IT WAS a slightly damp affair but luckily the worst of the weather had already passed as the 91 runners made their way to the beach huts for the start of Barry Island parkrun event number 80.

Matthew Ryan, a regular visitor to the Island course with 31 visits, went one better than his second position on this weekend last year crossing the line in first position, the third time he has finished ahead of the rest of the field. Matthew looked comfortable as he stopped the watch in 20:10 but is was very close for second with Craig Merryfield needing to record a personal best time of 20:34 with Robert Newman finishing third in 20:37.

Paul Kehl posted the best age grade result of the day, 71.13 per cent, finishing fourth overall in a time of 20:54. John Magee (Les Croups RC), one run away from a double century, crossed the line in fifth position with 21:03.

Christopher Ross of Stafford Harriers finished sixth in his first visit to the Island with 21:46 with less than 10 seconds separating him from parkrun lover Michael Elliston (Les Croups RC), seventh in 21:55. Positions eight and nine brought personal best times for John Aspell and Tim Cummings (Les Croups RC), finishing in 21:57 and 22:11 respectively with Nick Lavender rounding off the top 10 in 22:15.

First lady finisher was Jess Kington in 24:21, second lady home was Harriet Kehl (JW11-14 category) in 25:07 with Jillian Ross of Stafford Harriers third lady across the line on her first visit to the Island with 26:46.

Amongst this week’s runners 13 were first timers, eight of which were taking part in their very first parkrun. This week 18 runners recorded new personal best times.

There was no shortage of volunteers this week with 24 hardy souls dotted around the course in various roles. This week welcomed first time volunteers Jamie Everitt and Ashleigh Everitt. Jamie took part in the inaugural event and, having completed a few parkruns recently, decided it was time to give something back to the event.

Barry Island parkrun is part of a series of 5k runs held on Saturday mornings in areas of open space around the UK. They are open to all and are safe and easy to take part in and it is not a race. It is entirely organised by volunteers and is completely free but registration is required before your first run. Register at parkrun.org.uk/register.

Since it started in May 2015, 1,944 different runners have taken part in Barry Island parkrun, covering a distance of 37,090km, the approximate equivalent of a return flight from Auckland, New Zealand to Paris, France (the one way trip once recorded as being the longest non-stop flight by a commercial airliner, a distance of 18,545km).

Each event needs a minimum number of volunteers each week in order to go ahead. Safety is paramount at each event and the volunteers ensure the course is well marshalled. If you would like to join the volunteer team contact barryislandhelpers@parkrun.com for further information.