Johnstown parkrun Gallery
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By Nick Moloney
The Johnstown parkrun in Wexford was set up just over two years ago on the 7th of March 2015. Since then 3,055 runners have completed the beautiful course around the 19th century castle.
John Dier, one of the main organisers, decided to set it up after attending a parkrun in Mayo and feeling that the spirit the run captured was something he wanted to create and share with the people in Wexford.
Since then, the run has gathered a big following with an average 137 runners turning up every week to run the 5km course. Valerie Wade, a local runner said what she liked most about the run is the non-competitive, friendly atmosphere from a community that might not otherwise be there if not for the Parkrun.
With an average run time of 00:30:38, this park run caters to runners of all levels, whether they are out for a PB or a walk. But, this parkrun has provided more than just a weekly stomping ground for runners.
Pat Foley and Paula O’ Reilly met each other at the parkrun one Saturday morning two years ago where they incidentally fell in love. After a few runs together Pat mustered up the courage to ask Paula on a date and now they are getting married this month (May).
Before the run begun, Paula told me (to Pat’s embarrassment) how he used to always overlap her on the last lap, but wait to walk her back to the car afterwards. He still overlaps, but I saw him waiting at the finish line all the same.
John Dier said; “I always said if I backed away from it now there’s two things I’d love to see in ten years. The first one is the kids that are here now, the nine and ten year olds representing Ireland at international level be it at college or a senior. The second is if we can see one person avoiding a heart attack,”
These are not small dreams, but one of them has already come through. I was fortunate to be there on the same day James Kavanagh made his return to the run. After talking to Linda, his wife, she said; “the Parkrun saved his life.” To which James agreed after what felt like a marathon to him.
“I started out just walking two kilometres [after surgery], this was like a marathon,” he said grinning.
The first parkrun James took part in made him feel unusually sick and tired. After the third week of this, Linda insisted he visit a doctor where it turned out he had six 80% blockages in his heart. This resulted in six heart stints which saved his life.
The Parkrun is much more than what its humble name would suggest. It brings people together in a very particular environment that allows them to connect and enjoy friendly competition. As the runners completed their laps the volunteers cheered them on using their first names for an astounding amount runners.
The Parkrun is for everyone, and it could even save your life.