Despite the change of weather, with a sudden drop in temperature accompanied by Cumbrian ‘mizzle’ – it was a bank holiday weekend after all so only to be expected – 379 runners and walkers took part in Penrith parkrun on Saturday morning.
The numbers were inevitably increased by a larger number of parkrun tourists attending from far and wide.
It may be of interest to present readers that as the popularity of parkrun has increased, both nationally and internationally, there has grown with it many achievement challenges to aim for.
Not simply in the form of personal bests. These can encompass such activities as completing the alphabet in park runs – starting with say Accrington and ending with Zenor, although you do get a pass for X!
Then there are shorter fun ones such as the pirate challenge which involves running seven C’s and an R (say it out loud) or staying alive where you run 3 B”s and 3 G’s.
Alternatively you could choose more personal challenges where you attempt to run 60 parkruns where your finishing times must end in seconds starting at 00 and ending at 59 – known as the stopwatch challenge which is not as easy to achieve as may appear.
There are many other challenges that have been devised which certainly increases the entertainment factor for those runners who have adopted parkrun as very much a part of their weekend routine and who love a list too!
However to return to Penrith on Saturday – due to the change of weather and a moderately stiff breeze, times generally were slower for most runners although there was still a creditable number of personal bests enjoyed by some 28 participants.
The first male runner was Jules Hatcher who completed the run in a time of 18mins followed by Jason Burgess in a time of 18.19.
The first lady home was Sarah Taylor who completed in 21.11, followed by Charlotte Newby in a time of 21.43.
The first of our local Eden Runners to finish was John Williams in 6th position in a time of 19.01, John achieved his all time personal best the previous week in a time of 18.36.
It was also a pleasure to see Rainer Burchett enjoying another parkrun at Penrith in what is becoming a regular attendance for him.
Rainer has previously enjoyed considerable success in the London Marathon having run that event 31 times, starting in it’s inaugural year and thus eventually allowing him to run the event as an ‘ever present ‘ participant.
This group was recognised in 1995 after the 15th London Marathon with only 42 runners being eligible and who were thereafter allowed to enter the Marathon with a guaranteed entry.
This group has now been whittled down to only six members who were able to run in this year’s London marathon.
Volunteering remains a vital part of Park Run and offers a wonderful opportunity for people to connect socially and to provide invaluable assistance to enable so many people to participate in this event each Saturday.
Congratulations were extended to Dave Evans who celebrated his birthday on Saturday and who has undertaken an impressive total of 381 volunteer duties at Penrith.
There are many volunteer roles available, including setting up and clearing the course, marshalling during the run, time keeping and token collection.
Volunteer numbers can drop during the summer months due to other commitments arising and new volunteers are always welcome.
It’s also an excellent opportunity to see if participating as a runner is something that would be achievable (which you can be assured it will be) as it has been for many beforehand.
If you are interested in becoming involved either as a runner or volunteer, contact the group via www.parkrun.org.uk/penrith, our Facebook page or by emailing [email protected].
