AFTER a long pause, local runners are delighted to be back and enjoying the Barry Island parkrun each Saturday morning.
The Glamorgan Star spoke to the main organiser Ian Thorne and he said the event had settled back into the old routine very smoothly.
He said: “Our weekly number of entries used to vary between 180 and 300 and we are back to that level already.
“The ethos of parkrun is simplicity, so people were able to use their old registration bar code, and it is easy to welcome new runners.”
That bar code enables runners to turn up at any other parkrun in the UK – or indeed around the world. It has sparked a new craze, with people seeking out parkruns around the country – and Barry is seeing its fair share of enthusiasts.
Ian said that a group from Yorkshire had taken part recently – as well as some runners from Australia. Of course, before the pandemic, the parkrun linked with Gavin and Stacey enthusiasts in Billericay, with a flood of Essex guests coming to run at Barry Island.
One small detail. The parkrun is a trademarked event, with runs taking place all over the world (apart from Spain for some reason) and it is all lower case and just one word. It is non-profit with proceeds re-invested in the event.
Ian said that the parkrun was not quite back to normal: “We are keeping the pre-race briefing to just two minutes and we are discouraging runners from getting into groups as a precaution.”
Vale MP Alun Cairns is a regular at the parkrun. He said: “I am very grateful to the work of the volunteers who made the return of park run such a success. The parkrun events form a vital part of our physical and mental wellbeing, while the continued success of parkrun has encouraged many new running groups to establish across the Vale.”
Photographs by Kyle Isitt at Photographs Matter.
