People of parkrun: Susan

Brought to you by our friends at Vhi, in this week’s people of parkrun entry, we hear from Susan Crammond, a primary school teacher from Marlay Park parkrun. She tells us about her dream parkrun buddy and her funniest parkrun moment in the rain!

How did you get involved in parkrun?

I lived in the US for four years while my husband was on a diplomatic posting (2015-19) and one of the other diplomatic spouses brought me to the local parkrun to help me get to know people. There were a lot of expats and people on overseas postings at the parkrun and I made amazing friends there. I ended up on the core team of Fletchers Cove parkrun in Washington DC. It was a small parkrun so it was easy to get to know everyone. Coffee culture was also huge part of it too. I accumulated more than 100 parkruns there before we returned home. I now mainly attend Marlay and Shanganagh but have also recently tried St. Annes and Russborough.

What do you love about parkrun?

The community. It is so affirming and encouraging and it quickly became the highlight of my week. My brother in law teases me that I will talk to anyone at parkrun – something I am very proud of!

Who do you participate with?

My sister Nicola, her husband JP and my friends Bill Stanley, Clara Geraghty and Hugh Hillin.

How has parkrun impacted positively on you?

Moving to a new country where I knew no one and my husband was meeting so many people through work, parkrun enabled me to establish myself somewhere I belonged and I made great friends. Since I started parkrun in 2016, I’ve done many events including three half marathons and I also did the Dublin marathon this year!

What did you miss most about parkrun during the pandemic?

Kirsty Montgomery, my friend who dragged me there for my first parkrun. (I was not a runner at the time!) She now lives in Edinburgh and I can’t wait to run with her again. We also had a friend, Ellen Maxwell who sadly passed away. The three of us did parkrun together every week and did the Cherry Blossom parkrun in D.C. together.

Who is your dream parkrun buddy?

I met Paul Sinton Hewitt with Kirsty and Ellen at College Park parkrun in Maryland. He is such an inspirational man.

What was the funniest parkrun moment?

I never miss a Saturday and one Saturday in D.C, the rain was torrential and our parkrun was along a canal tow path. There is  a photo of me parkrunning and it’s so wet you can’t tell where the path is and where the canal is.

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

parkrun has changed my life for the better and in ways I could never have imagined. Everyone who knows me knows how special it is to me!

Anything else you’d like to share?

I organised a special parkrun at Fletchers Cove for St Patrick’s Day with sponsorship, food, t-shirts and costumes. This is something I am really so proud of. We had a near record attendance and it was such an uplifting event.

#loveparkrun