Giles presents a defibrillator to Blackpool Parkrun |
| When the organisers of the Blackpool parkrun were on the lookout for a debibrillator to safeguard the lives of its runners and volunteers West Lancashire Mark Masons were only too happy to step in to provide the lifesaving equipment for such a worthy cause. |
| Giles Berkley, Assistant Provincial Grand Master for Mark Master Masons, was delighted to attend the event and present the defibrillator to Co-Event Director Catherine Fletcher, who, together with her colleague Mark Gillatt organises the regular Saturday morning parkruns. |
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Giles Berkley presents the defibrillator to Catherine Fletcher, surrounded by volunteers |
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(Behind is the 85ft high Cocker clock tower each side of which faces exactly north, south, east and west.)
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| Catherine thanked Giles and Mark Masons for their generous donation before waving the runners off at 9am. |
| Parkruns, Catherine told Giles, are free, weekly, community events taking place all around the world. Saturday morning events are 5k and take place in parks and open spaces. |
| Giles is now able to explain that parkruns are about enabling and encouraging all, regardless of ability. |
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Participants being put through their paces |
| On Sunday mornings, there are 2k junior parkruns for children aged four to 14. Parkrun is a positive, welcoming and inclusive experience where there is no time limit, and no one finishes last. Everyone is welcome to come along, whether you walk, jog, run, volunteer or spectate. |
| On the day there were people of all ages and abilities taking part from the young to the more mature, there were even runners with their dogs. Our own Assistant Provincial Grand Master, Giles, was so impressed that he intimated that he wanted to take part. |
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More runners enjoying the day’s events |
| The Blackpool parkrun which meets every Saturday in the beautiful surroundings of the resort’s famous Stanley Park has been, like all parkruns everywhere, hit by the Covid-19 pandemic which brought not only Blackpool but all parkruns to a halt, in fact losing 71 weeks to this terrible virus. This has no doubt had an adverse effect on the physical, mental health and wellbeing of runners and volunteers everywhere. |
| Parkrun couldn’t happen without the dedicated volunteers who from organising the finish funnel, operating the timer, or scanning the runners' barcodes with simple barcode readers or help out marshalling the course, if you would like to join the runners or volunteer go to https://www.parkrun.org.uk |
| Words and pictures by Pete Dunn and Bob Boal |
