As the Run Director (RD) today I got to the park nice and early to make sure the conditions of the course were ok to go ahead. The beauty of getting there at this time is the park is almost empty, the sun was raising, the swans, geese and ducks were in fine voice welcoming the start of the new day. Today was International Women’s day so we made sure we gave a big shout out to all the women attending today, whether this be running, spectating or marshalling. I shared my RD duties with Fin who has completed all the other volunteer roles and this was his first time in this role. Although he is 16, Fin is very mature and carried out the responsibilities without a hitch although he was a little nervous about using the microphone to speak to all those running. Today we had over 360 runners, the conditions were great for running and there were a lot of personal bests. I was very fortunate to be supported by a great team of marshals that made the morning run without a hitch. After we packed up it was time for a well deserved coffee in the cafe and a chat to friends who I’ve been lucky enough to make through Parkrun and Goodgym.

Yes, you read that right ... the sun put in an appearance at junior parkrun this week! Hooray!

83 juniors crossed the finish line, supported by lots of parents either running with them or cheering them on - what a fantastic atmosphere! We even welcomed an international visitor from Finland too!

Nigel and Mark were both marshals on the finishing straight, cheering the juniors on to the end, while Maurice and Claire were marshals around the course with the juniors passing them twice on their 2km run, walk or skip, and Karen was waiting for them at the finish line as a timekeeper. junior parkrun is such a lovely event for all the family, and just as rewarding for the volunteers too. Well done everyone!

Nicola and Mark flew the flag for GoodGym today at Crewe parkrun, with Nicola at the helm as the warm and welcoming Run Director after completing an early morning course check, and Mark being a super chatty barcode scanner.

Well done both of you - 331 people were able to take part today thanks to your tome and effort!

There was a fair bit of nervousness about whether junior parkrun would have to be cancelled yet again due to weather - just how many storms have we had this winter?! - but when the forecasted strong winds stayed as a strong breeze, we were good to go!

It was lovely to have Mark join us on a Sunday morning, and between the GoodGym team we undertook the folloing roles: volunteer coordinator ~ run director ~ barcode scanning ~ 4 marshall points ~ post event close down ~ results processing ~ photographer ~ social media. A great morning's work helping young people to be active!

A great turnout at Crewe parkrun by the GoodGym gang!

Karen and Nicola teamed up as timekeepers, Karen also "meeted and greeted" the volunteers and made sure everyone know what to do; Nigel was on course set-up; Mark welcomed first timers with a description of the course and how parkrun works; Marjo was our star baker; and Marjo, Nigel, Emily, Maurice and Kat all did the "gym" bit of GoodGym by completing their favourite 5k of the week.

Well done everyone!

After last week's cancellation and last minute change of event, it was good to be back in the park with Crewe parkrun. Four GoodGymmers helped to bring the event together - Nicola on event set up (in between catching up with everyone in the park, including Colin the dog!) then barcode scanning, Nigel on course check and timekeeper, Karen as Run Director and results processor, and Mark on first timers welcome as well as grabbing the microphone to embarrass Karen (only joking! not embarrassed at all!) and announcing that today was her 350th time volunteering with parkrun! Wow!