LAST Saturday was a cloudy day which was threatening raining however, even the sudden downpour just as the event started did not deter 161 runners take to Barry Island for the 157th parkrun.

This week’s event saw local running group Seriously Mad Runners taking over of all volunteering roles and also providing odd numbered pacers ranging from 19 minutes up to and including 41 minutes, guiding 37 runners to new Personal Best times.

Seriously Mad Runners was started by local residents Ian Thorne, Julie Broughton and Nathan Dee. Known for their purple and lime green kit, ‘SMR’ are often seen at local events both participating and supporting.

Club runs are organised for Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays and currently there is a Couch to 5k group that are on their fifth week. All sessions are free to take part in.

If you would like more information on ‘SMR’ you can find their Facebook at facebook.com/groups/SeriouslyMadRunners also their webpage www.seriouslymadrunners.com

Barry Island parkrun could not take place every week without the dedication and hard work of those that give up their time to allow others to enjoy the event each week. If you would like to help out or would like more information about Barry Island parkrun, you can get in touch via email at barryisladoffice@parkrun.com

Volunteers for this weeks’ event were:

Helen McCarthy, Tracy Buckle, Paul Buckle, Joanne Bagwell Amber Condy. Lisa Williams, Caitlin Williams, Julie Smith, Natalie Hayes, Sue Gershenson, Ryan Price, Rachel Jones, Peter Havard, Suzanne Blake, Samantha Blake, Lyn Evans, Hilary Davis James, Gaynor Loveless, Denise Aplin, Justin Doran, Ally Twigg, Charlotte Clark, Sarah Thomas, Alex Tombs, Dave Shields, Linda Chapple, Ruth Davies and Henry Davies

The Pacers were: Jeff Cox, David Brown, Richie Williams, Ian Thorne, Mark Gabb, Nathan King, Richard Street, Martyn Parsons, Geoff Twigg, Sally Bloomfield, Rebecca Helmore and Julie Broughton.

On Sunday it was the turn of Barry junior parkrun.

With the sun set to shine over the Romilly Park course. Volunteers and runners were feeling in great spirit. However, as the course was being laid out, mother nature had other ideas and down came the rain.

Did this stop our faithful juniors from taking part in event number 38?

The answer, no it didn’t.

31 brave juniors brought smiles, cheers, high fives and words of encouragement from our fantastic group of energetic volunteers.

Before the race started, Run Director Nathan Dee and the other juniors on the start line congratulated Stefanie Maurer for completing 22 runs, which gave her a Marathon Wristband.

When the event got underway, it was led from start to finish by Rebecca George, who also picked up a new Personal Best time.

The poor weather seemed to also be encouraging to our juniors, as 8 further Personal Bests were achieved. Including Daniel Davies, Jack Avaient, Libby Taylor, Megan Phillips, Max Avaient, Steffan Phillips, Kaitlyn Stephens and Gabrielle Kenefick.

Barry juniors also welcomed 5 newcomers to Romilly Park and each one was fantastic and were all still smiling at the end.

With the better months ahead us, Barry junior parkrun, look forward to welcoming more and more new faces as well as our familiar faces.

For more information visit parkrun.org.uk/barryjuniors