The reason I know about the 10 Boomerangs is because it was posted in a parkrun Facebook tourism group. Actually I had seen one at Bushy parkrun’s 999th event but didn’t actually speak to those with it. It was Boomerang 8, B8rtie, and it was being passed on to Sage. That was when I joined the 10 Boomerangs Facebook group in the hope to get a hold of a Boomerang myself.
Acquiring One of the 10 Boomerangs
Getting hold of one of the 10 Boomerangs is quite the fete. They would get closer to my home and then shoot really far away again. Either what happened was that we just couldn’t get to the parkrun destination it was attending (mostly due to work commitments) or that it already had a recipient lined up. Therefore, I was thrilled when Andrea told me that Boomerang JB9 was going to University Parks parkrun, and that she had no-one to pass it on to! Better still it was one that the rest of my family hadn’t done, and one I felt that they would like.
The Welsh Connection
As it turned out Andrea had collect JB9 from Newport and we had run at Cardiff parkrun. Then once I received JB9 I took it back to Cardiff on a visit! It was also St David’s Day when I collected JB9 and we happened to back by the Dragon School!
Arranging a Meet to Collect 10 Boomerangs JB9
Andrea was a fantastic Boomeranger and I had followed her adventures on the Facebook page. She asked me if I had ever been to University Parks before. It was a birthday trip for a U for Andrea, her husband booked it for Christmas. Therefore, they had stayed overnight.
We decided to meet at the University Parks parkrun sign – which was a good idea seeing as we needed a hand-over photo there.
Meeting Andrea and 10 Boomerangs JB9
Obviously Andrea would be easy to find as she would be the one with Boomerang JB9. As it happened she was getting lots of people to have their photo taken with JB9 so it was lucky that she was holding it when I arrived!
I went in my Flanci Moo-veit Skort so that I was easily identifiable. Apparently it was quite cold but I didn’t think so!
It was lovely as we also talked about completing our parkrun Alphabets and the fact that her husband had just done his 500th parkrun (and ordered the t-shirt straight away).
Running with the Boomerang JB9
The Boomerang was much smaller than I had imagined and so easy to run with. Andrea explained about the piece of paper in the wallet – and that it had a tendency to fall out. Therefore, I took that out and put it in my pocket when I ran.
All around the course it was lovely that people were excited about the Boomerang. Of course also letting new people know about it too!
Visiting Places with Boomerang JB9
Once back home I took the Boomerang out with my volunteering. First to some junior athletes (who had a great time throwing JB9 – I thought I was going to lose it!!) and secondly to my warm space.
When my Tesco delivery arrived I also let me delivery driver have a hold! This is due to my parkrun map being by my front door, so he always asks about places we have been etc.
Boomerang JB9 also visited the leisure centre, some local parkruns, and the surrounding areas, before the visit to Cardiff I mentioned before. This coincided with World Book Day a great connection with Cardiff-born Roald Dahl.
This was all shared in the 10 Boomerangs Facebook group. It was great to share what wonderful places Boomerang JB9 had been to, and the parkrun community feel it was sharing!
Adding Touches to the Boomerang
I noticed that the 10 Boomerangs seem to be being treated differently. JB9 had very little writing on, whilst others had loads (such as B5). Some had keyrings attached to them too. JB9 had had a Welsh sticker added and so I checked whether it was okay to add my blog sticker on it too! I also added a bit of orange string to help stop the paper from falling out (this is the list of places that JB9 has been).
Arranging to Pass the Boomerang on
When it came to where we were going to go next it was already in the planner that I really wanted to go to Thoulstone parkrun. Having Boomerang JB9 was the perfect reason to approach the team to see if it was okay to attend such an early event (4). Whilst also offering to be the report writer. They were fantastic! Not only really welcoming but great at letting people know all about the Boomerangs!
A local blogger, Chrissie, would have liked the Boomerang but was unable to travel that far for it (she lives further away than us). So it was later than I liked with no recipient. Then Hayley said she would be at Thoulstone, but on the morning had noticed that it had already travelled to where she was planning to go the following week.
Thoulstone parkrun
As it happened I stopped Becky because she had a cow cowl on (a sign that you are a parkrun tourist and happy to talk). She was heading to Poland for her third Z so this was a very good person to pass it on to. There was another lady who was a bit gutted I think that she didn’t get it, as she was heading to South Africa and didn’t think that a Boomerang had travelled there yet!
And that was the end of my adventures with JB9.