What better way to prepare for a GoodGym starter session than to stand on the finish line of Colchester park run. As I watched the participants young and old speed up as they neared the finish line, I noticed so many had beaming big smiles, testament to the sense of pride and achievement that accompanies the simple joy of running and knowing you have made it.

There was a real buzz around the finish line which I wanted to capture and carry into our GoodGym session. Three runners joined me, including Goodgym regular and parkrun marshal, Vanessa. After a quick warm up, we set off to Angela’s car to collect the river care equipment. En route Angela showed us where the Rangers station was and then we meandered our way back down the hill to the car park, chatting about GoodGym as we went.

The task was a rivercare favourite and we set off along the river picking up discarded bottles, cans and other rubbish as we went. We were small in number and keen to enjoy a run on the beautiful sunny morning so once we were finished we quickly headed back up the hill to returned the equipment to the Rangers station before setting off on our way! It was a glorious winter's morning, and we were treated to a crisp light that shone across the river, helping us to forget about our troubles as we ran and chatted. A special thanks to Vanessa for her lovely company and joining us on such a lovely run along the river path!