People of parkrun brought to you by Vhi

Name: John & Liz O’Dwyer

Age: 52 & 53

Occupation: Airport Security & Housewife

Local parkrun: Father Collins

Number of parkruns completed:  51 & 57

How did you get involved in parkrun?

I’ve been doing them on and off for years since Malahide Parkrun started and did a few in St Anne’s. I got Liz involved when she was on a big weight loss and fitness journey. One evening I just signed her up, printed her barcode out and she did her first parkrun the following Saturday at our local parkrun at Fr Collins

 What do you love about parkrun?

There is always a great atmosphere and great encouragement from all and all the wonderful volunteers who help to make it happen.

Who do you participate with?

We always try do them together but I can’t always make it as I work shift work.  Liz is never on her own as we made lots of new friends and running buddies over the years.

Any parkrun milestones / achievements you would like to share?

I have reached my volunteer 25 milestone but we both reached our 50^th parkrun milestone which we completed together at our local parkrun, Father Collins.

How has parkrun impacted positively on your family outside of 9:30am on a Saturday?

It’s great doing parkrun together, we try train together too as much as we can which is something that we never did before parkrun.

Do you have a health or fitness goal?

Just to maintain a reasonable fitness level so we can continue to do our regular 5km and 10km runs.

Who is your dream parkrun running buddy?

I’ve been running a long time and Liz always accompanied me to almost every run that I did whether it was a marathon or a 5km.  To have Liz take part in the runs now instead of just watching is something that I thought would never happen.

What was your best parkrun experience?

As a couple, our best parkrun experience has to be when we completed our 50^th parkrun together

What was the funniest parkrun moment?

There was plenty of fun moments but one in particular was the look on Liz’s face when she was presented with a recognition award from Father Collins Parkrun for her achievement with her weight loss and fitness journey.

What advice would you give to someone who’s never been to parkrun?

parkrun is for everyone and it doesn’t matter how long it takes you to complete the course. You will get the same encouragement from everyone when you cross the line as the first finisher did.

I got Liz to take part in parkrun when she was on her weight loss journey as she was going out walking regularly.  Liz completed her first 5km in just under 60 minutes and now has a parkrun personal best of 36.13 – she is an amazing woman!