5k Your Way, Princes Park, Liverpool, Saturday 28th September, 2019
It always surprises me that there is so much going on locally around Liverpool that you don’t get to find out about. I was lucky enough that Merseyside Sport Partnership put me in touch with Myka Heard, who helps to co-ordinate ‘5k Your Way’ in Princes Park.
5k Your Way (part of Parkrun) encourage those living with and beyond cancer, their families and friends, and those working in cancer services to walk, jog, run, cheer or volunteer. It takes place on the last Saturday of every month.
Dai, Sue Bibby, and Ann Ball, together with Dai’s husband and supporter Alan, met me in Princes Park on Saturday morning. Although all of us knew where Princes Park was none of us had actually been inside the park before. We met Myka before the start of the event and chatted with others taking part in the event and those volunteering.
There were 456 people taking part in the event, which is phenomenal!
Dai, Alan and I stayed towards the back of the group at the start so that those running the event could set off at their chosen speed.
Some people ran pushing their babies in a buggy, some holding the hand of their child, while others ran with their dogs! The volunteers at the event were brilliant – one was stationed at each intersection of paths along the route to make sure that everyone knew which way to go.
The route for the 5k equated to three laps around the park, and I walked it in 54 minutes 50 seconds. I’m hoping to attend more 5k Your Way parkruns in the future and so hopefully I can improve on this completion time. Maybe I’ll even be able to jog a portion of the route!
After everyone had finished the 5k we went to Ryde with Myka, Mark, and Simon from 5k Your Way for a well-earned coffee and a sit down. I chatted with Myka about our shared passion of being active and the positive effect this has on a person’s physical and mental well-being.
I’m looking forward to the next 5k Your Way. I’m also hoping that Myka and others from the 5k Your Way will join Pool of Life in the dragon boat to have a go at paddling soon.
By Ellie Finnigan
