11 runners turned up in Exeter quay this amazingly sunny morning to help Plastic Free Exeter with a litter pick. Tom W joined us for the first time. Great stuff! We hope you enjoyed it and will join us again sometime soon!

We all made our own way, running (some straight from yoga training!), cycling, jogging or walking to the quay, where we met up with volunteers from Plastic Free Exeter, to take part in the litter pick. We quickly got kitted out with litter pickers, bags and gloves and set off searching for litter. The weather was absolutely gorgeous; the sun booming from a clear blue sky! Amazing after all that rain in the week!

To begin with we mostly found small peaces of plastic wrappers, but we made sure we picked them all up, as we had been informed that these micro plastics spread really easily out into the sea and that it is important to pick up every bit of plastic, no matter how small! As we continued our walk along the quay we met some very friendly geese and swans. We also came across more and more litter...

Towards the end of our walk we found an area with prickly bushes and realised that the ground underneath was covered with bottles, cans, wrappers, plastic cutlery, takeaway boxes and all sorts of rubbish. Francesca even found a par of matching shoes! Shame they weren't running shoes.. could maybe have been useful to someone in the group! We also found a metal shopping basket (perfect for carrying the shoes in!) and Tom T found a glass full of green liquid with a straw perfectly placed in the middle.. It almost looked ready to be consumed but I am glad no-one decided to give it a go!

After an hour of litter picking, chatting and having a great time together, we walked back to the starting point to hand in 4 bin bags full of litter! Not bad at all! Some group photos followed and some price-giving for the weirdest peace of litter. Our very own GG runner Lisa got a prize for having found a pair of boots and a Christmas cracker! Congratulations!

Even though it is a bit depressing seeing how much litter is being chucked away and how much plastic there is lying around, I had the best of time walking around in the sunshine with you guys, doing good and getting fit!

Next Week we have our first really long run coming up so please feel free to share this with friends who like longer distances. We will run a total of 10k to Ellen Tinkham School and help them improve access to a classroom for children who are visibly impaired. This feels like a very important task that will benefit the children so much! Sign up here, I would love to have you along!Remember to bring a headtorch if you got one. Please also wear some layers so that you don't get cold whilst working at the task.

Can't wait to see you all soon again! Happy running till then!

13 runners ran 4 k to help with litter picking in St Thomas AND got a full body work-out at the fitness session!

GETTING FIT

To start with we had a great warm up session with a lot of exercises to mobilise our hips, knees and ankles. We also discussed our favorite proverbs which turned out a to be a very multi-lingual collection!

We ran a total of 4 k this evening. The run route was mainly flat but it had one great hill... As you all know your run trainer LOVES HILL TRAINING so we just had to make the most of it and do some great hill sprinting.

Even if you hate the hills whilst you run up them, deep down you know how brilliant they are and how strong they make you, right?

We also carried out our monthly core session this evening. As the ground was cold and wet we didn't do the usual planks or sit-ups. Instead we worked on our core from standing position which also engaged our hip-flexors, glutes and quads. Win win win!

As if that wasn't enough, we also did an extra fitness session at the Millenium Bridge, which was beautifully lit up in the dark evening. We worked in pairs with one person sprinting over the millenium bridge whilst the other person did triceps-dips and press-ups.

To sum up the evening you can definitely say that we got a full body work-out! WELL DONE EVERYONE!

DOING GOOD

Our task this evening was litter picking in St Thomas Park, arranged by the community builder in the area, Chloe Pooley. Chloe welcomed us at the task and told us that litter is a big problem in the park and that she had almost daily complaints about the litter over the summer months.

So we set off, suited in high-viz vests and brand new gloves with litter-picking-sticks and bags, ready to get stuck in and clear it all up from the park.. But after fifteen minutes of looking for litter we had not found very much, so we decided to head over to St Thomas precinct instead. We found quite a lot more litter there that we managed to collect before our 40 minutes were up.

Even if there was less litter than usual in the area (a great thing obviously), every little bit that we picked up will make a difference! You could definitely tell that local residents were very grateful for our help; a lot of people who walked past thanked us for our work! GREAT EFFORT EVERYONE! Also a big thank you to the local residents Sue and John Taylor for sorting out all equipment and high-viz vest!

It was so lovely to hear everyone chatting and laughing together all evening. As much as we are doing something good for local organisations and charities every week, it also makes us feel better in ourselves to be out doing this together. We're making a difference, we're getting fit, we're part of a GoodGym community and we're having fun! TRUE GG LOVE!

SHOUT OUTS

• Thank you so much LucyR who back marked this evening!

• Francesca, it was brilliant to have you along for your first group run with us! We hope you had a great time and come back soon again!

• MASSIVE shout out to Joe who has been to every single group run since we launched in Exeter, on August 20th! Amazing work!

• Congratulations to Vicki who got a new PB at Parkrun last Saturday!

• HUGE shout out to all of you who came along and did such brilliant work this evening! GREAT EFFORT both at the run, the task and at the fitness session!

• Thank you to the Westbank for making the GoodGym possible in our area and to the Phoenix Art Centre for providing us with such a good starting point!

NEXT WEEK

Next week we will return to St Thomas to help Bloom In' St Thomas maintain a wildflower area at St Thomas churchyard. This small volunteer group work very hard with the upkeep of green spaces and they are very happy that we can give them a hand, so please do come along! It will be a similar run route to this week and we have some great fitness sessions in store for you. You just don’t want to miss it! Sign up here!

Remember to bring a head torch or torch and reflective bands if you have them. Please also wear some layers so that you don't get cold whilst working at the task.

COMMUNITY MISSION

On Sunday 27th October we will have another community mission. We will help out an organisation called Plastic Free Exeter with some litter picking around the quay. Sign up here to join, it will be a brilliant way for you to plan your own run route and still get that great feeling of having carried out a good deed!

9 runners came walking, running and cycling along the canal path between Exeter and Exminter this stunning Saturday morning. They were on their way to join in at Exeter's first community mission at the Westbank, because it is Super Saturday today YAY!!

We were a lovely mixed group of new and experienced GoodGymers gathering at the Westbank. Welcome Francesca, Sarah Jane and Eve who joined us for their first GoodGym activity ever, we loved having you with us! We also had Deborah joining us all the way from Bristol. It was great to meet you and so nice to hear all your brilliant GoodGym stories!

At the Westbank we got stuck in with getting the allotment area ready for the autumn. We completed the following tasks:

• turned the soil in three big flower beds
• weeded
• picked raspberries, basil and carrots that can be used in the community cafe at the Westbank
• cut back the raspberry plants and other overgrowth

9 of us working for an hour made such a big difference! It looked great when we left.

We also had some GG birthday cake and our GoodGym flag made a brilliant picnic blanket! Thank you Nina at the Westbank for making tea to go with it!

The Westbank provides so many brilliant and important services in the area; support for young carers, social activities for old people, health classes, diabetes prevention, just to mention a few. They also fund the GoodGym in Exeter and work in very close partnership with us, so it felt so good that we could give them a hand with their allotment. Great work everyone!

I think we can also all agree that this was a fantastic way to start the weekend! Amazing sunny morning for running, walking or cycling, brilliant to carry out a good deed and great fun to chat to other GoodGymmers whilst eating cake. We had the best of times! This is what the GoodGym is all about! Happy continued Super Saturday Everyone!