Welcome to GoodGym's Jacob for your first session in Manchester!

This evening we met up outside Whitworth Art Gallery too drop off food donations and do a litterpick for 422 Community Hub. After a short loop of Whitworth Park, Jacob got to experience the Whitworth Lidl, full to the brim with students living nearby.

With donations bagged, we took a brisk walk towards Longsight and we managed to drop the donations in various bags to the reception, with only a few oats lost in transition.

While the rain stayed away, we used the Clean Up UK litterpickers with Keep MCR Tidy pink bags to scour the nearby streets for any litter we could find to give it a bit of an autumnal clean. We filled 3 sacks and found a few toothbrushes, a box, and a broken mop bucket along with the regular cans and bottles.

We ran home in our respective directions, with a few fireworks from local parks as a backdrop. All bags have been reported to Keep MCR Tidy and best of luck to Gloria in the Frankfurt marathon this weekend!

After late notice communication from the race organisers, 4 GoodGymers helped out at the start area for the 2026 MCR Half.

Welcome to Noor for coming along to your first GoodGym session!

With blue hi-vis, packed lunch and all important lanyard, we eventually congregated at the start area (4A) to direct runners to the start line and clear the way as wave after wave of runners approached.

With 16 waves, we were as vocal as possible to stop spectators from encroaching onto the route, while also keeping runners in different coloured waves informed when their wave was next up. Keeping the toilet queues compressed to keep the route clear was also required at times.

Towards the end, we began to help gather clothing and jumpers that runners had discarded before the start line, keeping Julia warm in the fresh October morning sunshine. After a final clearing of signage and a gazebo at the start line, we were released to drop off our hi-vis and make our way home.

Welcome to Haimish for your first GoodGym Manchester session 👏

Change of plan this evening with Ella from Heaton Park not available last minute for animal centre painting, so instead the fab 4 had an evening stroll and litterpick around Heaton Park.

Nice evening jaunt from the Stables Cafe across the fields, past the Highland Cows, and through the undergrowth to unearth lots of discarded bottles, plastic cups, and crisp packets.

3 bags of rubbish in total, with a few challenges of "guess the litter" and "find something purple" thrown in for good measure.

Lights drawing in with lots of animals (squirrels, rabbits, cows, and the odd donkey) in the park. Hoping to rearrange the painting soon, so watch this space.

Welcome to Gloria for completing your first GoodGym task and getting your first parkrun volunteering credit marshalling out on the course 👏

Well done to the 553 finishers including 123 visiting us for the 1st time with 16 people completing their first ever parkrun 💪

Big thank you to the 24 volunteers who made sure we got a full set of results and marshalled out on the course 🦺