Top of the Pile

GG Yorkies tackled 2 tasks on opposite sides of the city!

After welcoming two new runners to the gang, we did a lungey warm up and the sub-team of five speedy pants runners headed up by Paul and Nick, headed off on a 13km epic to deliver leaflets for OCAY in the Acomb area.

The rest of us ran to Heworth Holme to continue our massive project to create a new footpath. Last week, a small crew had helped out with finishing the border planks and lining the path with weed guard. Our task tonight was to start filling the path with stone from the enormous pile which had been dumped nearby.

The stone was heavy, both to dig and to carry around in wheelbarrows, so everyone took turns with the different jobs. One of the riskiest bits of the task was getting under the barrier/hurdle where the path met the pavement, Barbara did an amazing job of safeguarding everybody's heads and helping to lift the wheelbarrows over the lip as they scurried back and forth.

Under the liner, the ground was still very soft and it wasn't long before we had created a little trench. The only answer was to fill the wheelbarrows with fewer stones on each run which slowed progress. Still, the flow kept going with only a few lulls of waiting for wheelbarrows to return.

If you're waiting, try a power lunge!

There was a fair amount of obligatory lunge posing and overhead spade presses in between bouts of digging and wheelbarrowing. Ellie enjoyed standing atop the pile and loosening off the stones too.

Over in Acomb, new runner Nicky wasn't fazed by the hard run out but had discovered how bristly some letterboxes can be.

Couldn't believe how much it hurt my hands, had to put my gloves on to push them through!

Nick and Paul were highly organised with their leaflet dropping and kept the group working hard to deliver as many leaflets as possible. Fortunately on this occasion, nobody was scuppered by dogs or dodgy gates.

With 30m of path completed, our work at Heworth Holme was done for the evening and we had a gentle run back before completing a workout comprising:

• Star jumps
• Lateral lunges
• Lateral leaps
• Spotty dogs
• Prisoner forward lunges
• Two-footed leaps

....with all that leaping it was only Paul Kelly who leapt almost into the window and Jenna who jumped so hard she made herself fall over - true dedication that.

The leaflet crew arrived back sweaty and knackered after their massive run and scoffed some Jelly Babies before heading to the pub for a well earned beverage.