PLANS for a Parkrun in Barnard Castle have come closer to stepping out of the starting block with a cash boost and a site visit on the town’s upper Demesnes to map out a potential route.
Parkrun is a nationwide movement that host 5km runs across the country every Saturday morning at 9am.
Currently the closest events to the town are at Darlington and Hamsterley Forest.
Among those who joined the site meeting last week were organiser Steve Bage, Parkrun support ambassador Andy Richardson, race organiser for Teesdale Athletic Club (TAC) Stuart Jones, founder of ladies running group Sole Sisters Emma Campbell-Critchley and former Parkrun event director Paul Dalton.
Mr Bage explained the event had already won support in principle from Barnard Castle Town Council to use the upper and lower Demesnes and had also gifted £800 to help set it up.
He added: “It has happened very fast and I am very excited. It is good to see lots of people chipping in and helping. We are off the mark.”
However, he noted the cost to launch the Parkrun is £4,800 and he would be going “cap in hand” to local organisations such as Rotary, Lions and The Clique for cash support.
The event has particular support from Teesdale Athletic Club because its race organiser Stuart Jones credits Parkrun with saving his life after undergoing a craniotomy to remove a growth on the back of his head 20 years ago.
Mr Jones said: “I could walk, but I had lost balance and things. I could’ve ended up being someone morbid, miserable and depressed, and it was Parkrun that got me better.
“Parkrun is extraordinary: it is incredible – the opportunities to volunteer and take part and the camaraderie is fantastic.”
Mr Bage said the current vision is for the event to start on the lower Demesnes, followed by two loops of the upper Demesnes before returning to the finish on the lower Demesnes.
He added: “It is close to 5k, but I need to find about 150m somewhere – we will figure it out. I did the Meet run here two years ago – that was 2.5k, so it is two of that.”
Mr Jones said TAC has its own plans to also host events on the Demesnes.
He said: “We have been talking with the town council about also hosting cross-country on this same area. We had representatives of our local district athletics organisation North Yorkshire South Durham here a couple of weekends ago and we ran them around the upper Demense. They said it was brilliant.
“What we are hoping is that next winter we will host cross-country. Some of us love cross-country because you get mucky and cold, but you still pitch up in February with a vest and shorts.”
