Members of the local sporting community have combined to get the ball rolling for a weekly 5km route round the town’s Tyne Riverside Country Park and, all being well, the launch event should be October 1.
After making their plans public in June, a fund-raising drive saw them find the required £3,000 for the project in next to no time. Further to that, Northumberland County Council has agreed to provide £5,000 to repair parts of the riverside pathway and a defibrilator, purchased through Prudhoe North county councillor Eileen Burt’s small schemes allowance, is to be installed in the area within the next two months.
Local athlete Holly Kelleher is leading the committee as event director, and is excited about rolling out the initiative in her home town.
She said: “The parkrun will benefit everyone in the local community if they can put up with a small inconvenience for 30 to 40 minutes on a Saturday morning.
“By fixing the path, people who walk their dog there or just use that area will feel the benefits of an improved surface. And the defib is a good thing for the town too.
“We have been so overwhelmed by the support of everybody because this will never work if the local community isn’t behind it.
“We’re estimating up to 200 runners each week going off the numbers of other parkruns and the close proximity to the train station, and that can only bring benefits to local shops etc.”
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