#CountryKids Fell Foot Christmas Parkrun #FitnessFriday

Thanks to Storm Desmond we were unable to have a Christmas parkrun at Fell Foot Park. However Cumbrians are hardy folk so 6 months on we held a Christmas and half parkrun last weekend. We were asked to combine summer and Christmas for the special event. I managed to attach some ribbons to my trainers to make them more festive:

My daughter was marshalling in a Christmas outfit whilst the Run Director was channeling his Santa on the beach look:

The volunteers had made a fabulous effort at decorating the course:

It must have been a bit of surprise to parkrun tourists at our run briefing with the regulars all making an effort:

We even had Santa being our tail runner:

The atmosphere at our parkrun is always very friendly but the festive spirit made it even better this week as we headed out towards the meadow:

Typically the weather was unusually warm for Cumbria but the blue sky looked good with the Santa hats (my son was nearly at the first hill on this shot!):

My daughter was marshalling at the meadow gate which gave her a chance to capture us as we passed by:

Now the grass is longer its no longer possible to cut corners on the course as it winds its way around the outside of the meadow:

I am definitely not a fan of running in the sun and regretted not bringing a water bottle! Luckily the support from the marshals and other runners kept us all going:

The run down to the gate is always a nice rest break and my daughter was waiting with the camera:

What amazed me is how many people were managing a fast pace in quite serious Christmas costumes:

Thank goodness we had a nice cool section along the shore of Windermere to recover from the heat:

My son was less effected than the heat than me and wasn't far off his PB as he went around the course:

He finished in a very respectable time of 26:19! I was actually surprised to run in sub 35 minutes with a combination of lack of fitness and heat:

At the finish as well as the decorations there was festive fare:

After munching a homemade mince pie I headed back out to support the tail runners. Its great to see the younger children out with their parents and they don't give up:

My daughter had to deal with a first aid incident as a runner was overcome by hayfever as he approached her marshal point. So glad she has been first aid trained and didn't panic and could reassure him until he recovered.

Of course no trip to Fell Foot would be complete without a trip to the cafe and as it was our first visit for a month we had bacon butties which the local residents tried to pinch:

So a fabulous family morning of festive fitness! I really do recommend taking your children to your local parkrun or junior parkrun. Let me know if you already take part..