My Volunteering Milestone at parkrun

This weekend I earned my 25th credit for volunteering at parkrun UK. During the pandemic, I made a conscious decision to participate in parkrun more when it returned, both as a runner and a volunteer.

 

Then I broke my foot.

 

Parkrun returned whilst I was still injured so I rocked up a couple of times to my local spots (Witton parkrun and Hyndburn parkrun) and offered to help out. After a few weeks, the Events Director asked if I'd like to join the team of Run Directors at Witton and I jumped at the chance. What a great opportunity!

I now volunteer a minimum of 2 out of 7 weeks on the Run Director rota but I'm always there to lend a hand when I can and when needed. There's plenty of chances to gain a run and volunteer credit on the same day but I also really enjoy static volunteer positions like timekeeping, barcode scanning and marshalling at the top of The Beast (like today!).

I love parkrun - it's good for my mental health and well-being. I enjoy seeing everyone's achievements and the fact that parkrun is VERY much all-inclusive. You'll hear me bang on about this A LOT! My video clip was used on a feature on The One Show when we returned after lockdown which lead to an interview in our local paper - Lancashire Telegraph And I will NEVER stop encouraging people to play their part in the support of parkrun. If the volunteers weren't there week on week then parkrun would simply not happen.

So, help me celebrate my V25 by signing up to volunteer at least once in the next 5 weeks. If you're going to volunteer at another parkrun then comment below where you're going to help out and what your favourite volunteer role is!