- parkrunday 11th September 2021
- parkrun #121 – Jesmond Dene
- Different event #68
- Time: 53:57
I’d had a bit of a rubbish week. My knee injury has been getting me down, and I had to take the decision during the week to withdraw from the Great North Run. I was gutted. I was so looking forward to it, particularly since it was cancelled last year. But it wasn’t to be. On Friday I managed to find someone to take my race number, so at least someone will get to run tomorrow who couldn’t have otherwise.
I still drove up to Gateshead on Friday with my little sister Katy to spend the weekend with my big sister Jane and her husband Chris.
So, on Saturday morning I made my way to Jesmond Dene in Newcastle. This is a lovely stretch of woodland and park along the river. At the top of the hill there’s a playing field and a lake.
Run Director Jocasta was so supportive after I’d said on Facebook I’d be walking due to injury. I tracked down Gina who was Tailwalker and introduced myself. It turns out she’s originally from West Derby in Liverpool. It’s a small world! As we walked round she told me all about the history of the park, and we talked about Liverpool and parkrun.
We were joined on our walk by young Jake who was helping his dad Ian collect all the signs in. Jake has done over 200 junior parkruns, most at Town Moor where Ian is the Event Director. We chatted about junior parkrun, parkrun tourism, and the table of most events (which he’s proud to be on!).
The weather was glorious, the surroundings beautiful, and the company engaging. By the time I crossed the finish line my spirits were well and truly lifted and I walked back to the car with a massive grin on my face. parkrun really does have a magical, restorative effect!
A massive thank you to everyone at Jesmond Dene parkrun this morning – the volunteers and core team, the locals who said hello, and the many tourists who were also there to claim a J for their parkrun alphabet!
