On a very calm Mon evening we met with the Pitsmoor Pickers and some local residents to litter pick their street.

It was great to see the local community getting involved as a family activity and taking pride in their local area. We had thanks from passers by as we got to work pick as much as we could in the time we had and filling bag after bag with litter big and small.

By the end of the session there was a fair pile of rubbish, plus 2 TESCO trolleys which Rachel and Michelle willingly wheeled back to the supermarket. Every little helps..

Until next week, happy running :)

Four committed GG runners headed down into Pitsmoor tonight to join the Pitsmoor pickers on an evening pick.

We headed down at a really good pace and met with two other pickers to help with the efforts of keeping Pitsmoor litter free, a big task but one we were undaunted by.

With fireworks overhead for Diwali we gloved up and got picking. In the end we managed to get 4 bags of rubbish together and leave ready for the council to collect it.

On route back we did some paired leg work outside Ponds Forge by using the stairs for some 1-2-squats and some hill sprints which had us with shaky legs towards the end. Once back at The Showroom we stretched off and had a look at the fantastic Halloween themed artwork in the venue before grabbing a drink and heading home.

This evening we were off to assist the Pitsmoor Pickers with their litterpicking activities. We gathered outside the Showroom cinema as usual, had a pre-run briefing and did a role call. The run took us through Castlegate and along some pleasant traffic-free paths by the riverside. Upon arrival at the litterpicking location a few of the Pitsmoor Pickers were already busy wombling away. Both GG and our contact from the pickers, Karen, were expecting fewer participants tonight so when 7 GoodGym runners and 4 Pitsmoor Pickers rocked up at Rock St we were a little short on litterpickers for the litterpickers. Happily, Karen’s car was parked just up the road and she had some spare ones… phew!

With everyone pickered and bagged up we were tasked with clearing away the rubbish up Rock Street and adjacent roads. We split up into ones and twos, then hit the road(s). We worked our way up the hill to the top of the road where there was already a substantial pile of rubbish waiting to be added to. After around 45 minutes of picking we had transformed the area, leaving it spick and span, Pitsmoor or less!

Some group pictures with our bagged up booty were snapped, we said our thankyous and goodbyes, then set off a little way down the street to do some scenic squatting. There was a wall by the roadside with stunning views of the city; this was the perfect place to partake in some wall-sitting. Everyone took up a position on the wall-with-a-view and prepared for 1 minute of wall-sit action. “Everyone” easily achieved this, and even a few unplanned extra seconds!

After this fun we ran back down the hill and through town to the grass outside the Showroom, doing sporadic squats at stops on the way as usual. Here we fully stretched off the main muscles used in the evening’s activities and heard some announcements, namely the weekly Barnsley GoodGym session on Wednesday.

10 GGers braved the weather to help Courageous Karen and the Pitsmoor Pickers clean up the Burngreave area of Sheffield, picking up litter and the occasional toy arm (not sure what happened to the rest of it).

We set off from the Showroom following a quick 4-way lunge warm up to get us ready for the bending needed for litter picking. Litter picked for 45 mins then dumped our bags at the top of the hill ready for collection.

Karen thought we needed more exercise though, so we got in a hill sprint back up to collect the bags and drop them down at the main bag collection point, ready for the council pick up.

It started to rain on the way back, but that didn't stop us with a final Howard Street hill sprint (taking care not to slip on the slippery stones), before a bus stop stretch off.

Hands down it was a successful mission.

9 of us headed over to Pitsmoor Road to help the local Pitsmoor Pickers group with a clean up on either side of the road. It was great to welcome back Robert and Thomas after spells away for work and travels. Welcome back guys!

By the time we finished the bags were pilled up and the streets were looking spotless.

On the way back we paired up for some fast times fitness featuring paired work involving:

• Sprints
• Isometric Squats
• Planks
• Bum slaps (you had to be there)

At the end of the run Celine had the great idea of heading for some 'picky' food at a local Etheopean restaurant - Frehiwat Habesha. The food was delish and with loads to spare most of us even had lunch sorted for the next day!

Until next time, happy running :)

We gave a friendly GG welcome to a new runner introduced by Lan:

Quoc

Give him a follow and a show of support! We hope to see you on another run soon!

This week we were close to home, helping out Pitsmoor Pickers on a stretch of the River Don which was laden with all sorts of litter.

James managed to pick up 340 cigarette butts!

On the way back we took on a very difficult fitness challenge which was the 'Bring Sally Up' challenge. This is a push up challenge where you push up on the word up and go down (but crucially hold your body off the floor) and then rinse and repeat. Considering it's only 3.5mins long it is very difficult with most of us having to start resting about half way. One to work on!

Once back at base we stretched off and headed home until next week.

Happy running! :)