Digested read: went to Alvaston parkrun for a spot of parkrun tourism. It was very nice thank you for asking. An absolute blast in fact.
Undigested read:
Yes indeedy, it was an out of this world parkrun, because it offered up an earth rise, and not (m)any parkruns do that, and I particularly appreciated this what with today being the 50th Anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing it was a nice touch. My photo of this Alverston offering is almost as good as those taken by the actual moon landing crew of the actual earth. I wonder if you can tell the difference? I’m giving no clues…
… though I will say this, I think mine is actually better because you can make out the UK and therefore if you squint a bit, quite possibly the location of Alvaston parkrun itself. Win for me therefore, though I suppose to be fair the crew maybe had other skills, but they also had a team behind them. The Clangers made exactly this point in their Facebook post today – it takes a team to make history. I love the Clangers. I hope they have survived the moon landing. Not so much as take nothing but photos, leave nothing but footprints, we left a load of trash last time we visited including 96 bags for poo, urine and vomit. Poor Clangers, hope their planet is still safe.
Coincidentally, that is exactly the guiding principle of parkrun too. Not the leaving your poo behind, that’s a definite no no, but in that it takes a team to deliver parkrun too. It’s all about the team work – and there was a well-oiled team in operation at Alvaston today, hurrah! Here are just some of them:
In less joyful mood, Alvaston parkrun might as well have been on the moon given how lost I got on the way there. The directions they give are good, the satnav postcode works. However, I somehow, somewhere missed a turn off, and then I got caught up in road closure and a veritable vortex of roundabouts and circles that would have left even a Somerdale Pavilion parkrun regular, dizzy with confusion. I’ve yet to experience their Curly Wurly route to be fair, but I nevertheless know it to be the stuff of legend, but going by their ace video of it, I’m confident I was doing the vehicle based equivalent. Either that, or possibly Scalextric, but not in quite such a fun way.
It didn’t help that my satnav was soooooooooo judgemental about the whole thing, suggesting U-turns, ‘at the first possible opportunity’ even though it wasn’t safe to do so, and then having a definite edge in her voice when I failed to oblige. Why can’t my satnav be all friendly and supportive when it comes to a U-turn, like the lovely Alvaston parkrun marshals, such as the one exhibited below for illustration purposes? (Thank you lovely marshal).
At one point my satnav just entirely gave up on me and started to give my ETA as post parkrun start. At that point I can’t lie, I did start to catastrophise a bit, WORST DAY OF MY LIFE, and may even have cried with frustration momentarily before I had a self imposed reality check. It’d all be alright in the end, and if it wasn’t alright then it wasn’t the end, and anyway, it’s parkrun, it’s supposed to be parkfun, not worth getting into such a disproportionate state of angstiness about the whole thing. Worse case scenario, freedom run. That’s not so bad.
Even so, I was relieved when I got back en route, even if my need to get to my destination promptly meant I had to drive straight past Tile Town, which I’m sure is a great loss. I imagine it’s a bit like legoland, and they recreate extraordinary wonders out of tiles. They are bound to have done something lunar related given the significance of the day, I’d love to see the whole known universe miniaturised and recreated in ceramic tiles. Oh well, next time. Disappointingly, I couldn’t even find any images of this exhibition on the interweb, but I did find this very nice cactus sculpture made out of glass tiles which gives a glimpse of what might be possible, so that’s good.
On arrival at Alvaston parkrun I was reminded anything is possible apparently, so that’s good to know too.
Yeah, OK, to pacify the pedants among you, what they actually say is ‘impossible is nothing‘ which is very Yoda, but it that’s good enough linguistically for a Jedi Master then it’s good enough for me. I took the image from Yoda’s Wikipedia page by the way, not quite sure how to attribute it properly.
Oh, you want to know what possessed me made me choose Alvaston parkrun as my destination of choice? Well, partly I was in search of an ‘A’ (alphabet challenge for the running challenges chrome extension), it’s amazing how even a virtual badge can assist with running motivation. If you’ve not come across this yet, it’s basically like a sticker chart for grown ups. Having said that, I find the running challenges operates more as a guide to choosing a parkrun to head off to for tourism purposes. It’s all a bit arbitrary, and picking up an ‘A’ is a good a reason to rock up somewhere new as any. Alvaston is also reachable from Sheffield, particularly if you don’t get lost in all the flyover dual carriageway scary bits, and a relatively new one. It’s only 8 weeks old (bless). Perfectly formed though, like my new froglets! Have I mentioned them recently? I do try to at every possible opportunity. No visitor to my house, or indeed anyone who walks past it but makes eye contact with me as they do so, is entrapped and made to come and admire them in my back garden. I’m so excited, they’ve all just appeared en masse, exiting my pond. It’s my first year of home grown spawn to froglets and I couldn’t be prouder if I’d given birth to each and everyone of them myself, even if, had I done so, I’d probably have been burned as a witch a few centuries back – heavens, even today, given how bigoted this world seems to have become. Maybe heading off the moon and staying there isn’t such a bad idea. … Nope, not going down that wormhole of misery and despond, let’s admire a newly emerged frog instead.
See, gorgeous aren’t they? Phew, now doesn’t that feel better 🙂 everybody loves a froglet. Well, they should do, surely this is something we can unite around! They are so very tiny, and yet completely perfect.
Where was I? Oh I remember. Lost, hopelessly lost. And a bit panicky. When my satnav was telling me (with rather unnecessary insistence and a somewhat patronising tone I felt) that I’d ‘reached my destination’ I was apparently in the midst of some sort of out of town shopping centre/ industrial estate. Surely not?
Just as I was losing hope, this vision of loveliness and competence appeared:
I know, how fortuitous was that!
I overshot the entrance, but this legend in a tabard, stopped the traffic so I could reverse back and into the designated Derby Homes car park. I’m not sure how the core team have negotiated this, but it is a boon, as they have agreed:
Free parking (approx. 110 spaces) is available at Derby Homes (the entrance is opposite Wickes) on London Road, DE24 8UZ between 8:30am – 10:30am
It is worth noting the finish time though. I completely didn’t. More of this later. I parked up, alongside loads of work vehicles and motivational bannering. I do like a motivational banner.
Parked up, at around 8.30 fortuitously enough – in fact, if I hadn’t got lost, I’d probably have been too early, and never spotted the marshal or the entrance at all, overshot, and still be driving towards Dover even now, and there isn’t even a parkrun there. Well I don’t think so anyway. Look, it’s not important, I was just trying to emphasise a point. Move on dear reader, move on. The point is, it it isn’t hard to spot the car park entrance once you know it’s directly opposite Wickes, and also that it does look like you are going in to an industrial estate, because you sort of are.
The directions I’d printed out, said exit car park and turn right. In fact, the marshal directed us left, unless I’ve forgotten how to tell my left from my right which is entirely possible, but I think not on this occasion. So I went left, following other parkrunners to the bus stop and the slightly hidden entrance into the park just behind it. Leaving our friendly car park marshal expertly coraling cars and parkrunners with extreme competence (yes, that is a thing). It should be an extreme sport really, like extreme ironing.
So, I sheep like followed other parkrunners into Alvaston park. Well, this is a surprise. It possibly helped that near biblical rain and storms of the night before suddenly gave way to glorious sunshine, but you enter this gorgeous verdant park, which comes as a complete surprise as you’ve just been driving on a rather dull and grey roadway to get here. Just wow! Mature trees lined the walk way down to where the volunteer team were congregating. It smelt wonderful, the trees heavy with pollen after rain. The joy of that wore a bit thin as I was near asthmatic by the end of it, but you have to appreciate it all the same. On the horizon were giant sculptural wind turbines. I quite like them, I think they are rather elegant, I recognise not everybody feels the same, but, at least one other parkrunner paused en route to capture the scene. We can’t both be wrong!
Other worldly indeed. You get to pass Mars on the way in, which was a first, and if you listen out carefully, no, more carefully than that – there you go! You can just make out the melodic tones of Holst’s The Planets, carried across to you on the breeze. Very atmospheric. It all helps to set the scene.
The finish funnel was all set up. There was a gathering of folk near the imaginatively named Waterside Cafe.
There are loos, and I made a new friend in the queue, bonding over the mutual necessity of a pre parkrun precautionary pee. There are only two loos, so a bit of a queue potentially, and they had alarmingly weak flushes, but fine. There was also an informal bag drop (at your own risk) which rather sweetly, kept your bags of the ground. We have no such provision at my home parkrun Sheffield Hallam parkrun.
People milled and chilled, and I had a little explore. So glad I did. I not only discovered another planet – well, not in absolute terms, I think others had found it first, but it was a surprise to me – but I also hooked up with Jessica Ennis! I’ve been trying to get a photo with her for years. First tried at a VitalityMove event at Chatsworth, and she even commented on how fine my companion animal Geronimo was – and someone took some pics of me and her (and Geronimo) all together – only they didn’t, missed opportunity. Today though. Result! Also, I’m ahead of her on this occasion! The camera never lies remember dear reader, humour me!
Oh look, first timers’ briefing, went and joined in that. The briefing was good, but oh my that course is complicated, wait, what two out and back sections you say? That’s erm, not my first choice…
It all seemed very well organised, with a lot of volunteers, the course is quite complicated so does need a fair few marshals to keep people literally as well as metaphorically on track. Oh I suppose you’ll be wanting to know the course, well, according the Alvaston parkrun website the course blah de blah the route is as follows:
Course Description
This is a ‘pancake flat’ course on tarmac and is a creative variant of an ‘out and back’ route. We start next to the community/café building in the centre of the park completing one and half laps of the grass field ending up at the corner of Lakeside school. From there we then do a long ‘out and back’ up the Route 6 cycle super-highway turning around near Aldi. Once back at the school there is a second short ‘out and back’ section in the opposite direction turning around at the end of the park’s lake. You then finish close to where you started back in the centre of the park.
and it looks like this:
Maybe a bit like a kite, with a string flowing out behind? Oh I don’t know, you’ll have to come up with your own idea. But you know what dear reader, unless you are super fast, you can just follow the person in front, and if you are super duper fast, then it’s extremely clearly signed and marshalled – just watch you don’t overshoot at those U-turns, your internal satnav will be furious.
After the briefing, parkrunners moved to the start, which was pretty near to be fair. Although it’s a 5 minute walk to the start from the car park, the cafe, start, finish, loos are all pretty close together.
Check out the super polite dog too – one for barkrun methinks.
then it was the Run Director’s Briefing. It was her debut apparently, but I didn’t know this at the time as she seemed like a pro to me. It was nice and friendly, welcoming, milestones acknowledged, tourists acknowledged, first time everers greeted, an invite for a family day in the park tomorrow and a big cheer for the graduating group from the Alvaston C25K. It was all very friendly. About 200 or so runners I think, I didn’t count, and can’t be bothered to go check the results – I don’t know what the normal turn out is, but I expect with it being a new one, it may take a while to plateau. Anyway, here is the RD in action, with attentive wide-eyed in wonder parkrunners taking it all in. It’s genuinely refreshing when people are quiet during the briefing. Long may that habit continue, it’s a rare thing indeed.
and then, ‘suddenly’ we had count down, 10, 9, 8 etc*, and then lift off!
I turned my watch off instead of on by mistake. I’d like to think that was the critical point at which a new pb became out of the question, but it wasn’t. Off we all went. Scampering down the avenue of trees. You do sort of one and half laps of the field, but it’s not too bad as it isn’t miles and miles and it’s fun seeing the runners all streaming ahead. I think must thin things out a bit for faster runners too, though I think it’s a good pb course for anyone wanting to chase those, as it’s a cunning layout that means if you position yourself in the right place at the start, then you shouldn’t really be having to do all that much overtaking. By the way, before you get too critical, it’s harder than you think to take photos whilst running, even at my lamentable speed.
I think it’s fair to call this course erm, ‘idiosyncratic’ but no worries dear reader, it’s well signed. At the top corner of the park there are signs to differentiate between the first and second lap routes – and then, it changes again later. As if by magic. These are high end marshals, not just directional pointing, high fives and cheering – though they perform those tasks admirably too, but actual relocating of cones and selves mid course. Respect!
One new thing I saw here, which I’ve never seen before but which is genius and lovely, was the presence of an official parkrun buddy! What a great idea. I mean I’m just assuming that’s sort of part running marshal (keeping and eye on things on the course) and part befriending anyone that might want a friend. Aw. Every parkrun should have one! Or lots. I mean, on one level, every parkrun has the potential to become a parkrun buddy, but this sort of breaks the ice if you are new and feeling a bit of a wall flower or otherwise lost and lonely.
So we carried on round for the first lap, past the satellite dishes that are actually whispering domes which sounds a lot of fun and to the next set of marshals in situ to stop you running on to infinity and beyond, because being space themed is all well and good, but it’s better all round if we just stick to the usual 5k. Also, you might end up in the lake if you didn’t take a sharp right here.
As you corner, you can see faster runners on the other sides of the square. Very scenic! And then you are back up at the ‘lap 1/ lap 2’ intersection, only this time you get to travel onwards, past the (slightly scary) owl cut out and on to pastures new. How exciting!
You jog on – or perhaps in your case sprint, it’s all tarmac, waving at the marshals as you pass and then you do the first out and back bit. Caution, it’s a lot further than you expect, I don’t know why. I think because I hadn’t looked at the route in advance, and I just assumed the out and back sections would be evenly split, and they most certainly are not! However, it is pleasing all the same. For example, you get to pass the marshal with the classiest leggings of the morning. Check out those different patterned legs. You espy the dancing car-park marshal from earlier, now relocated and dishing out high fives and high tens even like they are going out of fashion, you even get to see the speedier runners rushing back towards you. Lots to take in and all marvellous of course! I also saw my toilet buddy from earlier – but my reflexes weren’t quick enough to snap her, and an actual proper first time ever at parkrun parkrunner and the parkrun buddy with her buddies, having a ball. Hurrah! Feel the parkrun love people, bask in that glow of parkrun joy!
And then you reach the end, and the turning point. This could be viewed as a metaphorical turning point in your life, things will be different from now on, you can be the person you want to be – or you could just turn around and start over again – though that would be figuratively rather than actually, it was a 5k not a 10k today remember. The 10k was yesterday, apparently…. I met someone who’d run it and someone who’d marshalled it, but couldn’t find what the event actually was. Oh well, no worries, it’s been and gone now, I’m sure it was lovely, if a bit wet and blustery out!
Or it might just have been a turn around point of course, but where’s the fun in that. Lovely helpful marshalling though. Another highly trained special operative in action here!
And if you set your course up, people will come! And they did, running up, turning around, running back to the tunnel and the high-fiving hi-vis hero and back to the right and down to the park bit where you can see where you started and runners trailing on right in front of you … Wave at the tail walker, check out those leggings again, wave at pee partner, check out the tunnel mural. It’s busy, busy, busy, out on them there paths at parkrun I don’t mind telling you! All parkrun life present and correct. And those photos won’t take themselves!
My favourite overheard conversation of the morning though, was when a dog walker (not a parkrunner) was strolling towards runners and her friendly hound was tempted to come up and greet parkrunners as they passed. She immediately called the dog back ‘nobody wants to say hello to you right now‘ she said firmly but with good cheer, and then I heard an immediate desperate chorus from parkrunners behind me calling out ‘but we do want to say hello, we really do!’ It was quite a cute dog to be fair, and another polite one. I heard doggy hellos and greeting hugs being exchanged behind me as I ran on. They seem do seem to be particularly polite the pooches in this park, no Wellard rough necks in these parts to be sure!
and oh no, we aren’t allowed to carry on straight, we have to go out and back all over again! They weren’t joking about these out and back bits, oh no sorree.
So awf we go again, back out towards the pond. Haven’t we been this way before? We go a bit further, taking in planet earth, mercury and more marshals until we get to another turn around, fair play, this is a much shorter section. Oh, and I actually found a living thing I could overtake, left that slug standing. Well, I say ‘standing’ I don’t know if that’s anatomically correct, upright maybe more accurate…
Then, finally, you get back to the place you were earlier shooed away from, and you can weeeee down the hill (it’s a very, very slight downward incline) and the end is in sight.
So down you go and then another right angle turn past the marshals and you are on the homeward straight. It’s not far now, through a spectacular avenue of trees, and towards the finish line, where it feels like you must be the first parkrunner through as a veritable mob of well wishers line the finish funnel, cheering and clapping and making you feel truly a.maz.ing. Now, I’m not completely delusional, I may have benefited from the extreme solidarity of the C25K group who came en masse for their graduation run. Every member was there at the finish to cheer all the other runners in their band through. They supplemented the event team, who were also out cheering and clapping in force. Heart warming, and also brilliant fun. Who wouldn’t feel better after being cheered home by this fabulous lot!
So the experience is nearly over, through the finish funnel, scooped up by the lovely scanners and time to cheer through the last few finishes. It’s always emotional parkrun, and this seemed a particularly cheery and supportive one. What parkrun should be, it felt inclusive and fun, with the super speedies through to the slow and steadies and the long in the tooth experienced runners to the just starting out. #loveparkrun
There was bell ringing, by those who felt the urge, and the C25K group, gathered for post parkrun photos, which is compulsory. It takes a great deal of photographers to faciliate that. These milestones matter, good job people, good job!
and the last few volunteers found their way back to the finish hub from their spots on the course. And I had my suspicion that occasionally the start and finish lines at parkrun do get moved whilst you are en route. I’m not saying it’s not the event team’s prerogative to do this should they so wish, is just that I’ve never caught them in the act before. I don’t think they were moving it any further away on this occasion though, or indeed closer, perhaps just testing the water in case of future need. Stress testing I think it’s called. Yep, that’ll be what it is/was.
Aw, love the parkrun picture, check out this tableau and all’s right with the world, for this snapshot in time at least.
Before I peeled away, I checked in with a couple of parkrunners that they’d be OK with me using their pics. 100% I spoke to seemed fine with it. I explained my rule which is I delete any really unflattering ones unless comedic value is strong enough to outweigh compliance with personal dignity. This seemed broadly acceptable. However, if youa re reading this and I have included a photo in this that makes you want to crawl into a hole and never emerge again, or you just don’t want to be here, let me know and I will immediately delete. By the way, I didn’t get any peeing shots, the person to whom this statement is relevant will understand. All good. 😉
I then I retrieved my bag, and headed to the cafe via checking out the waterfowl, which are numerous and impressive:
Then to the cafe. Turns out, the cafe is really good value, I got a veggie cob/bap/roll/breadcake with quorn sausage and egg and a latte for £5 which is pretty good I think. They also had cake and ice cream, a fairly impressive menu for the size of cafe, and it was immaculate, with seating inside and out. I wasn’t sure I’d find a seat, but good news, my pee partner from earlier was outside on a table, which she’d been saving for her husband, but he’d been waylaid by token sorting duties inside, so room for me. Yay! We had a companionable chat, good to hear more of other tourist options. Walsall Arboretum sounds fab! The coffee was a bit rank, I think they make it with UHT but the bap was OK, and the company grand.
We were chatting away quite companionably, until, thankfully, a friendly local asked if we were in the carpark, as it shuts at 10.30. Eek, I had no idea. ‘What happens at 10.30 then?’ I asked, revealing myself as the dullard half-wit I am ‘erm, it shuts.‘ OK then, best get moving, what with it being 10.23. Our conversation ended abruptly, I bolted the last of my bap, and got in the fastest parkrun sprint finish in many moons. Those affected, made their speedy way back to the car park.
and that was that.
For the record, I was the last to leave the car park, waving to the security guard who emerged from his hut at 10.29 just as I was pulling out. Phew, that was a close one. I honestly don’t know what would happen if you over stayed. You’d be unpopular for sure, or stuck. 10.30 is plenty of time, you just mustn’t forget. The marshals were discussing this as a group of us sprinted off, I think ‘remind visitors they need to leave by 10.30’ may be added to the ‘to do’ list for oneo r more of the hi-vis heros in future. It probably comes under ‘any other duties’ that always covers a proverbial multitude does it not?
By the way, today was an extra special parkrun, at Alvaston because of the following happenings, all of which are epic, and all of which were reported on the Alvaston parkrun Facebook page in a post following the event. Hurrah!
Congratulations to all 222 finishers today. A special mention to the Alvaston joggers couch to 5k group who ‘graduated’ today and Val Naylor for breaking the Age Grade course record at 99.26%. Also well done to Clare for her first time Run Directing.
Did you see that though? 99.26% that’s insanely impressive. Just wow. In fact, it definitely is, because it set a new age category record for this week for the 75-79 age group, and I reckon it’s one that will stand a loooooooong looooooooooooooong time, as other age category records have been achieved largely by runners hitting ‘just’ the high eighties. She got a mention in the Alvaston parkrun run report for event #8, and quite right too – ‘rocket-propelled Val’ indeed!
Mind you, having said that, she has a young whipper-snapper at her heels with Angela Copson achieving 97.12% in the 70 – 74 at Nobles parkrun today as well. Blimey. And I’ve never even come near their finish times now, let alone these percentages. Hurrah for the VW. They are bringing running home. Mind you, some women runners are pretty hardcore. What about that one that got knocked down by a deer in the middle of a 10k but still bounced back and recovered sufficiently to come first in her age category. Not only that, but Karen Brewer, for it was she, told the BBC news
“I heard a rustle and seconds later I was thrown into the bushes and a deer landed right on top of me. … After I found out I was OK, I got up straight away, I didn’t want to waste any precious seconds. … I actually found it quite hilarious.”
and, on Friday, July 12, Sifan Hassan of the Netherlands broke the women’s mile world record at the Diamond League meeting in Monaco by running a time of 4:12.33. Just believe dear reader. It’s amazing what is possible. She didn’t get hit by a deer though, so I suppose she had it a bit easy really, but even so, fair do’s, that’s still impressive.
It’s been a good week for running veterans to be fair. Did you see that Roy Englert, a 96-Year-Old man ran a 42-Minute 5K to Break World record for his age group a couple of days ago too. He shaved 8 minutes off the previous record, and, was still faster than me today, though I dare say he didn’t stop to take photos and chat to the marshals on the way round. parkrun is a run not a race people, so I’m allowed…. Here he is:
So there you go, that was that. Pretty epic. Other epic parkruns are available of course. Conkers parkrun did a fancy dress theme, or at the very least, some game parkrunners unilaterally decided to don fancy dress, which amounts to the same thing. That’s pretty epic. Went to Conkers parkrun with Smiley Selfie Queen on a penguin mission, I can imagine they’d embrace any excuse for a parkrun party to be fair, and quite right too! They had quite a cool Conkers parkrun run report from their space-themed event in fact. Worth a gander, particularly if procrastination is your thing. You’re welcome, happy to help.
Bushy parkrun also had an ace run report with space referencing a-plenty. Loving your work run writers parkrun world over! Also, they included a picture of my mum, in good form, cheering on the runners. Good choice. I was pretty over the moon about that I don’t mind saying…
Also this courtesy of Durham, NC parkrun, America:
Respect.
In other news, there was an actual al pacino, cappucino, al fresco, Acapulco, A capella chorus, when Hallmark of Harmony were a flash mob of singing marshals at Sheffield Hallam parkrun this morning. That would have been quite something. Thing is, all parkruns are epic in their own ways. Wherever you are epicness will out. I’m happy to have experienced Alvaston epic today. I hope you embraced epic wherever you were today, or if – inexplicably – you didn’t get to parkrun, enjoyed being epic in your own way!
Only this flash mob could better that – credit to AXEL SCHMIDT / REUTERS. People dress like singer-songwriter Kate Bush as part of the “The Most Wuthering Heights Day Ever” flash mob in Berlin, Germany. Excellent. With this photo BBC week in pictures you spoil us indeed. Imagine that lot singing ‘running up that hill‘ just wowzers! Maybe if Hallmark of Harmony recruit enough new members they may yet make it so… stranger things have happened.
parkrun all done and dusted for another week. Yes, yes, that is a wee bit sad, but there is always next week. And remember dear reader, don’t cry because it’s over, smile because it happened! Dr Suess – indeed Mr P S-H himself too no doubt – wouldn’t want it any other way!
There was one poignant moment though. I couldn’t find the moon, not anywhere. I asked, but we all concluded it must be up in the sky where it belongs. Maybe that’s a good thing, maybe it will be safe there. This park hosts Venus, Mars, Earth and Mercury and yet the moon sits apart. It is a thing of wonder. Stay safe.
Of course in the meantime, no need to moon around (see what I did there? Lawks a lordy I can be hilarious at times) if you want to prolong your parkrun fix, you can read all my parkrun related posts here. Or not. It’s up to you. You’ll need to scroll down for older entries though.
So thank you lovely Alvaston parkrun people however you participated to make it the fab event it is. May I just conclude by saying thank you for posing so beautifully, what an exceptionally photogenic lot you are! One small point – constructive criticism if you will, any chance of a lead emu for next time I come? Thanks in anticipation. Appreciated. This one is called Fluffy apparently, and after all, if Nambour parkrun can, then…
How exciting that so many new people were doing their first EVER parkrun at Alvaston today. I predict a rosy future for you all!
#loveparkrun
*only they didn’t actually, I think it was just ‘go’ but you get the general idea
Running Scared 