We had a little change from the norm this evening. Usually we run to a venue, do a task then run back. Tonight the task was literally right outside the door of our meeting point, so we did the task then went for a run.

We had two "newbies" making their Goodgym debut - Julie and Sinead - hope you enjoyed your first Goodgym experience.

The task was for Rivercare - litter picking along a section of the waterfront aiming to prevent rubbish getting into the water. We walked to the furthest point away and then made our way back collecting litter on the way. It was surprisingly litter free - something perhaps to do with the Maratime Festival that had taken place over the weekend and the major clear up that followed!

However, armed with litter pickers, we still managed to collect a number of bags and remove the risk of it ending up in the river. During the task we were approached by a couple of people asking how they could volunteer to litter pick the area on a regular basis - great to see this!

We also met Jason Alexander who was passing and saw our efforts - Jason is the founder of Rubbish Walks a brilliant project with a very simple idea - Go for a walk and pick up a bit of litter along the way. Jason also recently organised the Beach Clean Marathon - Walking 12 Suffolk beaches in 6 days collecting plastic waste and other beach litter. Chatting with Jason there may be opportunities for us to link up in future.

With the litter pick done we set off for our run with the warning that it was going to be a hilly ride! The route took us up Bishops Hill - one of Ipswich's more challenging slopes - into Holywells Park (to take in part of the forthcoming Great East Run course (only 4 weeks to go!). Holywells Park is also quite "slopey" but the exit onto Cliff Lane provided a welcome downhill section before re-entering the park for a section of trail running. Then back towards the Waterfront where we split into teams, forming 2 trains for a little "back to front" sprint training.

Hills and sprints - what's not to like!!