FOR the second successive Saturday, 101 runners took on the Barry Island parkrun course - ably supported and encouraged by a 22-strong volunteer team.

This was event number 52 for the regular Saturday morning 5k run - just one week away from its first anniversary on May 7.

There were 22 first time visitors, with 12 runners taking part in their first ever parkrun. The still, sunny morning made for great running conditions and helped 25 runners, almost a quarter of the field, achieve a personal best.

Also very encouraging was the number of new faces amongst the 16 junior runners. Work continues to progress well towards setting up a dedicated 2k junior Barry Island parkrun this year.

Matt Hurford (Les Croupiers RC) was first over the line this week in a time of 17:42, his second time in five runs. Matt had finished in the top 300 in the London Marathon just the previous Sunday.

First lady finisher was Andrea Hurman (Penarth and Dinas Runners), her first time in seven Barry Island parkruns. It was her 50th parkrun.

In second place was Lisa Cleary (Penarth and Dinas Runners). Lisa had run in the Boston Marathon with Andrea on April 18 then in the London Marathon six days later. Lisa was one of a number of runners proudly sporting their distinctive red London Marathon t-shirts.

As this was the last event of the parkrunning year, the final placings in the first annual points competitions were settled. Mike James (unattached) topped the male table with 4,158 points. Mike ran in 50 of the 52 events.

Richard Wilder (San Domenico RC) was in second spot with 3,362 points. Richard placed first in 12 of his 34 runs. John Frazer (unattached, VM60-64 category), one of the "more senior" parkrunners, was an impressive third with 3,348 points.

In the female points competition, it was a clean sweep for the Williams ladies - all new to running and to the Seriously Mad Runners (Barry) group in this past year.

Top of the table was mum Lisa on 3,561 points; just 45 points behind was younger daughter (and current Williams family 5k record holder) Caitlin, with older sister Bethan 51 points behind on 3,465.

Including dad Richard, who finished eighth in the male points table, they’ve racked up 141 Barry Island parkruns and volunteered on 17 occasions.

Congratulations to the six table toppers - and to every single one of the 1,356 other runners who’ve completed the 5k course at least once - piling up 4,540 runs covering 22,700km (7,053 miles) in the process.

None of this would have been possible without the massive contribution of the 198 volunteers who’ve filled 1,060 volunteering slots - and in particular the 14 members of the core volunteer team who’ve volunteered on nearly 450 occasions between them.

The majority of the team has already passed the 25 event milestone and earned their coveted aubergine parkrun volunteer t-shirts.

As mentioned previously, Andre Hurman celebrated her 50th parkrun this week and took to her keyboard to record her personal reflections on parkrunning.

“It has not been a speedy journey to this week's parkrun for me. I started running 10 years ago. I was fast approaching my 40th birthday, overweight and unfit and so I started training to take part in Race for Life with some of my colleagues at work. I followed a "Couch to 5k" type schedule on my own, running around Barry at times of day I thought no one would see me, clutching my kitchen timer in my hand. No Garmin back then.

"Well, with my brother's encouragement, I carried on after that Race for Life to move on to a 10k, then half marathon and then ran my first full marathon in 2008. Most of this training I undertook alone, but towards the end of that year I joined Penarth and Dinas Runners. That was when I first heard about parkrun and in May 2009 I went along to my first event in Cardiff.

"But what with working some Saturdays and the hassle of driving to Cardiff, it took me the next six years to run at 38 more events. So when Andrew Frayling - our founding event director at Barry Island - put out a call for core team members to come forward and set up a new event I thought great - but never considered putting my name down. After all, what did I have to offer?

"However posts kept popping up and I started to think if I wanted this to happen, then perhaps I should get involved - and I am so glad I did. And so here we are - 10 years later - fast approaching my 50th birthday. Not so unfit this time and feeling healthier and happier. I have many more races under my belt and it seemed appropriate that I should celebrate by timing my 50th parkrun to coincide with the parkrunday nearest my special birthday. And it was awesome.

"I didn't run a PB - unless you can count it as a 'running with a balloon tied to your back' PB but all the shout-outs from the other runners, the volunteers and even the dog walkers made it special. Even more so by having my daughter, Bethan, run her first Barry Island parkrun. She has run 11 at Cardiff but never wanted to join us. Well done Bethan.

"I love the community we have become and really value the Saturday mornings I spend at Barry Island. I am still very much a solo runner for much of my training but I love both volunteering and running with you all. My favourite place to be is with scanner in hand saying ‘well done’ to our finishers and I have enjoyed chatting to some of the many parkrun tourists we have welcomed over the last year. It has also been a pleasure to see so many of our regulars improve and enjoy their own running journeys.

"So here's to the next 10 years with many more running adventures, birthdays and parkrun milestones for us all. Thank you Barry Island parkrun.”

Next weekend will be a busy weekend for local runners, with Barry Island’s first anniversary run on Saturday morning, followed later by the Ty Hafan Rainbow Run on the beach. On Sunday morning, a full field of 300 runners will take on the Legacy Leisure Porthkerry five mile multi-terrain race in Porthkerry Country Park.

Barry Island parkrun is a free, weekly 5k timed run and is open to anyone of any ability - runners, joggers or walkers alike. It starts at 9am every Saturday morning under the Eastern Shelter of Barry Island promenade, near the beach huts.

Find out more on the run website at parkrun.org.uk/barryisland. It’s entirely run by volunteers. Anyone wishing to help out can get in touch by sending an email to barryislandhelpers@parkrun.com.