Sure, most people have hobbies. Maybe it’s pickleball. Or model trains. Or mountain hiking. Or quilting. But if you’re Alan Speicher, it’s plogging.
“It’s a conjunction of ‘jogging’ and ‘to pick up’ – only in Swedish,” Speicher explains without really making it any clearer.
So, we’ll intervene – plogging is an activity where recreational runners carry a bag with them and pick up litter and trash as they go. It’s a way to get exercise and do some good for the world – and it literally does come from the Swedish phrase for “to pick up” (plocka upp) combined with the word “jogging.”
And Speicher, who lives in the Belmont Greene neighborhood, is the uncontested master of plogging in Ashburn, in the region, maybe in the whole dang commonwealth.
To read about how Speicher got started with this unique hobby, hear some amazing stats about how much trash he has picked up, and find out about his annual plogging race complete with cardboard medals – click here and head over to the Ashburn Magazine website for the full story.