Our parkrun tourism on Saturday 4 June was a little out of the ordinary. It was the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee, and Commando wasn’t running because of a minor injury, but that wasn’t what made it strange. It was actually the wedding day of two of our friends, Helen and Andy, and they were beginning their nuptials at the twenty-fifth Bartley parkrun. Bartley parkrun is in Totton, so at least we didn’t have too early a start, although it took us a while to find the venue. It’s also a very new parkrun. Race number one was on 18th December 2021, and Helen and Andy have been part of the core volunteer team from the outset.
At this point, you may be thinking that running parkrun on the morning of your wedding is an odd thing to do. In fact, runners are a peculiar lot, so it happens a lot more often than you’d think. Helen and Andy met through running, so for them, it was an obvious choice. It also meant their friends got to dress up for their morning run — another thing that happens a lot more than you’d think — and give them a good send off. Commando and I felt rather underdressed for the occasion.
After pictures had been taken and we’d stood around chatting to friends we hadn’t seen for a while, it was time to amble off to the start line. The runners set off in a shower of flower petal confetti and left us twiddling our thumbs. Normally, I’d go off for a wander at this stage, but we were there to cheer on Helen and Andy, and take a few action photos, so we hung around in the play park waiting for them to come past. Commando may have been a touch envious of the runners, but a quick go on the roundabout cheered him up.
The course is a two lap affair, so there were plenty of chances to capture the happy couple running past in their wedding finery. The bride and groom crossed the finish line together in a very respectable time of 24:01, although I’m sure Andy would like me to point out that his PB is 19:18, and Helens PB is 20:38. Runners are very particular about these things for some reason.
This was our first time at Bartley parkrun, but I’m sure it won’t be our last. Next time Commando may even get to run it, and I might have time to go far a stroll. In case you were wondering, the happy couple did not get married in shorts and trainers. They went home and got changed into proper wedding clothes. They scrubbed up quite well too!
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I’ve done that one, back when I was recovering from my first injury of the year. The turns are quite tight, but we enjoyed it. It is hard to find and we parked so far away that we walked half the course to get to the start.
We did the same with the parking. Still, it gave me a little walk.