Another beautiful day for Parkrun- this time a brisk 5k walk around Warwick Racecourse as a park walker - supporting those that aren’t quite as fast around the track. Had the opportunity to walk with the amazing Sue who has had 2 hip operations recently! A former marathon runner, Sue is getting her fitness and agility back by coming along to Parkrun’s Saturday morning challenge. Also waked with another volunteer Phil from Nottinghamshire who, at the age of 75, has visited 175 Parkrun locations - with this one putting him at over 200 that he’s taken part in! Having already completed the A to Z of Parkrun’s together with his son, they are now almost all of their way through the A to Z of Parkrun volunteering!

This is exactly what I love about volunteering - you just get to meet such interesting people! Bon weekende 💕

At last, the Guide Dog posters are getting an airing!

This task has been on the back-burner for a while, but today marked the beginning of spreading the word about the incredible work of Guide Dogs and raising awareness of their volunteering opportunities.

While visiting various organisations with public noticeboards to display the Guide Dog posters, I also took the opportunity to put up a few posters for GoodGym.

This led to some great conversations at the Cape Road Health surgery about lifestyle medicine. The lovely health practitioner, Jo, kindly offered to display the posters at several other locations as well.

The staff at the Sainsbury’s on Coten End were also very interested, so we're hopeful this will help boost our numbers. With more people joining, we’ll be able to do even more good in the community!

More posters... more noticeboards...more recognition for the amazing Guide Dogs.

I've just realised I've got 12 routes to do for these posters.... that's 12 missions.... 12 appalling run report titles about posters ..... and probably not much different content to document on each one!

Except that every mission gets me out on my bike and doing a good deed for the Guide Dogs, so that feels great!

Well, yes—it truly was a pile of old rubbish. While not as much as in previous litter pick sessions, Catherine and Joannah still collected quite a bit along the Grand Union Canal in Leamington Spa yesterday morning. Among the usual mix of empty cans, bottles, and dog-poo bags, they found an abandoned handbag and a lonely shoe (how does someone even lose a single shoe?!).

Afterwards, a well-earned coffee was enjoyed in the sunshine at Costa near Morrisons in Leamington, where Costa very kindly took care of disposing of the rubbish for us. Big thanks to them!

Yesterday morning started with a chilly -3 degrees (brrr!) but quickly warmed up to reveal a gorgeous sunny day—perfect for marshaling at Warwick Racecourse’s Park Run. I’m always amazed by how many people rise early on a Saturday and make their way to the racecourse for the 9 a.m. start, whether they’re running, jogging, strolling, or just chugging around the 5 km course. The Park Run volunteer community is such a friendly and welcoming bunch that it truly makes this Saturday morning ritual something special. And yesterday was no different.

It was an extra treat for me, though, as I had the chance to meet Alex and Sam from Warwick Council’s ‘Active Travel Team.’ They had a stand at the Run’s meeting point, chatting with people about the benefits of cycling and encouraging everyone to get out and about. Not only did they kindly look after my bike while I was marshaling, but I also received a lovely free gift from the team—a set of bike lights. On top of that, Alex gave my bike a quick check-up to make sure it was roadworthy. What a bonus!

It was fantastic to meet such a great team, and I hope 'Active Travel' and GoodGym are able to collaborate on some future events. Thanks again, guys!

Fantastic turnout this morning to clear the yard at the back of The Gap Community Centre. Despite the drizzling rain, we were not deterred! And Gary (the Gap’s resident chef) did us proud with a lump of cake to go with our steaming hot coffee afterwards! Lots of rubbish removed, leaves swept and pathway cleared, in preparation for some much loved Spring/Summer activities at the centre. Massive thanks to Maisy, Mitch, James, Sandy and Emily for your smiles, hard work and enthusiasm 😊