Profile of an Offaly parkrunner: Meet Alan Reid

Meet Alan Reid who has been completing parkruns, locally and as far afield as New Zealand, since 2019.

When did you first complete a parkrun?

My first parkrun was 7th of September 2019 in St. Anne’s, Raheny. I completed a couple of parkruns over the next few months and then the dreaded Covid hit. When parkrun stopped during Covid I  completed "not parkruns" to keep active. This was an initiative promoted by parkrun at the time to encourage people to continue to complete their 5km walk or run during the Covid period.

What is your favourite thing about parkrun?

No matter the weather, parkrun happens. It's very rarely cancelled. After a week of work it is something to get me up on a Saturday. It helps to kick start the day and gets me set up for the day. Admittedly some Saturdays it is a struggle to get up but you just have to do it and get it done. When you cross the finish line it’s a great sense of achievement. 

What is your favourite parkrun memory?

Completing my first milestone of 25 parkruns would be my favourite memory. It took a while to get there seeing as my first run was in September 2019. I completed my 25th parkrun in March 2023 at Whanganui Riverbank parkrun in New Zealand. This parkrun, as the name suggests, is ran along the banks of the Whanganui River which is located in the town of Whanganui on the Northern Island and is an in and out course; all very flat. It was a cheeky run as I was in New Zealand for a friend's wedding but couldn’t miss the opportunity to get a milestone parkrun in, so was on the road at 6.30am to get to the parkrun location for 8.00am, did the run and then straight back for the wedding! Like Moumtlucas it was very friendly and welcoming, everyone having the chats & banter. Then of course another great memory was my 50th parkrun at my home parkrun of Mountlucas.

What words best describe Mountlucas parkrun?

Extemely Friendly and welcoming, everyone says hello to each other and offer words of encouragement around the course and congratulations at the finish line. Mountlucas has a much more personal feeling than some of the larger parkruns.