it can be planted up with hundreds of new plants, and to clear the troublesome bamboo - which was more stubborn than we anticipated.

After half an hour of solid effort we had made a big difference, and we just had time to squeeze in fitness session based on isometric holds to improve our strength and stability.

A quick run back to base and it was pancake time! Great work everybody. Sophie will be leading you in a session at the GoodGym garden next week, so why not sign up to start the week off right!