Grab your runners and some disposable gloves.

We all know the benefits of jogging for our health. However, thanks to ‘plogging’, the eco-friendly running trend that is sweeping (and sweeping up) Cork, it can also be good for the planet.

Plogging is a mix of the English word jogging and the Swedish term “plocka upp”, which means picking up. This green fitness trend was born in Sweden, and now has made its way to Leeside.

Glanmire runner Roger Overall has just celebrated picking up his 5,000th piece of litter. Now plogging for four years, he was inspired by neighbours who he’d regularly see doing road clean-ups.

“I thought, ‘wait a moment’, I can do that while I’m running,” he told Yay Cork.

“If I picked up 150 pieces of rubbish a year — three pieces a run — I imagined I would make a big difference. But there is so much litter, that even the 5,000 pieces I have collected is nothing, unfortunately. On a good week I would run every morning and what I pick up in a week could range from 50 to 100 pieces of litter.”

Since it officially came into being in 2016, over three million people have participated in organised or solo ploggas. Every day, approximately 20,000 people plog in over 100 countries. Even the President of Iceland and the Prime Minister of India are keen ploggers.

Overall explains that anyone can take up the trend, just “don’t be embarrassed”.

“It is a growing movement that people are getting involved in. So don’t feel odd, though it might look odd,” he laughs.

He adds that another option people can do is an evolution of plogging, called pliking which is picking up litter while hiking and biking.

Overall’s top tip is to carry something with you that you can put litter into. “I have pockets in my running shorts that I fill and once they are full that’s when I stop. You can bring a bag along with you or you might want to bring a glove.

“The big thing is to just start doing it. It becomes addictive and you will find your runs gain a purpose. A higher purpose almost.”

Okay, we’re sold. If you fancy it, dig a bit deeper into plogging here.