Watergrove Parkrun hosts 200th event

Photo: Zain Zia

Watergrove Parkrun 200th event

For its 200th event, Watergrove Parkrun saw 108 runners and 15 volunteers take part in the timed 5k run for all ages and abilities on Saturday (30 June).

Runners completed the course in times between 20 and 60 minutes, with the first over the finish line being Matt Gittins (20 minutes and 58 seconds) from Didsbury Runners. This was his first parkrun.

The fastest female was Kay Welsby of Rochdale Harriers and AC who completed the course in 24 minutes and 43 seconds, achieving 16th position overall. She has completed over 100 parkruns since the event started in 2014.

Barbara Bayliss, event director for Watergrove Parkrun, said: “I set the run up four years ago and I believe we were the first town in the country to host the event on private land.

“We hold the run at the reservoir instead of a traditional location of a park as all the parks in Rochdale were too small to host it.

“Thank you to all the volunteers who turn up weekly.”

Watergrove Parkrun is held every Saturday at Watergrove Reservoir and is free to enter, but runners must sign up beforehand.

Parkrun is not about racing but is about the runner's own ability and time. It is organised entirely by volunteers and relies solely on people volunteering their time to help each week.