THIS Saturday saw Barry Island parkrun return to its usual course after a week on the alternative route.

It was a damp start to event 58, after the last few weeks of fine weather. But that didn’t put people off making the trip to Whitmore Bay for their regular Saturday morning run and it was another three figure turn out, with 101 runners crossing the finish line, 20 of whom were completing their first ever Barry Island parkrun and 29 runners recorded personal best times.

They were led home by Richard Jackson-Hookins of Penarth and Dinas Runners, in a course PB time of 17:41. Core volunteer team member Ben Buttler-Madden, also of Penarth and Dinas Runners, was second over the line, with another course PB, in 17:48. Third place went to first time visitor and parkrun tourist Martin Green of North Wales Road Runners, completing the 5km route in 18:11.

Richard and Ben both achieved top 10 finishes in their tough mountain stages of the Welsh Castles Relay race the previous weekend. They said it was great preparation for Heartbreak Hill. Quite a few Barry Island parkrun regulars - runners and volunteers - were spotted en route from Caernarvon back to Cardiff.

First woman finisher was fellow North Wales Road Runner, first time visitor and parkrun tourist Carla Green (12th overall) stopping the watch at 22:07. Stalwart Lisa Cleary (Penarth and Dinas Runners) was second woman over the line in 23:30 with another regular, Sally Wilder of San Domenico RC in third place. Sally has been first woman to finish on 22 previous occasions.

Six events into the new season, the annual points table for the men sees Mark Ellis (Barry and Vale Harriers) in first place on 517 points, Robert Newman second with 463 points and John Frazer third with 447 points.

The points table for the women has a familiar look to it. In first place is Caitlin Williams (Seriously Mad Runners, Barry) on 576 points. In second place is Lisa Williams (Seriously Mad Runners, Barry) with 553 points, and in third place, making it a Williams family/SMR lockout is Bethan Williams (Seriously Mad Runners, Barry) on 552 points.

This week it was the turn of the two co-event directors, Lyn Evans and Ian Thorne, to take the pre-run applause from the runners as they were both volunteering at their 50th Barry Island parkrun. They have only missed volunteering at eight of the 58 Barry Island parkruns each since it started in May 2015 and on a couple of those occasions they were caught running at other parkruns.

A few of the other Barry Island run director group are very close behind Lyn and Ian and will be joining the Barry Island 50 club in the near future.

Like every other parkrun, Barry Island is organised entirely by volunteers and is completely free to take part in. Whilst the aim of parkrun is to get people out running and helping them to a fitter and healthier lifestyle, parkruns also like to encourage non-runners to take part by either walking the 5km route or by helping out as a volunteer.

There is a minimum number of volunteers needed to safely put on every run and the team is always on the lookout for new helpers. With many roles to fill each week there is plenty of opportunity to find something suitable.

Or, if shouting and cheering (or even singing) to encourage the runners is more your thing, then there are places to try that too. Any necessary training is provided on the day and the whole thing takes up less than two hours of a Saturday morning - often followed by coffee and cake on the prom.

Volunteering really is great fun, can be very rewarding and provide its own form of health benefits. Since it started, 206 different people have already volunteered at Barry Island, covering 1,181 different roles. That adds up to about 2,000 hours (or nearly three months) of time generously donated to put on the 58 parkruns so far.

It doesn’t stop there, once people have been bitten by the volunteering bug. Some of those same volunteers are also working hard behind the scenes at the moment to set up a junior 2km parkrun at the Island.

It’s not necessary to be a runner to help out at parkrun just register at parkrun.org.uk/register. After volunteering 25 times, as a thank you from parkrun, volunteers receive a free milestone t-shirt in a fetching shade of aubergine. Watch out for them proudly being worn on (warm, sunny) Saturday mornings at the Island.

Anyone interested in helping out can get in touch by email at barryislandhelpers@parkrun.com or just come along on a Saturday morning and see how it all works.