IT WAS a very special Barry Island parkrun this week as it was the 100th time the volunteers and runners had assembled ready for their free weekly timed 5km run.

It was May 2, 2015, that 197 runners took part in the first event and 99 runs later, 195 runners took part in beautiful spring sunshine, the fourth highest attendance.

Before the run got started there was a presentation of an ‘I Ran Well’ bell to Barry Island parkrun from local running club and supporters of parkrun, Penarth and Dinas Runners.

When a runner thinks they have done well or broken their personal best, they ring the bell to let everyone know how well they did.

The bell got its first ring with this week’s first finisher Oliver Williams. Oliver of Les Croupier RC was first to finish at the first event at Barry Island and this week he repeated it with not only first place but a new course record of 15:58, beating his own time by 16 seconds. This was his 17th visit to Barry Island and has finished first on every occasion, a fantastic achievement.

In second place this week was Penarth and Dinas Runner Ben Butler-Madden who set a new personal best of 16:55.

For the ladies, first place went to junior runner Moli Lyons of Barry and Vale Harriers in a time of 20:45. Catherine Barker of CSSC Sports and Leisure completed the course in second in 21:41 and third for the ladies was another junior runner Caitlin Williams of Seriously Mad Runners (Barry) in 22:51.

Of the 195 finishers this week, 25 were first timers and 42 recorded new personal best times. Over the course of the 100 events that have taken place, 2,340 different runners have taken part in the weekly 5km run covering a combined distance of 49,975km.

As well as the runners and volunteers there were plenty of supporters to cheer everybody and also plenty of donated cake - cake and runners go hand in hand perfectly.

To make the day a memorable one, the organisers asked the runners to take a few minutes once their run was complete to write on a tag what Barry Island parkrun means to them. These were collected at the end and will soon be shared.

Co-event director and run director for the day, Ian Thorne, said: “Some of the messages are very personal, reading through them it’s easy to see just how much parkrun means.

“Most of the tags were written anonymously and one of my favourite messages was one that simply said…It made my mum proud of me.”

It’s only a few short weeks until the next milestone for Barry Island parkrun, their second anniversary on May 6, when there’s sure to be a party atmosphere again and the likelihood of more cake.

If you’d like to take part in the free 5km you must first register with parkrun. This can be done through the website at parkrun.com/barryisland

The parkrun event is totally free and for all abilities. You can run, walk or jog your way around Barry Island’s two lap course.

Not a runner but still want to take part? There are plenty of opportunities to volunteer.

For more information on how you can help out, visit the website for all the information needed.

Barry Island parkrun is run entirely by volunteers and each week a minimum of 15 volunteers are needed to make sure the event can go ahead safely.

If you can help, Barry Island parkrun would love to hear from you.