Ballina Parkrun marks ninth birthday
Members of the Ballina Parkrun team marking the ninth anniversary of the event.
It was nine years last week since 129 runners and walkers first set off running Belleek Woods and thus was born, Ballina Parkrun, an event which, in the words of Ann Egan, Ballina’s event director has “grown into one big happy Parkrun family”.
Nine years later, 21,488 have completed the 5K course through the beautiful Belleek Woods, while a total of 370 individuals have volunteered 3,580 times. There have been 382 Ballina Parkruns which have taken place every Saturday at 9.30am, with it only ever called off for extreme weather conditions.
Ballina Parkrun got off to a good start with the support of Mayo Sports Partnership and Coillte who are the hosts off Belleek Woods for which we are very grateful.
Parkrun is open to anybody - from the superfast runners to people who walk the course. It's about fun, friendship and keeping fit.
Ann Egan commented: “The friendships formed and the Parkrun family is stronger than any of us could ever of imagined and we feel so proud to have been part of the team that brought parkrun to Ballina."
For those interested in taking part in this free 5k event in the future, head over to the Parkrun website atwww.parkrun.ie to sign up.
Ballina Parkrun sets off at 9:30am every Saturday from Ballina Soccer Club. Nobody comes last at Parkrun because there is always a tail walker making sure everyone gets around safely, and they are the last to finish.
