Volunteers who are the lifeblood of Keswick’s weekly Saturday morning parkrun were celebrated by participants taking part in the 10th anniversary event.
Those who turn out week after week to ensure the event runs smoothly received a big cheer from the field of 350 ahead of the 5km run up and down the Keswick to Threlkeld Railway Trail.
“At the start of the event there is always a briefing and extra time was given to acknowledging the fact that it was our birthday,” said event director Lotty Bradford. “There was also a big banner up and some people had brought down cake.
“It went really well. It was a bit colder than the week before when we had a record (552) number of entries.
“As well as plenty of visitors there were also a lot of locals, which is always nice to see.
“There was also a celebration for our volunteers such as Mike Hurst and Maureen Shirvell because without people like them the event does not happen.
“They are more senior members of the community but have been stalwart volunteers week after week.”
Lotty said that the number of participants over the years had been “really good” and added that there were no plans to change the event format in the future.
“Whilst we are there for lots of visitors and tourists, we are also there for members of the local community to help with their fitness and wellbeing,” added Lotty.
The first participant home on Saturday was Innes Wright of Scottish running club, Hunters Bog Trotters, in a time of 17-21 and he was followed home by George Tiffin-Lowe (17-42), of Border Harriers.
The first Keswick athlete to finish was Jacob Tonkin (8th in 18-39) while bringing up the rear was Ella Scott, of Keswick, in 1-07-52.
