Junior parkrun coming to Mullingar
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Junior parkrun volunteers (from left): Blanaid Adamson, Martin Murphy, Annette Bennett and Mel Leahy.Image 2 of 2
Volunteers at the regular parkrun on Saturday last (from left): Antoinette Daly, Marcella Daly, Blanaid Adamson, Cliona Smith, Martin Murphy Neil Smith Mel Leahy and Annette Bennett.Junior parkrun is coming to Mullingar from April 23, when children from four to 14 years can walk, jog, run or skip 2km along the Old Rail Greenway (for free) every Sunday morning.
The emphasis is on participation rather than competition and the aim is to get children out in the fresh air and exercising. There is no time limit and no one finishes last, as that’s the job of the ‘tail walker’ every.
Martin Murphy from Castlepollard is one of the main organisers of the event, with Blanaid Adamson, event organiser of the Saturday morning Mullingar parkrun, and other core organising group members, Rachel McKevitt and Mel Leahy.
The Mullingar parkrun started in 2017 and now has around 100 taking part every Saturday morning over 5km. The Old Rail Junior parkrun will be over 2km, starting at 9.30am every Sunday near Newbrook Bridge. Parents and guardians are asked to attend at 9.20am on the opening day for a pre-event briefing.
Participants are asked to register with parkrun Ireland to get their barcodes so they can get details of their times and position and how many runs they have done – if they want to know.
Speaking to the Westmeath Examiner, Martin said the aim is to get children out, to get their legs and hearts moving. "There are going to be some that will want to sprint as fast as they can and that’s fine, but the emphasis is non-competitive."
He said that there is a fantastic atmosphere at the Saturday parkrun and he expects the same at the junior event. "The emphasis is on fun and non-competitiveness and smiling and laughing are mandatory!"
Martin has been a keen road runner for many years, though his involvement is now mainly as a volunteer and photographer. He has worked with Westmeath County Council for 23 years as part of the sanitary services team. Martin is married to Anne and they have a nine-year-old son Fionn who he hopes will be a regular parkrunner.
The Junior parkrun has been a long time in the planning, Martin said. He expressed thanks to Westmeath County Council for permitting use of the greenway, to Westmeath Sports Partnership and the HSE for sourcing and providing funds for the project (there is a €3,200 once off payment to register with parkrun globally), and to his core group and family for their help and support.
The organisers acknowledged David Scally and Tony Wheatley at Westmeath Sports Partnership who facilitated a grand for the junior parkrun.