Hillsborough juniors – a celebration of our first two years

A junior parkrun that brings a Sheffield park alive with volunteers and children on Sunday mornings

“We are the sum of our parts. Our core volunteer base who turn up week in week out, in all weathers are the absolute stars of of our junior parkrun. You know who you are, and you are amazing.” Diane, Volunteer Coordinator

Children running across the start line of the first Hillsborough junior parkrun

I’m writing this sitting on a sunny and windswept campsite, in the far corner of Pembrokeshire in Wales, sheltering in the lee of a substantial old hedge. The Swifts are swooping around me catching insects in mid air. It’s Sunday morning and as I write 195 children are striding or skipping their way around the 2k course in Hillsborough Park, Sheffield, 250 miles away.

I first met Diane and Keith over a coffee at the Riverside Café in Hillsborough. They had offered to be part of the team, in whatever role was needed, to help with the new junior event. I put to them the idea of being volunteer coordinators and they agreed – with little idea of what that would really involve.

Two girls holding hands and running

The seed for a new junior event in Sheffield had been sown in a chance conversation with John, the Event Director and main man at the Hillsborough 5k, late in 2019. I must have enquired if there had been any interest in a junior event given that there was such a thriving 5k. I probably let slip that I’d started and been the Event Director of Guildford juniors up until my move to South Yorkshire. And so the challenge was mine to accept.

Just before Christmas, John published an announcement on the 5k news page and by Jan 2020 we’d already assembled most of the team. We met, rather formally I recall, at the café at the Sheffield Olympic Legacy junior parkrun. We’d all volunteered and then their EDs shared some wisdom and gave us a quick demo on how to process results.

By February 2020 I had secured all the funding we needed to to start our new juniors and I was able to submit everything to parkrun HQ. The majority of the funds came from the Sheffield Town Trust and Sheffield City Council Ward Pot, plus donations from the local orienteering, triathlon and running clubs and a kind local donor who made up the final shortfall. We then had to wait 18 months as the Covid Pandemic paused all parkruns in the UK and beyond. Our inaugural event was finally held on 15/8/2021 where we had a manageable 44 children.

As I scribble plans for a new junior parkrun and prepare to say farewell to Hillsborough, I’m holding down the pages of my notebook in the gusts. I recall why we are camped next to the big hedge on this windswept field in Wales. Thank you Keith for your tip on where to pitch on this site so far away. “Don’t go for the view, go for the shelter”. You were spot on!

A little girl smiling and running with children and parents in the background

Things I’ll take with me from Hillsborough Juniors

Sophie overwhelming the marshals with loveliness
From the first event, young Sophie (and her parents) have played a key part in helping on junior parkrun day. After watching me brief the marshals for the first few weeks, Sophie stepped into this role, and confidently explained to a bunch of adults the responsibilities to keep the children safe and what to do if one took a tumble. She encouraged them to clap and cheer the juniors and she advised them that there might be grumpy park users who didn’t like the paths being full of young children – and that the best way to deal with moaners was to “overwhelm them with loveliness”. Oh how I smiled to hear my expression come out of Sophie’s mouth!

Keith and his happy hour
Within a year, Keith had stepped into the role of Co-Event Director bringing a calm, responsible, mature pragmatism to this role. It was a welcome addition to the team, a great help to me as by now I no longer lived in Sheffield, and a reflection that Diane was single-handedly mastering volunteer coordinating. I love that Keith describes junior parkrun as his “happiest hour of the week”.

Very young volunteer clapping
Young volunteer smiling in her High Viz jacket

Flynn being a junior role model
Flynn was our first finisher on our first event. He’s a regular first or fast finisher and usually catches his breath, pops on a high vis and starts scanning. We love to see juniors volunteering at junior parkrun. Flynn is now the proud owner of a 100 run wristband.

Oscar who had his 4th birthday on parkrun day
Ringing his cowbell and shouting “go faster”, Oscar became a regular marshal as it got closer to his 4th birthday. To his mum’s great excitement that important day was on a Sunday – a day now known as “parkrun day” in their house. On that big 4 day they ran a bit, walked a lot, hopped, galloped, and chased each other, accompanied by his cousins and his nana, and cheered on by birthday high-fives from the marshals.

Young volunteer with her mum and dad celebrating 100 volunteering days at parkrun
Young volunteer helping pack up kit

Katy – Oscar’s mum making it fun
Now that Oscar is about to get his half-marathon band, Katie, who is a competitive mountain runner, says her biggest takeaway is to make it fun. “Every week we go at Oscar’s pace and that’s OK, we’re there. For anyone thinking of taking their little one and unsure – go for it. Whether you walk or run, make it all the way or just do one lap, you’ll be made very welcome.”

Michael
A keen VM70-74 parkrunner, who started his journey into athletics on the long-since closed Hillsborough track, ran 5 miles each way to help at the inaugural event. Michael acknowledges our hardy and dedicated volunteers who turn out in all weathers and he’s been a regular in a high-viz ever since. “I’m glad to see the park now being used to give our youngsters a great start to the day and which, for some, may be a starting point to an athletic future.”

Diane – once met never forgotten
According to Keith, Diane never sits still so, if you’ve volunteered at Hillsborough juniors, you will know that an offer is always accepted and processed on the parkrun website within minutes. Diane sometimes can’t be physically there on the day but Keith can’t remember a time over the last 2 years when she didn’t coordinate and process the volunteer system from wherever they have been – Cape Verdi was probably the furthest away. There is a lovely community feel about volunteering at Hillsborough juniors, everyone knows each other and there’s always a buzz while we wait for the children to arrive which is no small measure down to Diane making sure she knows everyone: Once met never forgotten!

Lessons I’ve learnt from Hillsborough juniors

The volunteer team on a cold, damp winter morning
  • A friendly, conscientious Volunteer Coordinator can make the difference between a struggling rota and a full one
  • A rota of 5-6 Run Directors means the role never becomes onerous
  • Expect churn amongst your volunteers and core team – life circumstances change a lot for young families
  • A core team WhatsApp group is a good idea to keep EDs/RDs/Comms connected
  • A general volunteer WhatsApp group is a friction-free way for adult volunteers to offer to help – and works well if the Volunteer Coordinator can keep up with it and assign names to roles in the online rota
  • Having extra Run Directors in the park is reassuring if the weather forecast is dodgy eg icy or if there is work going on in the park (even if the landowner assures you it will not impact, unexpected things can happen)
  • The heart-warming way that local runners and non-runners can embrace a junior event and become regulars helping in the park on a Sunday.
Me holding up a big bunch of flowers when I hear my name shouted out at the very first event

Dedicated to Diane – Volunteer Coordinator and chief flower organiser! I know that you love what you do, and that you do what comes intuitively. You’ve been instrumental in building our community of volunteers and I think that you are exactly what every junior parkrun needs on their team. Linda

Hillsborough junior parkrun event statistics

Events: 91
Finishers: 1,188
Finishes: 7,418
Average finishers per week: 81.5
Volunteers: 237
PBs: 1,688
Average finish time: 00:13:52
Average finishes per participant: 6.2
Groups: 22
Stats last updated: Fri 11 Aug 2023 01:31:30 UTC

https://www.parkrun.org.uk/hillsborough-juniors/

Photo Credits George Carman and other volunteers

The lives in a day of a GoodGym Operations Volunteer

During the pandemic GoodGym’s Operation Team recruited volunteers to keep up with the flood of new requests for help. I was one of these volunteers and wrote this piece describing a day in our lives and the lives of those that the GoodGym community supports.

In March 2020, the number of requests for help to GoodGym increased forty-fold, and one of my GoodGym friends told me about the advert for Operations Volunteers. The application deadline was that evening and I met it and was interviewed, trained and started shifts within a week. Here is a glimpse into my day. Get your tissues ready and read on to find out what I’ve been doing while I’ve not been blogging.

My story below led me to collaborate with Alicia Canter at the Guardian to produce this: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/mar/26/its-given-me-faith-back-in-humanity-the-lockdown-volunteers-a-photo-essay Image credit The Guardian

09.45 Supporting Mr J and his brother

We’ve had a request to support Mr J and I’m on the phone to him now. He calmly tells me how his younger brother died last week, and that his own cancer is worsening such that he is no longer strong enough to look after his middle brother. “To help you carry his suitcases and a TV downstairs and out to the taxi” – I check, trying to keep my voice calm and stop it cracking. My screen has blurred. “Our volunteers can certainly do that for you” I reassure him. “And be there with you when you say goodbye to your only living relative ” I say in my head.

“my brothers in arms”

I press the end of call button and slide off my glasses to dry my eyes. Take a deep breath and start to write the confirmation message to prepare the runners for meeting Mr J and helping his brother move into a care home.

“you did not desert me”

10.30 cup of tea

I’m on a Operations Shift and I’m helping to turn the requests GoodGym receives from “Referrers” into Missions for runners. Missions always come into GoodGym from trusted partners such as AgeUK, The British Red Cross and various NHS Departments. My challenge is to check the details, phone the elderly or vulnerable beneficiary that we are supporting, and collaborate with the referrer to get all the information we need. I am trying to make sure the GoodGym volunteer can complete their mission without a hitch. I also have to ensure that the task we do meets the brief of the referrer and most importantly, that we safely and sensitively support the person who needs help. Oh and I have to be careful that everything I organise meets current Covid-19 restrictions for the area in which the mission is happening.

11.00 Hospital bed, new mission request

My Mission Coordinator Dashboard (which shows me – in order of urgency – all the new requests, all the missions that have runners signed up, and all the completed missions) is showing me a new referral request. But all it tells me is “Please clear furniture from bedroom to make room for hospital bed. Due to be delivered in 2 days’ time and Mrs T discharged same day. Huh, this one could be hard work, but I know how overstretched the discharge teams are at the moment. Here is what I say: “Hello NHS Discharge team, to help me list this request please can you provide some more information: What furniture needs to be moved? Where is it to be stored? Does the move involve stairs? Who will provide access to the property? And will there be tools available for our volunteers to use if needed to dismantle any large items? Thank you for a prompt reply to help us find local volunteers in time.” I’m trying to make sure our runners aren’t in for a nasty surprise. I wait for a reply, and move on.

I’ve watched all your suffering

11.30 Medicines by bike

My dashboard is showing me a mission that has a runner and is ready to confirm. My e-mail to the runner says: “Hi Hilary, Prescription collection 4 of 4, bumper day today! Medicines collection for Mrs C. Please collect from Pharmacy (details here) and deliver to Mrs C. details are here: DOB, address, no payment required. This and the previous 3 prescriptions are all ready to collect so as usual it’s ok to pick them up together and head off on your bike to deliver. Thank you, stay safe, all the best.” This makes me feel efficient as it’s such a simple solution – an organised pharmacy, a happy GoodGymmer on a bike who’s able and willing to do four missions on the same day for different beneficiaries and lots of vulnerable people keeping safe at home.

11.40 Hospital bed, continued

We’ve had an e-mail back from the NHS Discharge Team and they”ve given me a contact to call. I phone them, it’s an Occupational Therapist “Hello Emma, it’s about clearing space in Mrs T’s house so she can be discharged. I’ve got some questions; can you spare a minute?” Emma is on it! She’s got everything sorted……. Mrs T’s neighbour has keys, here’s her name and phone no, she’ll let you in, she’s already emptied the cupboards so you can move them into the lounge which is down one flight of stairs. Emma has even booked the council to collect a single bed and mattress from outside the property. Oh brilliant, I think to myself, if only every discharge team had an Emma.

12.00 Emergency food shop

I’ve just been speaking to Ms Y who is isolating with a positive Covid test. Despite being indoors with young children on her own and with one with a disability she was just so grateful for GoodGym’s help. Wow, some people are so resilient. I have to warn the runner about doing a Covid-safe shopping drop – but I add that “I’m sure she would like to see you at the gate and give you a wave.”

“so many different worlds”

12.30 Hospital bed, continued

2 runners sign up just minutes before this task expires. It jumps in at the top of my confirmation queue and I dash off a detailed message to the runners. I later hear that the mission is successful. I’m glad Mrs T is back home and mega-pleased that we’ve helped free up a hospital bed. I could sense the urgency from the Hospital Discharge Team.

“and we have just one world”

A couple of days later: Supporting Mr J and his brother continued

Mission complete. The run report is a fitting tribute to Mr J: https://www.goodgym.org/reports/brothers-in-arms. More tears when I read it.

“let me bid you farewell”

The above is just taste of one shift during Covid-19 GoodGym Mission Operations. Volunteers have been helping like this since March 2020, and are continuing to do so to ensure GoodGymmers all around the country can provide their amazing support for so many different people.

*”Brothers In Arms” lyrics by Mark Knopfler

I’ve discovered GoodGym

I recently wrote a pretty ordinary blog post Volunteers vs Beneficiaries about a couple of extraordinary organisations . One of these was GoodGym. After I clicked “publish” something made search to see if I had a local GoodGym. I did, and I registered there and then for Monday night’s run. It was the next day so there was no time to change my mind.

I started to have a bit of a wobble on the way – was I too old? Would I keep up? Was I wearing the right things? Would they all be weird? Would they think I was weird? I reached peak nerves when I arrived at the cafe and couldn’t see anyone else in running kit.

I tried to tell myself the reassuring words that I would say to a new parkrunner. I checked the confirmation e-mail again to be sure I was in the right place and then I went up to the bar to ask. And as I did, I spotted the gaggle of runners in red and black GoodGym t-shirts.

On the way home, as I synced my run to Strava, I reflected on what an unexpected evening it had been. I had chatted for the entire time and had become engrossed in conversations with runners with similar professional interests. I’d met parkrunners and talked about starting a junior parkrun. And I’d put the world to rights with a new friend who shared my volunteering philosophy and irritation with the expression “giving up your time to volunteer“. And somehow I’d managed to do all this while running in my red zone! Everyone was accepting, welcoming, interested and interesting. In the middle of the run we cleared some Sustrans walking and cycling paths, we did some yoga stretches and we ended with a beer.

You can read the run report here: Highly Functioning Cyclepaths

#ParentsInSportWeek and I’m remembering my dad

This #ParentsInSportWeek has made me think of my dad. It’s made me think of the effect he had on me and my early experiences of sport.

These days, all my thoughts about parents in sport usually revolve around organising activities and competitions for children – and seeing how their parents relate to their children in the heat of the event. Do the parents encourage, empathise and just enjoy the experience? Or do they push, pressurise and humiliate? Those of us regularly involved in youth sport will have seen pushy parent behaviour that is bordering on bullying.

Graduate sailing dinghies

So, I’m remembering my dad. And I’m remembering sailing with him when I was about 8 years old. We were sailing in a graduate dinghy on a gravel pit. And I was learning to helm – to steer the boat. I was nervous, and this was a big thing for me. I could manage to helm in a straight line and get all the way across the lake. But then you had to “tack” to change direction. This was a scary manoeuvre for me at the time. It must have been a big block because, even now, I can visualise the bank looming up and time running out to push the tiller away, cross the boat, swap tiller and main-sheet hands and head off in the new direction. Week after week I would lose my nerve. I would try my hardest but at the last minute, I would bottle out and swap places with my dad, and he would tack the boat. Then we would swap back again.

What I’m realizing now, and what I never noticed at the time, was his patience. He just let me helm, swap, tack, helm again. I don’t know how many weeks we did this. He never criticised me or pushed me beyond my limit. He very slowly let me build up my confidence. And eventually I must have learnt to tack that boat.

From learning to tack, my skills improved and my confidence in my ability grew. I was hooked and sailing became a huge part of my world. My confidence in myself grew too and I made lots of friends through the sport. I subsequently went on to compete at National level and was invited to join the Women’s Olympic training squad.

In #ParentsInSportWeek week, I am thinking of my dad. And thinking how differently things could have turned out. How easily he could have run out of patience, pushed me to tack before I was ready and put me off. He could so easily have turned me away from sailing for ever.

Thanks Dad. You’ll never read these words. You’ll not know that you instilled values in me that I hold dear and that I am now trying to use to support parents and children in sport. You won’t know what I am achieving now. But I hope that you did know what effect your patience had on my emerging confidence and my love of sailing all those years ago.

Consortium takes over Join In

Join in, the Olympic legacy volunteering project is in new hands. I’m interested, and excited to see that the consortium led by the Sport and Recreation Alliance includes the Do-it Trust – the recently revamped volunteer matching site, Volunteering Matters, Jump and VolunteerKinetic – a web-based volunteer management system. Having worked with several of these organisations I am quite optimistic for the future of sport volunteering.

For more information see ivo article.

Two great toolkits to copy

Here are some really useful resources that will help anyone managing volunteers for a club, an organisation or an event. They have been produced by large, reputable bodies and are freely available. So take a look, and start editing and adapting what helps you.

Adult Volunteer Management Toolkit from the DofE

The Duke of Edinburgh Award is the phenomenally successful scheme that challenges young people to learn skills, volunteer and embark on an expedition. The charity, which is celebrating it’s diamond anniversary this year, has transformed the lives of 2 million young people since it started 60 years ago.

Graphic showing 2 million young people have achieved their DofE

2016 is Diamond Challenge year https://dofediamondchallenge.org/

This toolkit is for adult volunteers who support organisations that are delivering DofE awards  – not to be confused with guidelines that are given to young people taking the award. The toolkit is mega! It has every template you could ever need, it’s downloadable and it’s just been updated. So if you are looking for good practice to copy – applications forms, interview questions, induction checklists plus guidelines to help you write your volunteer policy and handbook – it is all here. In fact it has 23 document templates that you might need for managing volunteers. It is a gem. Thank you DofE for doing such a great job.

Download the toolkit here: http://www.dofe.info/go/adultvolunteers/

Volunteer toolkit from England Athletics

Image of booklets that make up the toolkit

England Athletics Volunteer toolkit is aimed at clubs

This helpful resource separates into sections focusing on recruiting, retaining and rewarding volunteers in a club environment. It also has a useful list of volunteer role descriptions and some editable posters to advertise volunteer opportunities.

Download the toolkit here: http://www.englandathletics.org/volunteer/volunteer-toolkit

 

So, I’m worth £16,000

…..as one of the 3.2 million people who regularly volunteer in sport.

Join in, the volunteering organisation, set out to calculate the true value that a sport volunteer contributes to society. Using information on the “Social Value of Volunteering” from the Bank of England, Join In has released ground-breaking research in it’s report Hidden Diamonds.They evaluated the increase in wellbeing and improvement in mental health for both the volunteer and the sports participants and found that:

A volunteer creates the capacity for at least 8.5 people to participate.

One volunteer in sport creates wellbeing worth £16,000

Join in talks about us volunteers as investing our time, skills and energies in creating opportunities for others to take part in sport. In doing this, we are seen to be creating community assets. Hardly surprising then that a volunteer in sport is significantly more likely to feel good about their community than someone who doesn’t volunteer.

Join in compared the community feel-good factor between volunteers and non-volunteers and demonstrated that volunteering boosts happiness and wellbeing.

Compared to those who have never volunteered in sport, 87% of people who volunteer agreed that their life has meaning.

If you volunteer in sport you are significantly more likely to trust people in your community

We know that sports clubs and volunteer-led events like parkruns bring communities together and we feel happier as a result. I believe that quite a few people go home from volunteering feeling better than they do after competing. But is nice to see the social value of volunteering being recognised and hear the Bank of England’s chief economist describing volunteering as a hidden jewel.

You might also like to read:

“In giving, how much do we receive. The social value of volunteering.” Bank of England speech

“Jo Pavey: Volunteers enabled me to fulfil my dreams in athletics” The Guardian Voluntary Sector Network

parkrun newsletter in which Tom talks about the potential of this research for parkrun which had 33,000 volunteers in 2013,

 

 

Finding my way around the Commonwealth Games

MTB

The mountain biking at Cathkin Braes was spectacular

I’ve just spent two of the most enjoyable weeks of my life as a volunteer at the Glasgow Commonwealth Games. As a sports event organiser and serial volunteer it is no surprise that I applied to be a “Clyde-Sider” but when I made the 800 mile round trip for my interview early in 2013, I had a rough flight, a bumpy landing and a cold wet day. I remember sheltering in the relative warmth of the People’s Palace and wondering if it was such a good idea.

When my shift roster arrived I was delighted to see that my sports were Triathlon, Mountain Biking, Marathon and Road Cycling. The role said “Results Technology Services, Transponder Team” and the cynic in me imagined a back-room job sorting timing devices. Oh no! If you watched the BBC coverage of the Triathlon Relay, you might have seen that I put in nearly as many appearances as Alistair Brownlee. Our team was issuing and collecting timing transponders and that meant fixing them to bikes or athlete’s ankles before the start and removing them at the finish. It was an exciting role with a front row view of the action.

logo

I camped at Lochinch in Pollok Park, in a small tent (2 seconds pop-up: 25 mins not-pop-down!). Camping Ninja ran a good ship – it felt secure and they did their best to provide enough charging points for all the phones. And they supported Project Recamp to reuse and donate camping equipment at the end. The Lochinch Sports Club volunteers and staff worked hard to look after us and battled manfully to keep a supply of hot water to the showers. I only had one cold one. They provided food service, although I had always left before breakfast which started at 7.00am. And there were big screens to watch the sporting action until 11.30pm when they turned them off and sent us out to our tents.

Early morning peace at Camping Ninja

Early morning peace at Camping Ninja

With the help of friends, thank you Debbie and Elizabeth, I arrived by train and was reunited with my tent, bike and uniform. I embraced the Glasgow 2014 ideal of “active transport”, and set out to cycle to all my shifts. The triathlon in Strathclyde Country Park was always going to be a challenge. So I set off extra early with route details and a borrowed OS map (thank you Christine and Malcolm). Three hours later I arrived at the athlete check-in gate of the triathlon venue. The transport and security teams who greeted me were in awe of my determination to battle the (unsigned) diversions around the Glasgow Green venue and the athlete village. I went down in history as the mad cycling volunteer who put in more hours on a bike that the competing athletes! Security kindly looked after my bike and Transport put me on an athlete bus to the other end of the park – which was closed to all other traffic for the event. The staff at Workforce Check-in rallied round to find me a breakfast of a banana and a “Lees Original Macaroon”. Not a macaroon as I know it, but if I ever come across one of these again I will be transported back to Strathclyde Loch. I was inauspiciously late joining the timing team but luckily this was a preparation session. The next day I modified my transport plans and combined cycling with the train to Motherwell.

Our triathlon shifts included a venue and team training day, the individual women’s and men’s races, a relay rehearsal and – the highlight – the Mixed Team Relay. Was I proud to be English? You bet! Surprised at the National Anthem? We all were. Congratulations to:

  • Jodie Stimpson and Vicky Holland, Gold and Bronze
  • Alistair and Jonny Brownlee, Gold and Silver
  • and Holland/ Brownlee/ Stimpson /Brownlee, Gold in the Relay

Proud to be English, puzzled by the National Anthem

Proud to be English, puzzled by the National Anthem

It was a pleasure to work with these athletes and they confirmed my belief, formed in my early days with aat events, that triathletes are generally a very reasonable bunch of people. Before the start of the team relay, Jonny Brownlee appeared in the changeover area with a pair of scissors, and asked me if he could shorten the transponder straps to stop them flapping about. He did his, and his brother’s. Impressive race preparation. I later recalled that after the individual event there had been 4 straps that were too short to fit back on the rack they came on. We now know why.

The blistering sunshine in the first week warmed the water above the temperature that wetsuits were optional. Yes, in Glasgow the water was so warm that wetsuits were forbidden by Triathlon rules. I also heard reports of melting tarmac on the bike route. There were industrial sized containers of sun-screen for volunteers to help themselves at breaks.

Results technology team

Results technology team

On the train journey home from the relay, I enjoyed a lively conversation with some David McNamee fans. They could see what a great time I was having, and how passionate I was about organising sport at all levels. (They assumed I must work in a school – irony, Mr Gove). One of the triathlon fans mentioned that he had considered volunteering but ultimately had not because he felt it would be a big anti-climax when it was all over. Yes it really is. But there are solutions – there’s a topic for a future blog post.

The marathon route came right through our camp-site. Handy for spectators but I had to get up at 5.00am to cycle to the event HQ. I was somewhat dismayed to find out, after check-in, venue tour and team brief, that our team was overstaffed and one of us could go home. As I’d had such a great role at the Tri relay I stepped down. But by this time all the roads had been closed. I might have had a lie in and a short stroll to cheer the runners through Pollok Park. Never mind. I understand it’s hard to plan such complex volunteer schedules. Instead I went back to the People’s Palace which was now the workforce rest area. This spectacular greenhouse which had provided some warmth and shelter in the winter was – well, like a greenhouse! I sat down in a comfy chair and fell fast asleep and missed the marathon completely.

Another gastronomic memory of Glasgow 2014 - a volunteer staple

Another gastronomic memory of Glasgow 2014 – a volunteer staple

The Mountain Bike venue also presented transport challenges, not least the 400m climb to the top of Cathkin Braes hill. So I settled for the bus – did my research on the way home from the marathon to check the bus stop was not on a closed road. The very helpful bus driver set me down in a random housing estate and told me to head off uphill on a minor track. Better luck than at the triathlon, I arrived straight to Workforce Check-in. It was an awesome venue and the huge wind turbine and buzzing helicopters added to the atmosphere. My job was again working with the Longines timing team and here on the 80% gate where athletes that drop behind are pulled or retire. Some were clearly outclassed. Others were frustrated. But I was surprised at the reaction of the crashed and bloodied Isle of Man rider who punched the air with joy when his team manager told him that his crash had been replayed several times on the big screen. If seems if you are going to crash, you want people to see it. Radio communications presented an unexpected challenge for me as all messages were in German. Most of the numbers came back to me, but who would have thought I’d have needed a European language at the Commonwealth Games in Scotland.

A day off – and someone gave me an athletics ticket. Thank you 🙂 And other priorities were washing clothes and bike repairs.

For the cycling time trial we were asked to meet at Commonwealth House in the City centre, the venue for my distant past interview on that chilly day. We were sorted into sectors, slowly, and bussed out onto the route. 7.30am check-in; 10.01am race start. we were in place and set up with only minutes to spare, a reminder that it takes a long time to organise so many people.

Back up timing for the Cycling Time Trial

Back up timing for the Cycling Time Trial

We were dropped into the middle of nowhere, in pouring rain. Our uniform rain jackets and umbrellas were good, and our trousers were quick-dry, but I was relieved to see a gazebo at my timing station. My job was to record the cyclist numbers and make sure the back-up info was radioed to Longines timing HQ – this time thankfully in English.

Cycle route sculpture on Route 7

Cycle sculpture on Route 7

Loch Lomond and the Trossachs

Loch Lomond and the Trossachs

I must have been inspired by all that cycling. Next day off I embarked on an excursion to Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park. It was a splendid cycle along Sustrans NCR 7 which followed the Forth & Clyde Canal and the River Leven.

 

 

 

 

 

 

A chance to run in the Pollok parkrun on Saturday – don’t forget your barcode! And then my final shift was the Cycling Road Race where we were removing transponders from some very expensive bikes.

Throughout my two weeks I’d experienced some great team leadership – take a bow Terence from Canada, our Tri results tech team leader. I’d had the satisfaction of of collaborating with some real team players, and a little bit of working with some non-team players too. Just occasionally it felt like we were in an episode of The Apprentice with some jostling and posturing and imagined calls of “Notice me! Give me the best job!”

But what I will remember most is the teamwork, the camaraderie of the campsite and the amazing friendliness of people in the city.

If you were in uniform people wanted to talk to you. I cycled in and out of the city at all times of day and night. They say “People Make Glasgow”.

One of my favourite places to relax was the BBC at the Quay: A hub of entertainment, free bands, big screen and the studio where they recorded “Tonight at the Games”. I’d been lucky enough to see Public Service Broadcasting, Bellowhead, PAWS, Prides and The Radiophonic workshop. On the last night Debbie and I, and several thousand others returned for one last time to The Quay to watch the closing ceremony.

Clydeside Evening

Sun sets on the iconic Finnieston Crane and Glasgow 2014 venues

Sad Glasgow 2014 is over. Will I be finding my way to the Gold Coast in 2018, I wonder.

It’s an honour to volunteer for parkrun

runners enjoying parkrun

More than 1 million people are registered with parkrun    Photo courtesy Simon Hart

On Saturday 14th June, 2014, Paul Sinton-Hewitt was awarded the CBE in the Queen’s Birthday honours list for “services to Grass-roots Sport Participation”. Paul started parkrun in 2004. And now these free, 5k, timed,Saturday runs are happening all over the UK and in a growing number of other countries. The statistics are so phenomenal that I will not include them here as they will be out of date tomorrow! Instead I’ll refer you to the foot of the parkrunUK home page where you can find the latest stats and here for the worldwide numbers. 

Even more amazing than the numbers of people running, are the numbers of people volunteering. Every week at least 3000 people in the UK help put on their local parkrun and a grand total of 60,055 different people have volunteered for parkrun in some way or another. I have been fortunate to see the inner workings of parkrun and experience the dedication of the most committed volunteers at the recent Ambassador’s conference. Ambassadors are instrumental in helping parkrun continue to grow.

The success of parkrun lies in having practical systems that can be taken on by volunteers. But I believe a far bigger contributor to the meteoric rise in new parkruns is the ethos that inspires ordinary people to step forward and volunteer. parkruns are organised by local people with the support of the ambassadors, a tiny staff of parkrun and sponsors.

parkrun is bringing communities together to make grass-roots sport happen; and as a consequence parkrun is bringing communities together.

 

Paul and parkrun deserve this Birthday Honour. And as one of the local volunteer Event Directors I can say that I feel very honoured to be part of parkrun.

You can read more about this story in the parkrun weekly news.

Built by professionals, put there by volunteers

A new sports facility for shared use by a school and community clubs has been built in Guildford, UK. The idea for an all-weather training pitch arose from discussions between the school and a parent support group and the project was led and funded by volunteers.

astro

“A sporting legacy that is benefiting clubs and young people”

Our vision was to apply for “2012 Olympic Inspired Facility” funding from Sport England to build a floodlit 3G pitch. Initial discussions with potential sports club partners, the County Sports Partnership and other stake-holders started early in 2011. Throughout the excitement of Olympic Year, the project plodded through planning permissions, neighbour consultations, an exacting application to Sport England, appointment of a consultant and build tenders. The pitch was built over the 2013 summer school holidays and was completed in time for the start of the Autumn term. The total build cost was £250,000 of which £122,500 was Sport England Inspired Facility funding and the remainder, the match funding required by Sport England, was raised by parents of students at the school. These parents organised a plethora of events including running races, a summer ball, quiz evenings, a promises auction, a car boot sale and craft fairs.

“Before this facility, outdoor sport stopped in the dark winter months”

The pitch is managed by the school and is used by the PE department during the day and for extra-curricular clubs after school. It means outdoor sport can now take place when the grass field is waterlogged and can continue all year even through dark winter months. In the evenings and weekends, clubs including hockey, football, rugby and lacrosse hire the facility for training. This brings new sport opportunities to the area and joins up community clubs and school participants for the benefit of both.

Acknowledgements

I would particularly like to credit Julie Dickson. It was our synergy and sense of humour that kept Julie and I working long and late on this project. Julie – your legal brain and tenacious approach were key. Thank you. I would also like to acknowledge and thank the “Pitch In Team” who stepped up and organised fund-raising activities. You all know who you are. We have all left a fantastic sporting legacy that will benefit young people long after our own children have grown up and moved on.