parkrun is all about people and people mean stories of where, who, why and the 413th Penrith parkrun was no exception.
Jacqueline and Adrian Shiel from Melbourne, Australia, were on a month’s holiday in the UK which they had planned specifically to include parkruns.
Penrith was chosen as they were staying at Center Parcs with members of their family who had travelled from London, Yorkshire and Scotland to join them.
For Jacqueline’s sister, Susan Miller it was her first ever parkrun and for nine-year-old Lauren, a regular Junior parkrunner at Pontefract, it was her second full parkrun.
Lauren was the hot tip to come in first out of the group and she duly did, closely followed by her aunt, Dasha in 28:11 and 28:13 respectively. Adrian had hoped to run too but was nursing a broken toe so, not to miss out on the fun, he volunteered and marshalled out on course.
For many parkrunners, it is all about parkrun tourism and visiting different parkruns. Often these are people who are closely involved with their local parkrun and we welcomed the run director from Ferry Meadows parkrun in Peterborough. Jayne and her husband, Mark Turner love the Lake District but this was their first visit to Penrith.
Colin Mayne, a member of Portsmouth Joggers Club was also on holiday in the area. He had completed a triathlon at Castle Howard last weekend and decided to make Penrith his first parkrun tourism visit. He occasionally runs at one of his local parkruns and was looking forward to a flat course.
Local Eden Runner Carl Sealby was looking to run his last parkrun in the VM45-49 category as he celebrates his 50th birthday on Monday. He had a good run finishing in 18th place in 21:38. Happy Birthday Carl!
parkrun can be the opportunity to do something about fitness and general well-being and for local couple Karen Savage and Dave Moffet turning up at Frenchfield for their first parkrun is a step in that direction. Karen’s time was a respectable 42:59. Both enjoyed the experience; they were off to buy new trainers and intend to return next week!
All parkruns rely heavily on their volunteers and there is always a core group who turn up in all conditions to set up and make sure that everyone has a positive experience. One of our regulars is Dave Evans, who celebrated his 300th volunteering stint.
Dave not only arrives early to check the course but he has a special spot by the river (affectionately known as Dave Evans’ Corner) where he is a popular and welcome sight, encouraging everyone to give their best. Many thanks, Dave, you are a legend at Penrith parkrun and we all appreciate your support.
Many runners use parkrun as a vital part of their training for longer races. Local club Eden Runners, is no exception and Paul Saager was there to tell people about the club’s annual 10k at Acorn Bank. He was recruiting volunteers and competitors for this lovely road race on September 17th.
A full list of this week’s results and names of volunteers can be found at https://www.parkrun.org.uk/penrith/results/latestresults
If you would like to find out more about Penrith Parkrun or perhaps volunteer then contact us either via our Facebook page or email [email protected]
