It was another beautiful day for the 567th Penrith Park Run, writes Alison Rowsell.
What a summer we are enjoying. 375 runners completed the course and as they lined up at the start a microlight aircraft flew overhead and circled round for a closer look.
Before the run started, I spoke to Harvey Bradley, a veteran runner from Lowestoft.
Harvey told me that Lowestoft is the most Easterly of the UK park runs and therefore attracts a lot of visitors who aim to run the most Northerly, Easterly, Southerly and Westerly events.
I also met Olivia 11 years and her twin brothers Finley and Alfie, aged 9. They are from Temple Sowerby and were all running their first park runs.
They were celebrating the start of the school holidays and had been training for several months. It was great to see them all crossing the finish line – congratulations. Alfie ran a lot of the run with a stitch, but he was determined to finish.
First home today was Jean Christophe Monerville, originally from France but now based in Hong Kong. Jean Christophe explained that there are no park runs in Hong Kong and this was only his third ever park run.
He grabbed the opportunity to run at Penrith today whilst visiting his in-laws. First female home was Hannah Berry from Bellahouston Road Runners.
Megan Cotrell from Dundee was running at Penrith today and she is getting married next month.
This is her hen weekend and when she left home yesterday, she had no idea where she was going. Megan ran the course in a bridal outfit complete with veil. This didn’t seem to slow her down.
Finally, I met a lovely Penrith couple, Victoria and David, who were celebrating their wedding yesterday. They got married at Penrith Library. They then walked up to the Beacon in all their finery with guests in tow.
This must have been quite a sight. They walked back into Penrith for a meal at Villa Bianca and then finished with drinks at The Royal. Sounds like a perfect way to start married life. Congratulations and best wishes to them.
