Good morning and welcome! Welcome to parkrun 167!

There was a TV show called Cheers when I was growing up. I was little and didn’t get it, but the title song stuck with me. The two lines I remember the most from it are:

Where everybody knows your name And they’re always glad you came

These two lines popped into my head recently and I thought this is just like parkrun: I know everyone’s name because I process the results and everyone is glad I came because I bring the stopwatch.

But why stop there, let’s add a few more lines to the song.

How about, where everyone gets a free 5km timed run? That’s a pretty good deal! Or where everyone brings their barcode or (they don’t get a result)? Or where all the first timers and visitors are welcomed by their first names? Any first timers or visitors? How can we welcome you? Or how about where everyone survives the long winded welcome speeches on a freezing cold morning. And no you cannot use the defibrillator to warm up your hands. It doesn’t work that way. I’ve tried it. And one more where everyone is safe and not taken out by cyclists while out on the course. In all seriousness the official parkrun rules say “no bikes at parkrun”. Please be considered of the rules and everyone’s safety and if you have any questions around this come and talk to me after.

Today we are celebrating Tony’s 50th parkrun.

Tony is a man of vision, goals and plans. His vision was to play soccer with his grandchildren in the UK. His goal was to run 5km under 30 min before he turned 60 and his plan was to just show up and do it. But as the great philosopher Mike Tyson says “everyone has a plan until get punched in the face”, so on the way to his first parkrun Tony got lost and missed the start. However I am happy to report that he presevered with his plan and achieved both his goal and his vision. Along the way he inspired his wife and she’s now part of the parkrun scene as well as being today’s photographer.

Congratulations Tony!

Speaking of volunteers, today our thanks go to Wendy, Shannon, Paul, Esme, Kim, Karen and Jacqui. You too will be thanked publicly when you volunteer and you’ll also get a warm and fuzzy feeling inside, which is very handy on a cold day. Just sign up when you scan your barcode.

Well, I am glad you all came and in the interest of starting on time I won’t call you by your name. Let’s just line up for our run.

Cheers.