Didn’t we have great conditions for this weeks parkrun? This is the lovely time of the year, in-between the seasons where the heat of summer is over and the savage chilly winter winds and rain have yet to arrive. So, yesterday was cool with only light winds and it made for a staggering 44 PB’s this week, from the field of 284 participants – that means every 6-7thperson got a PB! I’m afraid there are way too many of you to mention you all by name, but my congratulations to you all for running your best time ever at parkrun. I enjoyed walking parkrun this week. I had participated in an after work rogaine during the week and had managed to fall during the event and landed heavily on my left knee. It’s bruised and still a bit sore, so taking it easy this week. Isn’t that the beauty of parkrun, that you can go at your own pace each week with no pressure or obligation to smash it week after week. Kudos to everyone who gets out of bed and shows up and participates.
From the field we welcomed the following first timers to Lower Hutt parkrun; Andy Perloy, Kia Tere, Lauriane Lehembre, Coco Anihera, Mary Goodwin, Gary Lu, Luis Perez, Blair, Sadieand Simon Couch, Pun Sonthichai, Maddy and Tracy Klapand Stuart Brown. Everyone is welcome at parkrun and I hope you enjoyed the outing and friendly atmosphere enough to make this a regular part of your weekend in the future. Keep that barcode handy and I hope you can join us again next week.
We also had the following people from other parkruns visit us this week, Jacob Reese-Jones, Blake Buxton, Russell Clarke, Megan Bramley, Courtney Prestage, Katie Helm, Jiwon Chun, Emily Shrosbree, Megan Dwyer, Lovemore Hungwe, Taki Presland, Kelly and Skyla Rushton, and Ashley Christofferson. Nau mai haere mai ki Te Awa Kairangi, I hope you all enjoyed our riverside course.
Unfortunately we had three ‘Unknowns’ – people without their barcode this week. Lower Hutt has a strict ‘no barcode, no time’ policy! If you have made the effort to turn up and be there for the 8am start, wouldn’t it be great to see your name listed in the results - right?
We celebrate several milestones this week, beginning with the juniors who completed their 10thparkrun and become eligible for the first milestone t-shirt; Thomas Dutton, Otis Oosterbaan, Tama Pohio, Penny Flinnand Pearl Kennedy. Tama and Penny also got PBs today, so a double celebration for them. Annalese Lapwood completed her 100thparkrun, becoming eligible for the black milestone t-shirt. Mary-Ann Janssen completed her 300thpark run – not a t-shirt, but still a significant milestone. Also reaching the 500 run status this week was Bruce McCardle. Bruce is the sixth homegrown parkrunner who started their journey in Aotearoa, to achieve this milestone, and he is also the first original Lower Hutt parkrunner to achieve the 500 milestone. Well done Bruce, it was a pleasure to see you chose Lower Hutt for your 500 and congratulations to each of the milestone parkrunners this week.
Finally, a big thank you goes out to our team of volunteers who brought you park run this week -Floro ASTRONOMIA, Colin BOYD, Andrew CUSHNIE, Simon EDWARDS, Matilda HALL, Susan HAYNES, Dan JOE, Ruth KERR, Victoria LEE, Heather LESLIE, Mark MALONE, Bruce MCCARDLE, Eden MORRISS, Jasmin and Mark MORRISS, Martin O'SULLIVAN, Rachel SINGERS, Matewai TUKAPUA, Stephanie WHITEand me – Winnie Cleary. We need a team of volunteers to run parkrun every week – so consider giving it a go if you haven’t already. There are several different roles, and it really is fun. I have checked the roster, and there are plenty of opportunities to get involved. Volunteering even has it’s own milestone t-shirts. I have earned the green 250 run t-shirt, and the red 50 volunteers t-shirt.
Looking ahead mark 4th May in your calendar. The park run that week is a pacer event, so if you are aiming for a particular time, there may be a pacer to help you achieve that goal. Later in the day there is a celebration event at Buzz café from 3pm to 6pm. We celebrate Lower Hutt park run’s 12th birthday. Now isn’t that worth celebrating?! The celebration will be a chance to see your park run buddies in their ‘glad rags’ rather than the usual exercise gear.
In closing, have a great week. With ANZAC day on Thursday so some of you may be taking the opportunity to have a long weekend away somewhere. I have a family wedding in Auckland next weekend, so won’t be here. Safe travels to those not here next week, and remember Lower Hutt parkrun will be here, as usual, same time, same place.
Nga mihi nui
Winnie Cleary, Lower Hutt parkrunner #319257
