Beauty spot to be site for new parkrun
A NEW parkrun is coming to a South Wales beauty spot this autumn, organisers have announced.
Cosmeston Lakes Country Park is set to host the latest addition to the parkrun scene in Wales and should be up and running by early November.
It will be the second parkrun in the Vale of Glamorgan after the popular Barry Island parkrun was launched in 2015.
Parkrun is a free 5km run open to people of all ages which takes place every Saturday morning all over the world.
In Cardiff, an average of between 700 and 800 runners participate every weekend at the two events at Blackweir and Grangetown.
It has become so popular, organisers have been looking to start a third event close to the city since the new year.
Lyn Evans, the event director for Barry Island parkrun and treasurer of Penarth and Dinas Runners, said plans for a parkrun at Cosmeston had been in the pipeline for “a while”.
Mr Evans said: “We’re delighted to have agreed with the Vale of Glamorgan Council that Cosmeston Lakes Country Park in Penarth will be the new location.
“We’ve already outlined a scenic 5k route with the park rangers and have start-up funding in place too. Of course, we’ve got a fantastic, safe park to run in plus the Lakeside Cafe on hand for the all-important post-run get-together of runners and volunteers.
“Our aim is to integrate smoothly with other Saturday morning activities in the park.”
The next step is to recruit volunteers. Each new parkrun needs to raise £4,000 and have an organising team in place. Mr Evans, who will be the new run director, hopes the Cosmeston parkrun will be set up by late October or early November.
No previous parkrun experience, as either runners or volunteers, is necessary as training will be provided.
■ If you would like to help, contact Lyn Evans at lyn.evans@parkrun.com