Article by Kendyl Cardwell
Saturday, January 18, was a very special parkrun, not only because of the many milestones achieved but also because of the return of some very important people in the parkrun community.
Karen and Tim Bowler are visiting from England and participated in this weekend’s event. These two people are more than just participants in the Clermont Parkrun; in fact, they founded the event all the way back in 2013. They had to overcome strict regulations and went through a tremendous amount of planning in order to found the event that we all know and love. They had been inspired by the success of parkrun overseas, and because of their vision, they were able to set up one of the first and most successful parkrun events in the US. Without their tremendous efforts, Clermont Parkrun would not exist.
There were also many important milestones to celebrate. Congratulations to Anne Beninghof, who ran her 50th event this weekend. Not only has Anne shown dedication as a runner, but she is also a committed volunteer. “We can always count on Anne to be on-time, excited, and ready to help out. She is a fantastic volunteer and consistently does a great job,” said part-time run director Rissie Theiler. Another congratulation to East Ridge cross country coach Grant Mollett on finishing his 125th parkrun this Saturday. He has been bringing his high school runners out to parkrun for a few years and has made a great addition to the parkrun community. Shelly Linder from the Clermont Triathlon Club also completed her 75th event.
Even if you did not reach a milestone or a PR, there are still many other ways to be proud of your progress or commitment. Congratulations to every single runner on even coming out to run a 5k on the weekend with such a great attitude.
One-hundred and seventy-seven people ran, jogged and walked the course, of whom 26 were first-timers and 30 recorded new Personal Bests. Representatives of 18 different clubs took part.
