Falkirk Parkrunners praised for defying the elements

A team from Lindsays, who ahve offices in Edinburgh, Glasgow and Dundee, led a volunteers’ takeover of Falkirk parkrun on Saturday - with all involved refusing to be put off by high winds, rain and sleet.

Scores of runners turned out for the free 5km event in Callendar Park and impressed the 15-strong team of volunteers who acted as timekeepers, barcode scanners, marshalls and funnell managers as competitors of all ages took part - with some pushing buggies and one man celebrating his 100th parkrun.

Susan Law, Partner at Lindsays, said: “The determination of those taking part in Saturday’s parkrun was phenomenal.

"There was no way that they were going to be beaten by the weather and we were delighted to be able to play our part in ensuring that they were not.

“It was wet and windy for most of the run, yet the atmosphere was great and really typified the ethos of parkrun in people getting together to keep fit in an enjoyable way. It was a pleasure to take part and we look forward to hopefully joining everyone again.”

Saturday’s parkrun was held just hours before the scottishathletics-organised Lindsays National Cross Country (XC) Championships, held at Callendar Park later that morning.

Chief Operating Officer at Lindsays, Ian Beattie, who is also chairman of scottishathletics, added: “The parkrun proved to be a brilliant warm-up for the cross country races. The championships in Falkirk are a fantastic event, growing ever more popular.

"As a company, we’re delighted to sponsor that. Supporting parkrun was a great way to extend our involvement in the day even further.

“Many of those who were supporting people taking part in the championships got into the spirit of the day by enjoying parkrun first, many of them extending their stay in Falkirk, which was hopefully a plus for the area’s economy as well.”

Lindsays has an agreement to support the scottishathletics Cross Country Seasons until 2023, having first become involved in 2014.

Saturday’s Lindsays National Cross Country (XC) Championship was the biggest held in at least 40 years, with 2,460 names on the start-lists. Both Susan and Ian were among the competitors.