By Noelle Williamson
Any parkrunner has an open invitation to any parkrun. Runners from Kent and Nottingham were made welcome at Bramley parkrun last weekend, as parkrun itself turned 21.
The Bramley team even accommodated a stroppy uninvited guest – Storm Amy.
By 8.45am core volunteer Tom Bell had finished inspecting the course for fallen branches and debris; and Paul Bennett, another core volunteer, was cheerfully heading uphill with an armful of hi-vis signs, to stake out the route before the 9am start.
Meanwhile, more volunteers were arriving via the bottom gate, zipped into bright cagoules and hi-vis pink and blue Parkrun vests, and carrying takeaway coffee. More were gathered inside and outside the park hut, checking their responsibilities and the route, and collecting vests, walkie-talkies, route cones and staging signs.
Why had they signed up for a wet and windy morning in the open, rather than staying home and dry like sensible people?
Community and friendship – everyone said so. Satty Virdee expressed it this way: “Well, I volunteer every week. If I’m not here, the Parkrun won’t go ahead really. People enjoy seeing me on the steps. So, yeah, it’s just a regular weekly thing. I mean, I could have stayed in bed.”
Ella Wright was buzzing. “I absolutely love Parkrun. It’s fantastic! So that’s why I’ve volunteered to Tail Walk.
“My job is to encourage the parkwalkers along the way and get everybody safely back. And then I will be the last one to cross the finish line. Nobody is ever last.”
There isn’t usually a time limit on Parkrun and Parkwalk: it takes as long as everyone needs. That day, though, because Amy was predicted to turn really nasty mid-morning, Ella would be trying to get all the walkers to the finish by 10am, so everyone could be safely home before Amy let rip.
Meanwhile, runners were gathering outside the hut, some with dogs, one with a baby buggy, lots in shorts.
Tom Bell said: “We love it. (And I’m a bit mad.) It might be slightly chilly, but I think the camaraderie and the support from other runners and volunteers gets you round. And once you get moving, you soon warm up.”
The dad with the buggy, whose toddler daughter was ‘dressed for the North Pole’, said: “Well, you’re guaranteed a result, aren’t you!”
His daughter has done around 106 parkruns, and dad over 420.
Catherine Gray added: “I’ve done 561. Over many years – many, many years.”
Someone waved; it was time to walk up to the start, for notes from the Run Director.
The Bramley Parkrun has regular Summer and Winter routes, but a Run Director can change a course on the day if need be – like when Amy turns up, (or Bram, Chandra, or Eddie ) chucking water and threatening to snap tree branches. Mark Lawson kept it brief for the assembled runners, walkers and marshals.
“Follow the perimeter of the field to the turnaround and come back down the path, so we’re avoiding all the trees,” Mark added. “It’s a bit of a hybrid summer/winter course, but just follow the person in front and the marshals out there and enjoy yourself!”
It was 9am. He gave the signal, and away they went.
You can see from Saturday’s photos how quickly the starting pack of 147 opened out on the left turn, with front runners emerging on the slope. Male or female, lanky or stocky, these guys love to run.
Then there were the Parkwalkers, in light blue vests, with Ella bringing up the rear as promised. The vests are new this year, since Bramley Parkwalk became an official aspect of Bramley Parkrun.
Men, women, their children and their dogs do parkrun – and parkwalk. Some have a baby bump, some a pacemaker. Some have quite a collection of medals at home. Some use hiking poles. Let’s not forget the buggy pushers. Everyone has a place.
On Saturday, though, only the fit and resolute Parkwalkers braved the weather, so the pace was much faster than usual. They were indeed all done by 10.00.
There were marshals posted all along the course, like mother and daughter team Jamie and Rosie at the top of the hill; Reg, the ‘Guardian at the Gate’, down by the Cenotaph entrance; Satty on the steps up to Warrels Road; and Carol at Carol’s Corner.
Robin is at the U-Turn almost every week, where the course leaves the top path and cuts down between the two conifer plantations.
Conditions were grim for the runners and walkers doing their second circuit in wet clothes and trainers, with the prospect of the third circuit after that.
The walkers – out a lot longer than some runners – had that camaraderie Tom spoke of as they plodded gamely on.
As for the runners, even allowing for the automatic ‘smile for the camera’, a surprising number seemed to be enjoying the wildness of the day and the madness of carrying on in these conditions; or appeared delighted with themselves for turning up and doing it.
Some were running in their own headspace, earbuds in and game faces on; others seemed comfortably and privately settled in their own rhythm. Pairs ran together, talking and smiling, even while rain slid into their eyes and mouths.
By the time they reached the u-turn for the third time, and the final, downward slope towards the finish, there was no mistaking their fatigue and relief. Still, they showed Amy that Bramley parkrun happens every Saturday morning at 9am.
Come rain or shine.
More details on Bramley parkrun – and to register – can be found here. A junior parkrun is held in Bramley Park every Sunday morning.
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