Virtual parkrun Takeover!

Once upon a time, in a galaxy far, far away, GoodGym Swindon launched the pacing team for Seven Fields parkrun, Swindon's new parkrun. In the olden days, in Life Before Lockdown (LBL), on a Saturday morning the Swindon running community would gather at Seven Fields or Lydiard Park in our hundreds, chat, run, and most likely chat some more. And so it was, back in January that GoodGym turned parkrun red and had so much fun that we committed to regular pacing, marshalling, and volunteer slots at Seven Fields.

Fast forward just a couple of months, and although LBL may feel like a distant memory, the community spirit and support of Swindon runners is strong and vibrant and our virtual parkrun continues to grow and grow. And although GoodGym has had to change how it operates, it continues too. So, because we just love a good deed or two, this weekend we took over virtual parkrun.

With Run Director Cath at the helm, we were soon lined up for pacing, tail walking and marshalling spots and eagerly waiting for 6pm on Friday to roll round and signal the start of the weekend. And then we were off, as part of a grand, record breaking total of 176 runners, joggers and walkers hitting the highways and byways of Swindon, cheered on by our magnificent marshalls who even wore hi vis for the occasion. A whopping 55 people got a virtual parkrun PB - congratulations to you all! And we welcomed some new people to virtual parkrun and some people to the parkrun family for the very first time. Hello and welcome to all 36 of them - we hope to see you next weekend too. You can check out the results here.

Kiya Dee was the fastest woman, with Alex Smith being the fastest man. We had tourists (Matt and Clo) from GoodGym Bristol and also Chippenham, Hove Prom, Panshanger, Tooting, Eastville, Boston, Cardiff and Didcot. We hope they all enjoyed the Swindon experience and come back to visit soon. There were also some good deeds along the way...from the simple act of saying hello to people we saw out and about to thanking key workers - the small acts of kindness that can make a big difference. And that was on top of all the usual loveliness and support that is in abundance in our running community - we may be physically distanced but we are socially connected and the support for everyone who takes part is what makes every virtual parkrun such a special thing.

We might not be able to meet in person but we're busy doing shopping for vulnerable people who are self-isolating and keeping in touch by phone and letter with isolated older people who we normally run to visit. We're also keeping our eye in with domestic painting and gardening jobs so we are ready to go back to helping local community groups when the time comes. Meanwhile don't forget the weekly Zoom social ♥️