Another sunny Saturday, another Penrith parkrun!
Last week, 236 people set off just after 9am to run, jog or walk the 5k route at Frenchfield.
Twenty-one clubs were represented from around the country and 35 were at our parkrun for the first time.
Of those 35, 9 completed their first ever parkrun and we hope to see them back again. Nineteen participants scored a new personal best. First and second home were Eden Runners Jonny Cox and John Williams, with Ross Parkinson coming third.
Karen Bridge of Eden Runners was first female, with Emma Leveson second and Heather Eccles third.
Among those taking part for the first time were David and Linda Walker, of Morecambe. They had decided to visit Penrith because it was sunnier and a lot less windy than Morecambe.
David is a member of Lancaster and Morecambe AC and finished in 8th place with an incredible age grading of 80.51 per cent. He regularly represents England and the UK in Vet 60 10ks and half marathons and was proudly wearing his England Athletics vest as it was St George’s Day.
Linda belongs to Morecambe Community Runners and is coming back from having had two broken legs. David was Morecambe parkrun’s first run director and they both like visiting other parkruns. They told me that they really enjoyed being at Penrith.
Since parkrun reconvened after COVID, Penrith parkrunners have been very lucky to have Emma Watson scanning our tokens. Having been a parkrunner, Emma decided it was time to volunteer but she gets her run in beforehand by running down to Frenchfield from the other side of town; a distance of 3.25 miles.
Token scanning is just one of the tasks that our valued volunteers do. Parkrun would not happen without this trusty band and on Saturday 29 volunteers were there to make sure that everything ran smoothly. Perhaps you are looking for a way to meet people. Parkrun is very friendly and if you don’t run that should not deter you. There are all sorts of ways in which to help so come along and see for yourself.
If you would be interested in finding out more about Penrith Parkrun please visit the website at parkrun.org.uk/penrith. A full list of results can be found at https://www.parkrun.org.uk/penrith/results/latestresults/
