Norman, 83, reaches Parkrun landmark

NORMAN Cole, aged 83, of Penistone Footpath Runners celebrated his 250th Parkrun at Barnsley at the weekend.

Joined by his family and running friends, he was presented with a commemorative plaque by Steve Lavender, to mark the occasion.

Norman, who was diagnosed with cancer late last year, completed the 250th run after a short break whilst receiving 18 weeks of treatment.

Norman thanked all the Parkrunners for their support and the standing ovation he received running into the finish.

It’s been a congested racing week for Penistone Footpath Runners with many runners taking part in races across Yorkshire.

James Thompson broke his own senior make club record at the Doncaster 5k with an impressive 15-53. Gareth Cook also broke the old record recording a PB time of 16-07.

27 Penistone runners undertook the Huddersfield 5km which formed part of the club’s championship competition. On the night two 5km club records were broken - the ladies senior record by Ashleigh Bowskill in 23-12 and the ladies V35 by Laura Gill in 20-33.

The Penistone teams fared well with the ladies team (Laura Gill, Julia Cobham, Ashleigh Bowskill) picking up second place and the men’s team (Kieron Reed, Rob Lees, Martin Ball) placing third.

The race also represented the Yorkshire veterans 5k championships and there were many Penistone runners in the medals.

A few hardy runners from Penistone made the short trip over the Strines to run in the Bamford Carnival Fell Race.

First male back for the club was Mark Riordan in 53rd place in a time of 38-10. First lady back for Penistone was Julie Darigala in 40-24. Julie was an impressive fourth lady back overall and second FV40.