Out & About Autumn 2019

Out&About feature

since March 2014. She said: “My husband, Mike, who previously had no intention of ever jogging/running, has now joined me, and is loving the benefit of the exercise (which includes losing a few kg). “Our children Izzy and Theo also run when they feel like it, but they always say they are saving their energy for other sports. “My father Peter joined the Newbury parkrun in his late 70s after I suggested he try it and is now an addict. “He was 80 in January and last weekend joined a group of over-80s who met to run at the Bushy Park parkrun in London. “Last Saturday he was part of a group of 45 over-80s and he came 21st in his age category. I know he feels down if he misses a parkrun or a training run, so it clearly has an impact on his wellbeing.” And parkrun has become a truly family affair, as Emma says her mother Jane, who also never had any intention of running, decided she would get in on the action and has now completed 50 parkruns, having also never considered that she would ever be “a jogger”.

placed first at Newbury. “I am locally based, but whenever I am travelling I always look to see if there is a parkrun nearby.” In fact, Lloyd has taken part in an event in Warsaw, Lloyd Heritage

Poland. And if you’re looking to ‘parkrun the alphabet’, you might be interested to know that Poland has the only venue beginning with the letter ‘z’ – Zamek w Malborku, and to date there are no venues beginning with the letter ‘x’. When David Clyde

tempted his daughter to take part in the Newbury parkrun in January 2016, he couldn’t have known what it would lead to. Daughter Alex enjoyed it so much that it has encouraged her to take part in more running events, including the Reading Half-Marathon and the London Marathon. Speaking about her story, David said: David & Alex Clyde

Together the family has completed 485 parkruns and they have all volunteered a few times. Emma added: “We have run at other parkrun locations – it is great to be able visit friends and take part in their local run, and these count towards the milestone T-shirts. “Between us, we’ve run in Paris (where we came in the top 20 as there were only about 24 runners), Cardiff, Trelissick (Cornwall), Winchester, Exeter… and quite a few other places.

“She started off not being able to run around completely and stopped four times to walk, but built this up over time. “She then started beating her personal

best and has taken nearly 12 minutes off that first time. “Parkrun has not just been a great way to share some dad and daughter time, but she has also gone on to run the Reading Half-Marathon this year, followed by the London Marathon (raising money for Mind, the mental health charity) and taking part in Endure 24 as part of a team, doing 25 miles. “She has more events booked in moving forward and is now definitely a runner. “Parkrun was the catalyst for this as it encourages all abilities, shapes, sizes and ages, whether running or walking, no matter how fast or slow.” And David believes having the parkrun across the world is a great way for people to try new things. “It is a really good lifestyle choice to get outside and get some exercise and I’m really pleased that Alex is doing it. “It is also very good socially and a fantastic community activity with many benefits for all concerned. The volunteers each week are invaluable in this.” Emma Mulholland has been been running at Newbury

Emma Mulholland & family

Over-80s Bushy Park, London

27

O&A AUTUMN 2019