Volunteering with parkrun has helped a Newcastle resident meet new people, travel the world and given her the motivation to train for a half marathon.
Claire Wynarczyk, who is known as ‘queen of the barcode scanners at her local parkrun, Town Moor, said: “parkrun offers me the chance to socialise with friends and meet new people.
“Volunteering in particular has built my confidence and enabled me to improve my communication and organisational skills which have all helped me in my day job too.
“It has also provided the opportunity to explore areas of the country I wouldn’t have normally thought about visiting as well as many scenic places such as Fountains Abbey and Whinlatter in The Lake District.”
It isn’t just the UK that Wynarczyk has explored with her parkrun adventures taking her further afield. She added: “parkrun has taken me overseas too, most memorably where I experienced parkrun along with a flock of speedy sheep at Caffarella parkrun in Rome and loved visiting Zielona Gora in Poland, a city that would probably never had crossed my mind to travel to had it not been for parkrun.”
Volunteering has also sparked a passion for running and to add to her volunteering on 407 occasions she is also closing down on running her 225th parkrun while she trains for a half marathon.
Wynarczyk explained: “When I started volunteering at parkrun I couldn’t run for a bus! However, seeing all the parkrunners each week got me thinking I could complete the 5k too.
“In August 2013 I plucked up the courage to complete my first parkrun, which I did with a mix of running and walking. Building up to running a full 5k was a very slow and gradual process and at this time I was far more focused on volunteering, I just loved it.
“I gradually began to do more parkruns and became hooked and as a result was inspired to train for 10k events and half marathons. I now regularly pace at parkruns too! I just love helping people and I can’t imagine a Saturday without parkrun.
“It is the best way to start the weekend and it provides the perfect opportunity to meet many friends along the way and try out all those different post parkrun cafes! parkrun will keep me volunteering, parkrunning and exploring – all the things I love!”
