Fishing (for litter) 'n' Chipping

With 10k to run we wasted no time at all this evening. Welcoming Laura from the Canal and River Trust and Ruth, then whizzing through the run briefing, we set off west into the evening sun (yes! sun! we somehow escaped today's April showers!).

Despite it being a double task night we were all headed to the Oxford Canal, so we ran together chatting as we went. Mixing up the surfaces we ran through the University Parks then down onto the canal towpath, stopping at Makespace to deliver them 6 Goodgymers.....

From Bethan: We arrived at Makespace to be greeted by Emma with water and biscuits. After a quick snack and an impromptu photo shoot Emma provided us with a variety of tools, including a cargo bike, skillfully controlled by Tim. We headed along the canal to where the council had felled some tree branches which were hazardous. They were already chipped, so we split up and merrily filled our containers: a bucket, a wheelbarrow, 2 coffee sacks, and the cargo bike. We were quite a sight on our return journey to Makespace! After transporting as much woodchip as we could across the canal bridge we unloaded the chippings ready to be used in the garden, said our goodbyes and headed off to link up with the rest of the Goodgym team.

As a bonus we spotted some judge-y ducks, some glorious waterside houses, and a delightful French bulldog pup!

Meanwhile, Team Plog carried on up the canal for a few hundred metres to meet Tim, the City Council Waterways Co-ordinator. Distributing litterpickers and a combination of litter and recycling bags, Tim sent us off back down the towpath, litter-picking as we went. We all love a good plog (although, we'd obviously rather people didn't drop litter in the first place), and the competition for oddest object got off to a great start with the find of a plastic comb. We picked litter, we admired the bridge murals, we scooted around Aristotle Lane Recreation Ground to pick up the litter left from Easter Egg hunts and bank holiday picnics. We couldn't resist a quick go on the monkey bars at Aristotle Lane, although it turns out there's a distinct advantage to being tall enough to keep your feet on the ground (!), then kept on plogging on until we reached Walton Well Road.

Regrouping at Hythe Bridge Park, we left our beautifully sorted litter and recycling bags ready for collection, waved goodbye to task owners Laura and Tim, and enjoyed a scenic run back to base through central Oxford, trying to take in as many different streets as we could for Trevor since he has a goal to run every street in Oxford before Race to the Stones in July.

What a lovely evening!

Next week is May Day, and we'll be off to Meadow Lane Nature Park for the task.

Good luck to Stu who is running the London Marathon on Sunday. Bring your medal to show us next week!