Apologies for the delay in the run report – what started as a husky voice on Saturday developed into an awful dose of something akin to the dreaded manflu…
Saturday was another very special day in Father Collins Park. We had an almost record attendance and thanks to a stickman called Bill who appealed to our facebook followers, we had enough volunteers to coordinate event number 17! Our parkrunner of the month, George stepped up as timekeeper and clocked the finish times of our 109 participants, of whom 37 were first timers and 22 recorded new Personal Bests. Thanks to Laura, Sorcha and Yvonne who marshalled and provided much needed encouragement to everyone. We must mention the finish line team of Niamh who handed every finisher their token and Michael who scanned alongside Alan who jumped in to help with the scanning after he was first over the finish line for an impressive third time!
Operation Transformation has linked in with parkrun and Saturday saw a record attendance across the whole country! A special mention to our superhero Kevin Hogan who has lost almost two stone following the plan and credits his success to Karl Henry and of course Father Collins parkrun! Our own operation transformation ambassador Maeve has overcome some considerable challenges herself on the road to fitness. She is determined to mentor and encourage people following the plan and joining us for the first time. This week she met Mary Cushen who came down to join us after seeing parkrun mentioned on the show. With Maeve’s support and encouragement she ran her first ever 5k! Well done to our new favourite M and M combination!
It was quite a family affair this weekend! It was great to see the Smiths back running in force after injuries have meant some volunteering stints! Mum Helen is reeling in husband Simon and has definitely got her eyes on a 50 t-shirt! We can’t wait to see more blinging parkrun tshirts around Father Collins! We welcomed back two of the O’Connor brothers, on a spot of parkrun touring from St Annes. The Keegan family were out in force and watch this space as in two weeks the family are filling almost all the volunteer roles.
The results for this weeks speedies…
Male placings:
Alan FOLEY (VM35-39) of Raheny Shamrocks AC, was first over the line in 18:38 – third time in 5 appearances.
Karl MEEHAN (VM35-39) of Raheny Shamrocks AC, was second over the line in 18:47 – has been first to finish on 3 previous occasions.
Ross LUNDY (SM30-34) of Raheny Shamrocks AC, was third over the line in 20:21.
Female placings:
Cecile OLLAGNIER (VW35-39) of Sloggers to Joggers, was first (4th overall) over the line in 20:31 – third time in 3 appearances.
Mai BARRETT (VW35-39) (Unattached) was second (16th overall) over the line in 23:50.
Aoife MCCARTHY (VW35-39) of Dinny Collins Fitness, was third (19th overall) over the line in 24:21 – was first to finish once before.
This week we were delighted with the number of people who volunteered for the next few weeks. Remember each time you volunteer you will get 100 points (up to a maximum of 300 volunteer points) which could have an impact on the points table. Take a look under the results tab to check out where you are in either the male or female points table.
Current standing in the Men’s annual points competition:
Paul LARKIN (Raheny Shamrocks AC) 1055 pts.
George WHYTE (Unattached) 1035 pts.
Denis REIDY (Unattached) 1008 pts.
Current standing in the Women’s annual points competition:
Aoife MCCARTHY (Dinny Collins Fitness) 1265 pts.
Selena MCDONNELL (Unattached) 1038 pts.
Maeve DEVLIN (Unattached) 974 pts.
There are lots of roles you can volunteer for and still manage to get your run in so don’t be afraid to drop us a message and sign up for a day that suits you! We will talk you through any of the roles but they are all pretty simple and most importantly great fun! Once you volunteer you will never go back! And you will be eligible for a very exclusive volunteer t-shirt too! My own sister, Alison, has bitten the volunteer bullet and will be donning a high viz jacket on Saturday, I think its her latest attempt to reel me in on the points table! Hoping this dose will be well and truly gone by the weekend, maybe I should volunteer though, no way will I get 100 points for running….
Rachel
