6 runners ran to litter pick and get fit

We were very glad to meet up in the light for our group run this week, even with the icy breeze. Due to the super efficient team at the Ideas Hub, our task to help them with clearing and tidying their town centre space was no longer needed, so we decided to do some litter picking instead.

We jogged to the park with our litter pickers, and to make the most of the light evening, we did our fitness first. I had measured an approximate 1k loop in the park, so we warmed up with a lap first so everyone knew the route. We then set off on a speedier lap, with Joe still beating the rest of us by a long way despite taking a wrong turn, and Charlie being slower than expected due to her weekend activities. Plus, this was Charlie's and Joe's 10th good deeds, an amazing effort so far!

Following a short cool down, we made our way to the walkway between the station and the park to collect as much litter as we could. There was a mix of packaging, food wrappers, and a bicycle seat, but by the end, the main item we were picking up was cigarette butts. We collected a surprisingly large amount of litter in a rather small area.

Whilst the run report title is a light-hearted nostalgic reflection of one of our earliest litter picks a few years ago, with the addition of our lovely new-ish member Charlie, and the fact that the group is angelic, cigarette butt litter is a serious issue. You can find out more in this short article about the issue of cigarette butt litter and learn the results of some UK research: https://www.keepbritaintidy.org/local-authorities/reduce-litter/smoking-related-litter/binthebutt

With the improved light I was inspired to talk some more interesting, arguably more awkward photos, which I hope everyone appreciates.

Thanks,

Laurie