Tonight we had a bumper turnout to help at the Kings wildflower meadow path.

A select group set off at party pace followed by the main group after naming and numbering off. We were also joined by a few cyclists and some folk joined us at the task.

We had a few unexpected late sign ups so we needed to split into two groups with one taking on the litter pick challenge and the other tackling dock leaves.

The litter pickers had a list of treasure to find in pairs with the tie breaker being a selfie. Mitch and Lyndsay were the only team to collect everything even though they had to climb over the fence to the beck!

Group dock leaves were introduced to a new tool - the lazy fox - which was used to slice dock leaves at their base.

Time quickly passed and we were back off to base via a few hill reps on little Hob Moor.

All our good work was rewarded with Rich's brownies, which were still warm!

We had loads to celebrate tonight on what felt like the first proper summer evening group run of the year. So first off it was a round of applause for Jenna for braving the early morning Run/Swim at DeerShed festival. Then it was a shout out to Nicola for a course best at Heslington parkrun and Richard for a seasons best as well, although clapping was delayed until they finally arrived at the task! We also celebrated Jackie taking part in her 100th Good Deed! But the biggest cheer of the night was reserved for the most amazing news that Vicky and Neil got engaged at the weekend and we could not be happier for them both💍

So after all the wonderful weekend news, we celebrated the start of the Paris Olympics by numbering off with the event that we would add to the Olympics if we could. If only the 40m zig-zag was an actual sport, Paul Kelly would be a shoo-in for a gold medal, whilst it was also good to see Carl back himself in ultimate frisbee!

Then it was off to the task with Ed leading and clearly not realising there are quicker ways to get to Fishergate Trianlge than the route that leaves you stranded on a traffic island! At the task we Maeve from St Nicks who dished out the instructions and set us off to work on pulling up the grass and weeds before they overtake the whole space, which is starting to become a lovely little nature spot

The focus was on the bigger clumps of grass at the top end of the triangle, so most of the hard work went into ripping up that, whilst other people took more leisurely approach sitting on the wall and pulling out the dandelions. Before too long it became clear that the hot weather and close surroundings were sapping the energy put of the group and encouraging lots of chit chat, so the decision was made to stop 5mins early and make a start on the hill reps!

After a quick team photo, the walking group headed back to CVS whilst the rest of the gang went the long way round to Blue Bridge Lane for some sprints up and down the hill. Each rep had a different person shouting 'go' just to keep everyone on their toes. But that stop everyone from putting in maximum effort on each rep. Top running guys!

Then it was back to CVS for some stretches and baked goods courtesy of Jackie and Vicky

See you all next week 👋

This month we met at the Charles pub in Heslington then split into three groups to run around Heslington. We then met back at the pub for food and drinks.

Welcome to Ellie who joined us for the first time. Hope to see you again soon!