Up Cow Pat Creek but we found a Paddle on our Oar-some Run

Only the hardiest of souls come out to run when it's been raining all afternoon, but luckily Oxford Goodgymers are made of stern-stuff and were raring to go running after a bank holiday weekend.

First things first; Stu was awarded the Garland of Glory this week for getting up off his sickbed (manflu?) to run the Vitality London 10k on Bank Holiday Monday, and for being on his 10th Group Run. Excellent work Stu! Massive apologies to Sarah for not spotting that it was your 10th Good Deed too - Garland of Glory goes to you next week! I have now untangled it, so it needn't be worn as a crown!

This week we were headed to Port Meadow to meet Michael Woods, the City Council's Green Space Development Officer.

Port Meadow borders the Thames, and with a few popular swimming and picnic spots around the edges we were expecting there to be some post-bank holiday litter to clear up.

En route we wove through the city taking in some of the back alleys to cross off a few extra streets for Trev's Run Every Street challenge, and collected a few bits of litter from along the Oxford Canal Towpath (we're physically incapable of running past litter these days). A brisk 3.5km later and we were at Walton Well Road, collecting litter-pickers and bags and starting the litter patrol. As well as trying to stop litter making it's way into the river it's particularly important to keep Port Meadow litter free because it is home to lots of cows and ponies who really don't need to be eating our plastic waste.

Things we have learned this week:

• Cows live on the meadow. Cows = cow pats. Stepping in cow pats = squishy, slide-y and smelly.
  
• The men of Oxford don't like to keep their pants on. We picked up at least 4 pairs of men's pants, including a matching pair (outfit co-ordination goals?). Gingerly, with litter pickers.
  
• The men of Oxford do not like to keep their shorts on. 2 pairs of shorts found.
  
• You can walk home wearing 1 shoe and not noticing you've left the other on the riverbank. 1 pump found.
  
• Collapsible boats are oar-some and we would all like one. 1 collapsible boat found, complete with pair of oars.
• In half an hour 11 people can find a surprising amount of litter even somewhere that doesn't look heavily littered; cans, disposable bbqs, plastic bottles, glass bottles, juice cartons etc.
  

30 minutes of plogging and some boat construction later, we left our litter bags in Michael's capable hands for disposal, pleased to have cleared one of the footpaths of the worst of it's litter.

The longer route back to East Oxford meant jogging diagonally across the meadow, where we tried not to collect an entourage of curious cows. Although they're very pretty, they probably don't make the most practical pets. Anyone feel like the Pied Piper? Then onwards over the Oxford Canal and through the University Parks, popping back out onto tarmac less than a kilometre from our base. Having run along Oxford Canal, River Thames and Cherwell, I declare, retrospectively, that the theme for the run is Run all Oxford's Waterways! And everyone loves a themed run, even if you didn't know it was one.

Good work everyone! Great to get to run a little further than usual with you all.

Thanks to Tim Lund for the punning inspiration and for finding the boat, and to Aoife for being back-marker this week.