Reading parkrun

Well done to the 322 participants who walked, jogged or ran their way around Reading parkrun this morning! 👏

And a special mention to those who turned up in tutus. 🩰 We should probably point out that today being the 22nd of the month is the reason for the tutus.

It has absolutely nothing to do with Tutu's Ethiopian Table, our post-parkrun café.

Nothing.

Pure coincidence.

Honestly. 😇

Whatever you wore, however you got around, and however quickly or slowly you did it, we hope you enjoyed your Saturday morning with us.

You can find today’s full results here: https://www.parkrun.org.uk/reading/results/718/

Have a great weekend, everyone!

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📸: Amelia Yoga Oman

⚠️🚨𝗠𝗮𝗿𝘀𝗵𝗮𝗹𝘀 𝗻𝗲𝗱𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗼𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗿𝗼𝘄! ⚠️🚨

We need at least another 2 marshals for tomorrow's Reading parkrun. If you can help, please email [email protected] with your name and barcode.

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Being still dry, we deployed our emergency tree-root-avoiding finish straight again today, but a great side benefit is the shade under the trees is perfect to help recovery. 😎🌳

Helping recovery even more was the wonderfully fluffy and light cake that Helen Chewter brought along to mark her 100th parkrun. Congrats again Helen!

Did you manage to get a piece? 🍰

Our eagle-eyed Token Team managed to avoid a few tokens being given out in the wrong order today (Thanks Jean & Freya. 🙌) . So if you were given a token of 121 or higher, you’ll find your official position is two (2) lower than the token you were handed. i.e. if you got given token 200 your actual position is 198. 🎟️🧮

Check the results 👉 www.parkrun.org.uk/reading/results/717

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🚨𝗕𝗮𝗿𝗼𝗱𝗲 𝗦𝗰𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗿(𝘀) 𝗡𝗲𝗲𝗱𝗲𝗱🚨

We are still in the lookout for at least one more barcode scanner.

Please email [email protected] if you can help tomorrow.

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Remember that staring directly at the Sun is generally considered a bad idea. 🫣

Fortunately, volunteering at parkrun is considerably safer as there will be no such astronomical drama at Reading parkrun this Saturday. That we know of.

But we do have a few opportunities for you to get involved and help make our stellar event happen. This week’s opportunities are:

1 x Marshal 🦺
1 x Timekeepers ⏳
1 x Barcode Scanner 📲

You don’t need to be an astronomer to take part, although a reasonable ability to point people in the right direction, keep an eye on the time or hold your phone near a plastic token is always useful.

If you’d like to join the volunteer team this Saturday, just email us at [email protected] with your name, barcode number and which role you’d like to do, and we’ll get you added to the roster.

🌳

Remember that staring directly at the Sun is generally considered a bad idea. 🫣

Fortunately, volunteering at parkrun is considerably safer as there will be no such astronomical drama at Reading parkrun this Saturday. That we know of.

But we do have a few opportunities for you to get involved and help make our stellar event happen. This week’s opportunities are:

1 x Marshal 🦺
1 x Timekeepers ⏳
1 x Barcode Scanner 📲

You don’t need to be an astronomer to take part, although a reasonable ability to point people in the right direction, keep an eye on the time or hold your phone near a plastic token is always useful.

If you’d like to join the volunteer team this Saturday, just email us at [email protected] with your name, barcode number and which role you’d like to do, and we’ll get you added to the roster.

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Five milestone were reached at Reading on Saturday, and somehow not a single hand was spoted when Ian asked during the run-brief if anyone was celebrating a milestone. 🤷‍♂️

So what happened?

Were Sarah, Tobia, Caroline, Brandon and John all blissfully unaware? Are they naturally introverted? Or did Ian just fail to notice five raised hands? Or was it a magnificent combination of all three? 😂

Whatever the reason, a huge congratulations to all five of you! 👏🎉

And for future reference, when we ask if anyone is celebrating a milestone, a bit of enthusiastic arm waving might be advisable. Just to be on the safe side. 👋

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A big well done to everyone who joined us at Reading parkrun this morning! 👏☀️

It was another warm one, so hopefully everyone remembered the important parkrun essentials: water, sunscreen and pretending you’re absolutely fine when someone asks how hot it is. 😎

You *might* also have noticed that we moved the finish straight this week. The recent warm weather has exposed some tree roots in our usual finish area, creating potential trip hazards, so we decided that a little change of scenery was the safest option. We hope you enjoyed the novelty! We’ll keep an eye on things over the next few weeks and make sure we’re keeping the course as safe as possible.

Then there was the small matter of the results… 🤦‍♂️

We had a bit of a quandary when processing the data, caused by a few people not taking finish tokens. It took us a little while to work out what had happened, so apologies for the delay while we untangled the results spaghetti! 🍝

If you finished from around position 230 onwards, you may find that your official position looks different from the finish token you were given. The good news is that we’ve checked everything through and your recorded time should be correct.

Now go and enjoy the rest of your Saturday, and we’ll see you next week. Same time, same place, with our slightly redesigned finish line but hopefully a little less results-related detective work.😉

Results: https://www.parkrun.org.uk/reading/results/716/

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It is with deep sadness that we share the news that a fellow parkrunner, John Dickson, passed away last week.

Some of you may recall his cheery personality and huge efforts at parkrun. Although a latecomer to parkrun, John was a lifelong runner with several Reading half-marathons under his belt, and completed over 90 parkruns at Reading and over 100 in total. In his twilight years, the Reading parkrun community had been a huge boost for him.

John's made a Bushy pilgrimage in 2019, which was notable for the greatest number of octogenarians; the photo below is from that event's run report.

John's funeral will be held at 1:30 pm, Thursday 6th August, at Reading Crematorium; parkrunner friends are very welcome.

Event #715 was another fabulous morning by the river, and as always, all made possible thanks to our amazing 21 Hi Viz Heroes & Heroines who pulled on the pink, blue and orange vests and helped make the magic happen. 💙🧡💗

But this week we want to give a special shout out to Amelia, our visiting tourist who volunteered to translate our First Timers Welcome and Run Briefing into British Sign Language, on the spot as they were being delivered.

Watching Amelia interpret the briefings live was incredible, and it was a fantastic reminder of something we all know but sometimes need to stop and celebrate: parkrun really is for 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆𝗼𝗻𝗲. 🫶

It doesn’t matter who you are, how fast you go, whether you run, walk, jog, volunteer, or cheer from the sidelines, there’s a place for you at parkrun.

If you'd like to learn more about parkrun through British Sign Language, we’ll share a brilliant YouTube playlist in the comments. 👇

Fancy joining the crew this week? We’d love to have you! No special skills required, just a willingness to get involved and wear a fabulously bright vest. 😄 Simply email your name and parkrun barcode number to [email protected] and we’ll find a role that’s right for you.

See you on Saturday!

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It may have been a quiet week for official milestones, but they're all worth celebrating! 💜

👏 So huge congratulations to Dafydd on completing his 25th parkrun! Here's to the next 25... and beyond! 🏃

🙌 A massive thank you and congratulations to Rapha for reaching 25 volunteer credits! Rapha has been volunteering at Reading as part of his Duke of Edinburgh Award and has become a familiar face alongside the finish funnel, as this is his favourite role. If you've been asked your name by the Number Checker this year, chances are it was Rapha making sure everyone's time ends up with the right person. Thank you for everything you do! ⭐

Congratulations to you both on your fantastic milestones! 🎉

💡 Celebrating a milestone soon? Let the Run Director know before the briefing so we can give you a shout-out and make sure we don't miss celebrating your achievement!

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