Parkrun celebrates 1st birthday with Sonia!
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Caroline Carroll, Sonia O’Sullivan, Vanessa O’Leary, Patricia Browne of Tullamore Mental Health Association at the parkrun event.Image 2 of 5
Park Run volunteer Melissa Hogan and Sonia O’Sullivan.Image 3 of 5
Sonia O’Sullivan and Emily Wrafter celebrating her 25th Park Run as volunteer.Image 4 of 5
Sonia O’Sullivan and Park Run volunteer Finian McDermott.Image 5 of 5
Co-founders of the Grand Canalway Parkrun in Tullamore, Eileen McKiver and Jack Ryan, are pictured with Olympic silver medallist, Sonia O’Sullivan, at the 1st anniversary celebrations for the community initiative last weekend.It’s not every day that a group of people out for a leisurely Saturday morning run are joined by an Olympian, but that’s exactly what happened in Tullamore last week when Sonia O’Sullivan joined the local parkrun along the banks of the Grand Canal to celebrate their first anniversary.
Volunteers and participants in the Grand Canal Way parkrun could hardly believe their eyes on Saturday morning when the Olympic silver medallist and holder of multiple World and European medals showed up bright and early to join the hugely-popular community event which attracts a weekly attendance of up to 200 people to walk, jog and run along the scenic banks of the Grand Canal.
The Grand Canal Way Parkrun is the brainchild of Jack Ryan from Marino, who works locally as a primary teacher and Eileen McKiver from Mucklagh, who is an occupational therapist working in the community mental health sector.
Not only is Jack Ryan one of the co-founders of the very successful local Parkrun initiative but he was also instrumental in persuading Sonia O’Sullivan and well-known comedian, Jarlath Regan, to travel to Tullamore to join participants in the 1st anniversary run, as Eileen McKiver explains.
“Jack is a regular listener to the ‘Irishman Running Abroad’ podcast with comedian Jarlath Regan and Sonia, and he emailed the programme inviting Sonia and Jarlath to join our Parkrun for the 1st anniversary and we couldn’t believe it when they said yes,” says Eileen.
As well as joining the delighted runners along the banks of the Grand Canal last weekend, the Olympic silver medallist also took time out of her busy schedule to pose for photographs, sign autographs and chat with many of the participants along the 5km route. “She spent the night before in Tullamore also and she even took in a spot of paddleboarding on the canal while she was in the town!
“It was a wonderful way to celebrate our 1st anniversary, and everyone was delighted to meet with such an inspirational athlete,” says Eileen McKiver, “and Sonia gave of her time so freely to everyone she met, it was a great occasion.”
Tullamore Mental Health Association sponsored tea and coffee for all Parkrun participants to mark their 1st anniversary, and 117 people completed the course with an additional 60 people walking the route.
Both Jack Ryan and Eileen McKiver individually contacted Parkrun Ireland in 2019 with a view to setting up a group in Tullamore and were put in touch with each other. “We were joined by more amazing core volunteers and received huge support from Dermot Egan in Healthy Offaly and Eamonn Henry in Offaly Sports Partnership” she says.
After a Covid-induced hiatus, the first Grand Canal Way parkrun took place on October 9, 2021 and the initiative has gone from strength to strength ever since, attracting visitors from all over Ireland and from other countries also, according to Eileen McKiver. “The social dimension is also very important” she stresses, adding that participants go to local restaurant, Jenny’s Kitchen, for a cup of tea and a chat after their run.
The Grand Canal Way parkrun is for those who wish to walk, jog, run or just volunteer and the route is “scenic and flat,” says Eileen.
The group meets every Saturday at the Grand Canal Way just off Callery Street in Tullamore at 9.30am and everyone is welcome to take part, regardless of fitness levels.