There was cloud on the felltops and the river was high as Penrith parkrun paid tribute on Saturday at Frenchfield to one of its longstanding and committed volunteers, Harry Patrick, who died on September 28.
Andrew Richardson led a minute’s applause as a last thank you for Harry’s service to parkrun.
He said that Harry, who was ‘ex-RAF and a true gentleman’, was a dedicated and passionate Penrith parkrun supporter; he had contributed to the design of the current two-lap course and was an astute token sorter.
Members of the Eden Runners club have posted tributes describing Harry as a lovely, gentle man, with a great sense of humour, supportive, encouraging and a compassionate listener – as well as ‘king of the tokens’.
Gill Silson, long term Penrith parkrun colleague and friend of Harry’s, added: “Harry served his country and his community. He has been a hugely important member of Penrith parkrun and its committee, initially running himself.
“He was instrumental in designing the improved split and finish of the course. During the last 13 months he has bravely, and with full Scottish humour, battled illness and he has been supported by his loving partner, Liz, family and friends.
“As well as being an athlete, his passions included: anything aeronautical, as a former RAF navigator; music, as a talented pianist and a great fan of Gilbert & Sullivan; bell-ringing at Shap; and sailing with Liz on Ullswater. “
Harry, thank you and RIP.
Saturday’s parkrun participants totalled 206 and included parkrun tourists from Chester, Leicester, Norwich, Durham and Newcastle. Twenty-four people notched up a personal best, while both the first man in, Sam Upton, and the first woman, Donna Edmondson Booker, took on the Penrith course for the first time.
Dave Bentley completed his 100th parkrun and Alison Rowsell, herself a regular volunteer, ran her 200th parkrun, of which only four have not been at Penrith. How’s that for loyalty?
And talking of loyalty, all the volunteers who every week organise and manage the Saturday morning event, setting up the course ready for 9am, with those who sort the report writing, marshal the course, manage the finish line, hand out and scan tokens, run as pacers, process the results, and then clear everything away again, are a very special bunch.
This week Isla Robinson, 14, a pupil at QEGS, was marshalling for the fourth time, as part of her Duke of Edinburgh bronze award. She plans to do another eight stints. She commented how she’s met a lot of nice people at Penrith parkrun, a sentiment echoed by one of the tourists who reported that the Penrith event is extra friendly.
For a full list of Saturday’s runners, joggers and walkers and their times, go to https://www.parkrun.org.uk/penrith/results/latestresults
