English visitor impressed by Athlone RSC Parkrun
Ian Fairlamb
Along with my family I was visiting friends who live west of Athlone, for a few days recently. The first task? Convince them that my first parkrun in Ireland could not be missed.
Next tasks as follows - (1) find a great parkrun close by; (2) friendly folks to chat with to chew the cud on all things parkrun; (3) sunshine, and I managed to tick all those boxes.
On arriving at the Athlone Regional Sports Centre (RSC), I was greeted by two friendly folks visiting from Canada, they asked me for directions and I pretended to know where I was going! The start line is very close to the main reception area at the RSC and there are toilet facilities.
The Race Director on the day was Ann-Marie, who made generous time for me and welcomed a visitor's run report (voilà!). We were given all the key details for the two-lap course - mostly tarmacked paths. Great!
A quick check for first time parkrunners - there were so many! As well as our visitors from Canada, we had shout outs for Cork, Galway, Malahide and me from York (I know there were a few more...apologies if I have missed you).
On to the run - a quick start, which settled down nicely after the first 100-150 metres. The course meanders for much of the lap, something in every step to keep you focused and interested, with the exception of a short out and back, where you can either relax or put your foot down. Two friendly marshals were located there which provided a welcomed boost, on both laps.
Many PBs were had on this wonderfully sunny day. The first female finisher home was Nicola Moran and first male finisher was Brian Sexton.
There were 110 parkrunners on the day (only five shy of the record 115 on event 1), over half of whom were first timers at Athlone RSC parkrun. That's a very positive sign and I can see the future of this parkrun is very bright.
On finishing a tourism parkrun, I like to just take it all in at the end. What impressed me so much was how much joy, enthusiasm and support was on show for others. It was lovely to see, and left me with a warm glow as I returned for my first BBQ of the year! Thank you, Athlone RSC parkrun. I'll be back!