Litter pickers were at the ready this morning, as a fab four GoodGym Manchester contingent joined the Withington Civic Society for a March litter pick as part of the Great British Spring Clean. Welcome to Laura for your first GoodGym session!

Lots of bottles, cans, takeaway packaging, and e-cigarettes were picked up (the latter going in a separate waste route) from the side streets in Withington. After a few nights of heavy rain, lots of sodden waste was making the bags extra heavy too, providing a upper body/arm workout as we strolled around the area. The discovery of an area with lots of clear plastic security boxes, an old clock casing, shed roofing (we think), and other odd items provided a book-end to the litter picking power hour.

With hi-vis, bag rings, bags, and litter pickers provided by Keep MCR Tidy, we got some photos as a group with some props, before enjoying the homemade cake and a cup of tea or coffee in the Methodist church. A great way to spend a bit of Saturday.

Express delivery this evening as we delivered a whopping 250 Manchester Post community newspapers in the Longsight and Rusholme area. Filled with local good news stories to spread positive, community focused highlights, we took just under an hour to get around our patch.

With a short run either side from and to Ardwick, we also got a few more km in to add to the Strava stats.

Good to see the positive reception from locals and maybe we'll have a few more to deliver next time.

Welcome to Robert for your first GoodGym Manchester session 👏 Great to meet you.

This evening was a bit different. After being approached by Natalie Kate Moss Trust, a charity raising funds and awareness for the treatment and prevention of brain haemorrhages, we combined GoodGym with their Brain Gym resources to get us thinking about our brain health and lifestyle. As part of that, we covered ~4.5 km from St Peter's Square around via Hulme, University of Manchester, Ardwick, and circling back to Sandbar. The combination of a brisk jog and social interaction both forming a significant aspect of the Brain Gym suggestions 🧠

We had bumper numbers this evening, with Scott fresh from a speedy Media City Half Marathon, Hazel joining from Stockport, Peter back from Sri Lanka, Tanoshi and Fanette joining for their 1st Monday night group run, Robert, a journeyman of Bath and Merton GoodGym groups, and regulars Sam and Ben.

We self-quizzed ourselves on the Brain Gym recommendations, including taking small steps, keeping a record or journal, having a support network, "colouring our plate" for food, and keeping a good sleeping routine. All this while enjoying refreshments and tasty pizza at Sandbar (some were more colourful than others) and discussing a potential Mam Tor litter pick in the spring... watch this space 💪