Monthly 5k run back in Skegness but needs more help

Until the Covid-19 pandemic, the parkrun held on Skegness seafront was attracting 200 people.

However, after 12 successful events organised by the Skegness and District Running Club they were forced to cease.

Since the lifting of restrictions, chairman Andy Shelton and his wife, Helena, have been organising monthly 5k events.

"We struggled to get the Parkrun restarted because the council had decided to change the entrance to the main carpark which is now from Princes Parade," explained Andy.

"So due to road safety I had to find a new route which was a challenge in itself but finally I got there and found one which was totally traffic free.

"As Parkrun is every week we need plenty of key helpers - not just marshalls but event directors, results coordinators, timers, bar code scanners and several others.

"Unfortunately, there wasn't enough people come forward and offer their help, so I took it upon myself to just do one run each month."

The Skegness Boating Lake 5k Facebook group has about 200 members but currently only about 20 to 30 runners are turning up to each event.

"I'm quite happy to keep it small and managable at the moment but if we had several more people come forward with an offer to take a major role in the Parkrun, it could yet restart, but I can't be event director every week myself," said Andy.

"At the moment I'm happy to set up the course with direction arrows and organise things once a month which is managable for me."

*Anyone is invited to run at the 5k and can join the Facebook group for more details. Competitors just need to turn up in their running gear 10 mins before the start. Skegness and District Running Club would also welcome new members if anyone is interested in joining.