Storm Austen and Storm Boelo may have been doing their best to blow Worthing off the map, but there was no blowing off GoodGym duties for our hardy band of litter-picking legends!

John, Paul, Anne and Ricky braved the blustery conditions for a walk-and-talk session along the Worthing seafront, armed with litter pickers, bags and armed with determination.

First up was the promenade, where the four intrepid volunteers battled the elements and kept their eyes peeled for rubbish. With the wind whipping in off the sea, there was always the possibility that anything picked up might immediately be blown straight back again. Litter picking in these conditions is less a case of pick it up and bag it and more grab it before it reaches France!

We then ventured beneath the pier. It has seen plenty of litter over the years, but thanfully very little tonight.

Leaving the seafront behind, we headed inland through Liverpool Gardens and several precincts, continuing our search for stray rubbish as we chatted our way along. It was a lovely reminder that a GoodGym session isn't just about improving the local environment; it's also about getting out, keeping active and putting the world to rights along the way.

Eventually, having covered our route, we retraced our steps to the starting point, with the wind still doing its very best to rearrange everyone's hairstyle.

A huge well done to John, Paul, Anne and Ricky for turning out in such blustery conditions. While Storm Austen and Storm Boelo were busy making a big fuss, our quartet quietly got on with making Worthing a little cleaner.

Our verdict? The weather was gusty, the conversation was flowing and the litter didn't stand a snowball's chance in a hurricane!

Same time next week, team? Let's hope the forecast is a little less blow-by-blow and a lot more GoodGym-friendly!

Absence makes the heart grow fonder

At least that is what the Worthing parkrun team anticipated. Having been “paused” for 6 weeks, a large turnout was expected. With local parkruns having struggled during that time to fill their volunteer roster, the call went out. If there’s going to be a shortage of volunteers in your neighbourhood, who you gonna call? GoodGym!

The call was answered

Four GoodGymers, with no fear of the forecast weather, stepped up to the task. Belinda, as she likes to do, directed proceedings. Ricky, threw himself thoroughly into the task. Set up, marshalling, and clear down, as well as a few kilometres of running Ricky showed more energy than the predicted storm could muster. John set up the speaker system to ensure there was no excuse for the briefing being missed. No excuse for the pesky rule breakers this week. Paul meanwhile kept a close watch on proceedings. Well, not so much a watch, more the volunteer app, recording accurate finish times for the participants.

Sometimes it’s good to be quiet

Fortunately the expected deluge didn’t happen. In fact neither expected deluge! The storm delayed its arrival long enough for us to be safely finished, something which was also helped by the unusually low numbers.

Does anyone listen to the briefing?

It seems they do. And we have evidence. After all the usual celebratory and health and safety items were covered Belinda made a significant announcement. A potential course for a second Worthing parkrun has been identified! The call is out for any volunteers who would like to help move this forward from possible to real. Go on, you know you want to - or you know someone who does. Please share!