Double Mountlucas milestone for husband and wife Gerry and Evelyn

Gerry Woods recently completed his 100th parkrun at Mountlucas parkrun in Offaly. It was a particularly joyous occasion as his wife Evelyn recently completed her 200th parkrun and marked this milestone with Gerry.

Speaking after the event, Gerry said: "Evelyn has been doing parkruns from the beginning, but it was only during Covid that Evelyn managed to convince me to get involved.

"I was very reluctant at first and it took me a while to build up to completing a 5k, but I quickly realised the benefit of it from both a physical and mental health prospective."

Gerry and Evelyn were joined on the occasion by their son, Stephen. Stephen is a strong runner and was the first across the finish line on the day. Speaking about his son, Gerry said, "It was also only during Covid that our son Stephen took up running. He has since joined an athletics club and is really enjoying the whole running scene."

Stephen completed the parkrun in a phenomenal time of 18 minutes 8 seconds.

Mountlucas parkrun has become an important part of life for both Gerry and Evelyn.

Gerry explained: "At this stage we are all pretty much hooked, and Saturday would not be complete if we didn’t do the parkrun. We usually go to Mountlucas where there is a fantastic ever-expanding group of all ages with a really friendly atmosphere.

"There is always great banter on Saturday mornings at the event and people really encourage each other to perform at their best. You will never regret having done a parkrun and it really sets you up for the day ahead."

Mountlucas parkrun is a free weekly timed event held at the Bord na Móna Mountlucas windfarm every Saturday morning at 9.30am sharp.

There's something for everyone at Mountlucas parkrun whether you want to walk, run, volunteer or just meet new people. For more information see: parkrun.ie/mountlucas