Nidd Valley parkrun takeover – Saturday 13th October

So here were go, the time has come,
For another write up of parkrun,
Your weekly tour each Saturday,
Round the four sides of the Stray.
And what a delight it was to see,
The motley crew from Nidd Valley!

Today’s run was number three-five-four,
And there you were, with points to score,
Lined up eager at the start,
Keen as mustard to depart,
As Jeff stood up to give his talk,
To those who’d run and those who’d walk,
To lads and lasses, young and old,
To nervous newbies, and front runners bold.
As this ain’t a race but is parkrun,
Ted warned me I must keep this fun,
So there’ll be no talk of ‘winners’ and ‘losers’
(But can I mention strava ‘self-abusers’?).

Let’s leave this question philosophic,
And get back to this: our topic.
In sum you totalled three-six-nine,
Who shot with haste from the start line,
But the highest stars in parkrun heaven,
Go unto you runners eleven,
Who used your legs and feet and knees,
To bag yourself brand new PBs.

And with that outpouring of love and praise,
We must charge our glass and then raise,
A toast written here in awkward rhyme,
To those who ran for the first time.
Your numbers numbered forty-one,
Your parkrun careers have now begun,
No more shall you be a parkrun virgin,
Your 5k talents are clearly emergin’,
And we hope that you’ll be back for more,
To show us what you have in store.

But whether you were fast or slow,
It is important that you know,
That it never fails to make our day,
To see you out upon the Stray.
You all ran the course and crossed the line,
And when you did, wasn’t it fine,
(After all the effort of running about),
To set our cake mistress pop her muffins out?

Although strictly not a recruitment rally,
You might like to know: we are Nidd Valley.
Sure, other running clubs are available,
But we, of course, are unassailable.
We train on a Tuesday and Thursday night,
Come have a go, and you just might,
Find out that you will not look back,
Once you see you look good in gold and black.

So that’s your lot, when all’s said and done,
I hope like me you found it fun,
And at this point, you can stop your whining,
‘Cos the end is coming to my rhyming.
Thanks for coming; you did just great,
And your efforts really were first rate.
The results are up – go take a peek,
And we’ll see you all again next week.
(S Fugill)