This morning saw me back as Run Director at Bexley parkrun unexpectedly as this week’s original RD had a last minute change of plans.

A shortage of RDs who were otherwise engaged, meant me stepping forward to occupy the role.

I am staying local as I’m off to see Gorillaz at Tottenham Stadium this evening. Nothing I might add in connection with the recently approved Go Ape in Danson Park!

Fortunately, the volunteer roster was already full so a lot of the organisation had been done.

Just over 400 participants, ran or walked resulting in another successful parkrun.

A monumental milestone was achieved in the UK this morning - parkrun celebrated its one millionth event! And GoodGymer Graham was part of the party as Run Director at Bexley parkrun.

Graham reflects on the role of volunteers:

This awesome achievement has been reached by a significant contribution, rain or shine, from volunteers, sometimes referred to as parkrun hi-viz-heroes.

There are numerous roles you can play each week, including timekeeping, marshalling, handling out finish tokens and scanning barcodes so each and every runner/walker will receive their finishing position and time after the event.

Who are these volunteers?

At Bexley parkrun, we have young persons doing their Duke of Edinburgh Awards, runners willing to give up a run and non-runners who simply like to be part of the parkrun family and use volunteering to achieve this.

There are “milestone” t-shirts to be earned for volunteering 25, 50, 100, 250 and 500 times. Obviously, if you are a GoodGymer, you can earn two credits - parkrun and GG - in one morning 🌟🌟!

If you fancy joining in for a fun experience, register with parkrun to get your parkrun ID, and then look for volunteering opportunities - your offer will always be appreciated. A full list of roles and responsibilities can be found on the website.

Volunteering is not restricted to Saturday mornings as a number of junior events take place on Sundays.

Go on, take a look and see you soon.

I was RD again at this morning’s Bexley parkrun which saw 510 finishes including a number of first timers and tourists from other events.

Some nice comments afterwards as to how participants enjoyed the run and Danson Park ❤️.

Swapping my pink marshal bib from last week for the blue and white Run Director hi-viz today, another glorious morning awaited 430 runners and 26 volunteers at Danson Park for Bexley parkrun number 677.

There were a number of first timers to parkrun this morning and I pointed out how addictive parkrun can be as we celebrated Indi Singh’s 300th event.

However, even he was usurped by one of my fellow RDs, Stephanie Dungate, completing her 500th event!

Congratulations to our first timers and to the 300/500 milestoners.

On a hot, sunny morning*, I made my way to Bexley parkrun meeting point, but it became clear that my knees were not going to carry me 5k.

Next best thing - offer my services as a volunteer! My offer being duly accepted, I was posted to “Joe’s Corner “.

For those of you familiar with Bexley parkrun, Joe is known for being a stalwart of the event. He’s also famous for providing Jelly Babies as participants near the finishing line.

So imagine the disappointment as runners exited the woods and awaiting them was a marshal devoid of all sugary pick-me-ups!

My role was best described by one of the runners, “You’re doing a good job, but where are the Jelly Babies?”.

It's back to Run Director duties next Saturday for me, but lesson learned for future marshaling occasions!

*The photo is an old one, on a rather colder, wetter day!

Today’s Bexley parkrun was #666 but there was more good than evil, as the sun shone for a change over Danson Park. As Run Director I’m pleased to report another successful parkrun and trust all runners, walkers and volunteers had an enjoyable meeting.

Every week parkrun relies on volunteers to make it happen. There's always a wonderful community spirit and you don't need to be a runner to get involved. If you're wondering what all the hype is about, sign up to give it a go and see for yourself!

An opportunity arose to add to my various volunteer roles at Bexley parkrun, by donning the pale blue hi-viz vest as a parkwalker. My knees have been playing up so a 5k walk around Danson Park was just the ticket.

parkwalking has for some time been promoted by parkrun HQ, so it was nice to join up with some other walkers, one recovering from an achilles injury and two ladies, relatively new to parkrun, who were enjoying their Saturday morning stroll 🚶‍♀️🚶‍♀️.

The walk completed, I made my way to Chestnuts to join other volunteers for a coffee ☕️.