Successful return of Warrington Parkrun

THE 330th Victoria Park Parkrun made a successful return on Saturday morning with 403 participants completing the 5km course.

This was only 16 less entrants than the last event which took place before the lockdown on 14th March 2020.

Race director Huw Jones was really pleased and delighted when reflecting how all the hard work and changes had gone so smoothly and effectively.
He said to the 33 strong team of volunteers on behalf of himself and fellow director Cal Bardi: “A really big thank you to all of you for volunteering. Sorry we weren’t able to chat to you all, but there was an awful lot going on today.
“With so many changes to the course, along with the finish area and how the barcode scanning had to be carried out, we were quite concerned about how it would go.
“But apart from a few teething problems with the new app, it all appears to have gone well and we actually were able to send the results off from Vicky Park straight after the event which is a first.”
There were some fine performances on the new course. The new path laid down in the early summer path made for a great start, especially the first 100 metres to Mayor’s Corner. It replaced an old potholed surface that was always puddled in the wet weather. The socially distanced funnel finished area worked well and extended the first lap providing a brilliant viewing place for volunteers to cheer everyone on.
The race directors continued: “There were some fine finishes with Tom Battarbee (Unattached) finishing in a time of 17.29 and Louise Blizzard (Warrington AC) finishing 20.01. There were even four buggy entrants with the babies having a wonderful time.
Huw continued: “As it happens, we were the third biggest parkrun in the North West, and 22nd largest in England, which is impressive.
“So, many thanks again for volunteering. Hope to see you all soon.”
Warrington Parkrun starts at 9am prompt every Saturday morning.