A sport with a difference – Ben on ‘plogging’:
Another of CVFR’s international runners is also making the most of the current situation – in Ben Mounsey’s case to shine a light on the growing problem of littering on the fells and mountains, and encourage others to do something about it. Ben, who is sponsored by Sportshoes, has written a blog on the Sportswear company’s website to raise awareness of the revolutionary movement of ‘Plogging’ – a combination of jogging, whilst picking up litter along the way – which is beginning to gather pace and momentum internationally.
Founded by leading activist Erik Ahlström, plogging derives its name from two Swedish verbs – plocka upp (pick up) and jogga (jog) and offers a much-needed response to growing concerns globally about increasing amounts of discarded waste, littering and a rise in plastic pollution. People’s poor treatment of nature has come to the fore during lockdown with local and national news outlets decrying the spoiling of sites of natural beauty with discarded rubbish.
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Aside the positives for the hills and their flora and fauna, this movement offers those who practise it a number of benefits linked to health, fitness and mental well-being, including extra incentive to go out into the great outdoors, added feel-good factor of being part of something positive and doing good, but also. more range of movement and increased flexibility (stretching, bending, leaning and twisting) plus an increasingly heavy bag to work on cardio, burn more calories, and build core strength. To find out more about plogging and how you can get involved, visit Ben’s blog: https://www.sportsshoes.com/running-hub/motivation/plogging/?fbclid=IwAR397nNubHynrvEpJRDXIKasA-H8DzewQwhQV2eUs7hhPbZSxdHKYlAJ0po

America, CVFR runner and inspirational athlete, Peter Maksimow (in the green top), on one of his local plogging events
Staying on track – Marc’s one-minute mental health video on the benefits of running:
Finally, CVFR’s veteran fellrunner Marc Collett, who has recently fought hard to return to the sport after a period of sustained serious injury, was keen to encourage others to also gain from the benefits of getting out and being active in the nature around us. For mental health day, Marc worked with Sam, at Curious Motion in HX – who has launched a fabulous gallery of one-minute motions as part of Calderdale’s very own gallery of mindful videos – to produce a short video on running entitled ‘on track’.
The full range of inspirational videos can be viewed at: http://www.curiousmotion.org.uk/omm-gallery/?fbclid=IwAR3VMEil9Rq07RQNCneRKPyialjMYtYa7V5LXPxgkGdl-TnpVyneRctSgE4
– CALDER VALLEY NEWS REPORTER: catherine jones