If you follow me on Twitter, you may have noticed my usual Saturday morning tweet, “Off to do @parkrunUK at _______ #loveparkrun”. I wake up each Saturday morning excited and enthused to go to parkrun.
It made sense that I attend the inaugural Stormont parkrun in east Belfast. The idea of a Stormont parkrun belongs to Mel Boyle working with the estate management to ensure all runners could make use of the grounds each Saturday morning.
I often find myself trawling websites for activities to do at the weekends. On one of my searches, I noticed a ‘Roxy Surf and Yoga Day’ at Troggs Surf School, Portrush. I didn’t think much before signing up except for a quick email to the instructor Carl to make sure I was able to complete my regular Saturday morning 5k parkrun at Portrush before the event. He said that would fit in with the programme and I was sold. It was not a difficult sell.
After a rather average morning in Kilbroney Forest Park on the shores of Carlingford Lough, my cousin Jordan and I were craving more adventure. We were feeling rather lazy and decided to find a coffee shop on the way home before calling it a day.
We travelled to Rostrevor via the main Belfast-Dublin dual carriageway so we decided to detour slightly and travel back through Scarva. We spotted a tea room there and pulled in to investigate. Before entering the tea room, I noticed Scarva Cycle Hire and thought it was worth a closer look. Prices start at £3 per hour for adults and £2 for children. Last year Jordan learned to cycle through the Autism Initiatives Balanceability scheme and he loves to put what he was taught into practice.
Parkrun has been a staple Saturday morning activity for me for a couple of years now. For non-runners, it is a timed 5k run that is held in parks around the UK, Ireland and across the world. It brings together top athletes who finish in 15-17 minutes with those who will walk the course in 50 minutes. Each parkrun is organised by a group of solid volunteers – without these people, there would be no parkrun.
