The banks of the Grand Canal at the small picturesque village of Vicarstown were buzzing on Saturday morning where the weekly parkrun had a small bit more significance than usual.
More than 150 people were in attendance for the 9.30am 5km parkrun – where the wonderful Noeleen Condron from Killeshin completed her 250th parkrun.
Balloons, cakes and presents were the order of the day as not only was Noeleen hitting a considerable mileston in the parkrun community, she also celebrated her 70th birthday this week.
Despite being a volunteer in St Abban’s Athletics Club for years where her family have a strong involvement, she only began running in her 60s.
And as she clocked up the parkruns – which is a free timed 5km run every Saturday with events dotted around the world – she calculated that she could complete her 250th on the week that she turned 70.
Now it wasn’t without its complications. A dose of Covid meant she missed a couple of weeks and one morning she went to the Carlow run only for it to be cancelled because of floods.
She also went to Germany one weekend but a couple of weeks ago she fell while out for a run in Carlow and among her ailments were a couple of cracked ribs.
Even that didn’t deter her. A couple of physio sessions and a few painkillers meant that she walked the event in Vicarstown and on Saturday morning, there was a massive crowd to cheer her over the line.
You can check out a selection of images from the event below – while we will be publishing a video from the occasion later this week.
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