To celebrate the start of the Olympic Games on Saturday 6th August, Preston Harriers arranged a club takeover at Preston parkrun. A club takeover is a day when a running club supports their local parkrun by supplying the volunteers for the day and organising the event. Preston Harriers did their club and city proud by delivering a parkrun that will live long in the memories of those involved.

The volunteer roster was packed full of enthusiastic Preston Harriers with additional volunteers and people turning up on the day to lend a hand as well. It was a beautiful summer’s morning in the park and there was a buzz of excitement amongst everyone as the morning had an air of being a little different than normal. Just how different the morning would become was realised when the running began. Preston Harrier Andy Benson set a fast pace, separating himself from the pack early on. As the run developed, so did the lead that Andy established, to the point where he was a long way ahead of the rest of the field, running on his own.
As Andy crossed the line, he checked his Garmin and let out a jubilant cry. A quick check with Alan on stopwatch timer and it was confirmed that he had completed the 5k course in a magnificent time of 15:35. This broke the course record set by Craig Ruddy which had stood for over 2 years. On the day the Olympics started, Andy Benson had run a very impressive time on a course that, thanks to a hill which is climbed 3 times, has 100 meters of ascent. Andy was promptly handed the same Preston Harriers flag that Helen Clitheroe had taken to the Olympics and photos were taken. Andy’s performance at Preston parkrun follows other strong performances in the park this summer from Chris Livesey (16:02) and Rob Danson (16:03). With such a hotbed of local talent, it’s possible we could see another Prestonian at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo.
The day was rounded off with coffee at the Pavilion café reflecting on an enjoyable morning. The results were processed and the Preston Harriers had done a fabulous job of delivering a memorable parkrun which will go down in the history of the event.