This Wednesday we had a spooktacular plogging poster distribution challenge.

Here at GoodGym Oxford we like a bit of healthy competition, and nothing quite gets that spirit fired up like a scavenger hunt with a purpose. With Halloween just around the corner we had a ghost-themed hunt this week. We divided into 2 teams: Runners and Walkers. Each team was given a list of haunted locations, 5 GoodGym posters, a litter bag and 2 litterpickers. Points were awarded for every poster pinned up, every haunted location visited, and for spotting a variety of Halloweenesque decorations (ghosts, broomsticks, pumpkins, cats and witches hats). There was also a requirement to clear up litter as you buzzed around the City.

It was neck-and-neck between the teams on posters displayed and locations collected, but the walkers truly spectacular 50 pumpkins had them whipping the win out from under the runners feet.

Our brains got a good workout from the strategising, our legs got moving, litter was picked, we learnt about the history and mythology of Oxford, and GoodGym was publicised...a win on many levels!

The brief: Plot a route around as many of the Oxford Monopoly board locations as you can in an hour.

The tasks: Take litterpickers and plog as you go, and see how many GoodGym posters you can put on display around the city.

The scoring system: 1 point for every monopoly board location you make it to, 1 point for every GoodGym Task related item you spot along the way, 5 points for every GoodGym poster you put up.

This game/task brought out some serious competitive streaks in our running and walking teams. Sneaky tactics were used, like dividing the group to reach more locations, sprinting to an extra monopoly board square with 3 minutes to go, and deploying the (ex) Lord Mayor as a GG Task related item. Fun and exercise was had, we raised awareness of GoodGym, picked up plenty of litter, and it was a quirky way to plot a walk/run route around town.

Oxford, like any University town, gets an influx of newcomers each autumn. Last year we met lots of lovely new people as they joined GoodGym in September and October, so this year we decided to get prepared and make sure we had a task designated as an introductory session.

We've teamed up with our friends at Marston Community Garden, and on 31st October we will have a GoodGym Community Mission planting bulbs around Marston.

Our local Asda Community Champion has donated soft drinks, so we will have refreshments available - Thank you Linda - and we'll have a bit longer than we do on a Wednesday evening to chat and answer people's questions about how GoodGym works.

All that was left to do was to spread the word. Meeting at our pre-pandemic home East Oxford Community Centre, we split into groups to paint the town red. Clutching posters created and printed by the marvellous Ruth we ran and walked East, West and Central areas pinning posters up in pubs, community centres, cafes, shops, colleges, and the library, covering anything from 2 - 4.5 miles. Some made it a pub crawl (sorry, I mean networking opportunity), some a tour of Oxford's greatest architectural hits, and some a spooky run along the river at dusk. It was lovely to run/walk and chatter away!

For full details, and to sign up to the introductory session (open to all - not just newbies!), click here.