Happy new year!

Despite the plummeting temperatures, ice, snow, and a touch of frost ❄️ Stefanie, Sam, and Ben wrapped up to litterpick in the city centre.

With a demonstration ongoing outside the Central Library, we met on the benches to prepare refuse sacks and divvy out litterpickers. We made our way to the Bridgewater Hall and along some of the canal, picking up discarded bottles, frozen cans, McDonald's waste, and a few ear buds too.

Following that, we headed towards the footbridge to Hulme, stumbling across a site near an unused warehouse, where lots of cans, bottles, laughing gas canisters, and a couple of umbrellas 🌂 had been discarded.

In just 70 minutes, we collected 11 full refuse sacks plus a carrier, a couple of brollies, and a flowery pillow. Good workout in the cold. All reported to Keep MCR Tidy to be collected from near a public bin nearby.

With ice and frost ❄️ all around, many local parkruns were cancelled but with the tree cover, lack of puddles, and earthy/stony ground, we went ahead for event number 278 at Fletcher Moss.

Early start to check some of the course and help set up with Mike and Ayeesha, before marshalling at Cheat's Corner. A whopping 595 runners and walkers completed the 5 km course, aided by 25 willing volunteers.

Good start to 2026! 🏃‍♂️🏃🏼‍♀️🐾👟❄️🎉

Gosia, Juno and I were handing out finish tokens at Uni Parks parkrun for new year's day. Nearly 500 people blew away the cobwebs to start their year with a 5 km run or walk.

Good 10 km run via Summertown to get there with Marston Cycle Path closed.

Gosia, Juno, and I helped out at Fletcher Moss parkrun event number 277. 295 runners and walkers completed the 5 km course with a hint of frost on a cold December morning.

We helped with set up, clear down, and marshalled points #2 and #7. Juno pulled the trolley from the sports ground.

Happy Christmas! 🎄🎅🎉

Welcome to Michael for your first GoodGym Manchester outing, and good to see Stefanie, Sam, Sanjeev, and Ben for a ~4.5 km jog around the city centre.

Setting off from St Peter's Square, we made our way down to Grosvenor Street before circling back up Oxford Road to Manchester Central Convention Complex, through St John's Road to the gardens (unfortunately the Garden of Hope from The Christie had finished) before skirting past the Opera House, up Deansgate past the lights before ending near the Cathedral, with bells ringing.

We went for a drink at Sinclairs Oyster Bar, a Samuel Smith pub so no phones allowed out. Chit chat ranged from the theatre, restaurants, cricket, basketball, lawn tennis and sports injuries to Christmas plans and the mild winter so far.

Good to see you all, and wishing you the best over the Christmas period, however you plan to spend it! See you in 2026 💫

Went along to Woolton Hall to help with the preparation for the Manchester Christmas Dinner for recent care leavers.

There was a bumper group of volunteers to wrap presents, set up the tables and decorations, and generally clean to prepare Woolton Hall in Fallowfield.

Good couple of hours spent.