VIDEO: Dame Kelly Holmes makes surprise appearance at Stratford Parkrun
AS it heads towards its third birthday next month, the organisers of Stratford Parkrun know the weekly Saturday morning events attract a good turnout and with the spirit of new year, new you in the air, they fully expected some new faces to join them last weekend.
But nothing had prepared joint event director Simon Teale for who one of those first-timers at the Stratford run would be, reports Richard Howarth.
He said: “I was busy helping to get set up when this figure came behind me and said. ‘Hi, I’m Dame Kelly Holmes, is it okay if I run with you?’ and I said, ‘of course!’.”
The buzz quickly went round the runners gathering for the start on the recreation ground that the much-loved, double gold medal winning Olympic athlete was in their midst.
Mr Teale said they decided to make the most of the moment and invited her to hand out that week’s awards to those volunteers and runners who had reached a milestone in their parkrun careers and also gave a speech, before heading for the start.
For the full story with photos see today's Stratford Herald.
VIDEO: Courtesy of Simon Pipe