We have done parkrun takeovers for the last two years in support of Leeds Pride but SpookedOUT was our first club event where we organised everything ourselves from scratch.

 

The 5k was held in Woodhouse Moor with participants and volunteers all encouraged to dress up in Halloween costume.

 

The volunteers arrived early on a beautiful sunny morning to decorate the park. The bushes and trees around the finish line were soon adorned with spiders webs and skeletons and it wasn’t long before the runners started to arrive. The course marshals took their positions as the rest of us headed down to the start line.

 

After receiving course instructions the participants were away for a couple of laps of the park. The great thing was the field was really varied with competitive athletes and a number of runners who had only recently completed a Couch to 5K with the club, some of whom had never run before.

 

I’m pleased to say everyone crossed the finish line. The first male and female runner received a trophy to commemorate their achievement and courtesy of a local supermarket every runner received a goodie bag.

 

Organising the event was a massive learning curve but with a few tweaks we managed to pull everything together. We had some great feedback and everyone who came along had a fantastic time, which made all the work worthwhile.

 

By Andrew Frazer

 

Join the Leeds Frontrunners here: https://runleeds.co.uk/running-group/leeds-frontrunners/