THIS Saturday saw a quiet event for both volunteers and runners, possibly due to it coinciding with the final British & Irish Lions game that was being shown that morning.

Co-event director Lyn Evans warned all participants not to talk about the game as he was going home to watch it afterwards.

It was a milestone week for regular volunteer and runner Geoff Twigg as he made his 25th volunteering appearance, making him eligible for a purple parkrun t-shirt.

Volunteers are rewarded with a milestone t-shirt when they reach 25 separate volunteer occasions.

Barry Island parkrun needs a minimum number of volunteers each week in order to put the event on, with this week seeing a decrease in volunteers coming forward. A lack of volunteers could put the event at risk of either having to be cancelled, or runners not receiving official times, as all finish role marshals would be used out on the course instead.

Anyone who is interested in being a volunteer can email barryislandhelpers@parkrun.com, or comment on the weekly post on the Facebook page. Volunteering is easy, fun and a good way of giving something back to the community.

Regular runner Rachel Davies from Penarth Women’s Running celebrated her 100th parkrun at Barry Island, complete with a 100th sash that she managed to wear for a complete lap. Runners who reach 50 and 100 runs are able to claim milestone t-shirts as well as 250 & 500 runs.

It was also a big occasion for Jess Kingston and Steve Lias who used Barry Island parkrun as the last three miles of their fundraising challenge of completing four consecutive non-stop marathons in 24 hours.

Barry Island parkrun had 103 participants who either ran, jogged or walked the 5km course. Parkrun is for everyone and at Barry Island we welcome joggers and walkers of all abilities.

Of the 103 participants there were 11 first timers, 25 recorded new personal best times and there were representatives from 11 different clubs

The first runner to cross the finish line was Les Croupiers member Gabrielius Stuokus with a time of 18.37. Gabrielius has now run at Barry Island seven times, coming first twice.

Second to finish was Thomas Lowrie with a time of 19.00 and third was Martin Williams - also a Les Croupiers member - with a time of 19.18

For the ladies, first to cross the finish was Kate Drew from Taunton AC on her first visit to Barry Island, with a time of 19.23.

The second lady was Lisa Cleary from Penarth and Dinas Runners with a time of 22.47 and Caitlin Williams of Seriously Mad runners (Barry) came third in a time of 23.44.

Barry Island parkrun started on 2nd May 2015 and since then 2,659 runners have completed 12,033 parkruns, covering a total distance of 60,165km. The event has also seen 2,481 new personal bests.