Today’s task was a little bit roar-dinary!

Portsmouth is celebrating 100 years as a city with a spectacular trail of 46 lions prowling across the city, and we simply couldn’t resist the pride.

We took the chance to run and litter pick while tracking down some magnificent big cats. Our running group, led by our roar-some leader Jen, made light work of a 5K from Fratton to Gunwharf, while our walking pride, expertly led by Fiona, covered just as much ground—proving there’s more than one way to earn your stripes… even if they’re the wrong big cat!

Together we hunted down 10 lions and pounced on a bag of litter along the way. It was the purr-fect way to tidy up our city while celebrating our amazing community. Safe to say we all had a roaring good time, and a few of us got just a little bit over-pride-d with excitement whenever another lion appeared!

A huge welcome goes to our new GoodGymers, Katie and Lana, who absolutely lion-heartedly threw themselves into the run and every physical challenge along the route. They took it all in their stride and didn’t let anything prey on their minds.

We hope you’ll be back to run with the pride again soon—because once you’ve had a roaring evening like this, it’s hard to paws for too long!

Our final balsam bash of the 2026 season included a mega litter-pick and too many nettle stings to count! At first it looked like there wasn't much balsam to pick but once you spotted one plant there was always more to follow. There were lots of smaller ones coming back through and a few flowering, but fortunately still no seeds ready to pop. The undergrowth had us going on a right adventure clambering over fallen trees and skirting around nettles. I wasn't sure if everyone would find their way back out at the end! A head count revealed we hadn't lost anyone and had gained many bug bites along the way! We'll see you same time, same place next year :)