Lake Orion residents live in a community with an abundance of recreational activities.

Whether you are a biker, a runner, a fisherman, a hunter, a snowmobiler or a walker, there is a lake or a trail or a safety path for you. We have the Polly Ann Trail and the Paint Creek Trail both traversing through some of the most picturesque areas of the community.

And even man’s best friend (Rover) has a place to exercise – the Bark Park.

Having said all that, if you are a runner — and there are thousands in our community — have you ever considered making money while you are running?

Well, according to a new Swedish exercise you might be able to pick up some small change and also have an impact on the environment.

It’s call plogging and comes from a combination of the Swedish words plocka upp (pick up) and jogging — thus plogging.

Us runners know the advantage of interval training, where we take short breaks and perform some type of exercise such as bending or stretching.

In plogging, we are encouraged to pick up litter while we are running. It evidently has become a fitness craze in Sweden. Yes, you will have to carry a plastic bag for trash or have large pockets on your running shorts!

The additional exercise comes from a quick running step followed by lunges and squatting as you pick up litter and maybe the occasional soft drink can.

Now I don’t know about you but along some of my routes I have observed tires and the occasional animal carcass. For me to combine my running with cleaning up the environment, while a noble endeavor, seems a bit of a stretch – no pun intended.

We’re told that interval training boosts endurance and burns more calories but there is just something funky about looking for litter while out for a run.

Heck, I always seem to be watching out for cracks in the cement or tree roots on the dirt trail. Now I have to look for litter too!

Well, being the environmental conscious runner that I am, I will try this technique on my next run and let you know how it works out.

Just maybe I will pick up enough pop cans for the 10 cent exchange to pay for my Biggby vanilla latte after the run!

And by the way, there are two great runs coming up in Lake Orion:

• Sunday, May 20 is the Dragon Run, which is a 5k.

• Monday, May 28 is the second installment of the Memorial Day Veterans Day rn, another 5k.

So see you there!

Bill Kalmar

Lake Orion