We headed to Bodmin Junior parkrun to volunteer on our way home from our break to do Land’s End parkrun. There’s only 3 Junior parkrun locations in Cornwall and we had already helped at Par Track Junior parkrun . Read about Junior parkrun on my previous post.
Bodmin Junior parkrun, Hillside Park, Scarlett’s Well Road, Bodmin, PL31 2PY
Facilities at Bodmin junior parkrun
There is a carpark right at the start of Bodmin junior parkrun. Charges begin at 9am and you get an hour free but still need to get a ticket. As we were volunteering and didn’t know how long we would be my husband paid the £2 charge for all day parking. As it was we were all done with Bodmin Junior parkrun before 10am so decided to go and have an explore.
No toilets near the start of the parkrun but free public toilets in the town.
There’s the Courtyard Bistro in Bodmin Jail also as well as a supermarket which opens at 10am (on the Sunday as is when Junior parkrun is).
Children’s playground.
Bodmin junior parkrun Course
Starting right next to the Scarlett’s Well free car park, the course goes out along the Camel Trail path. Children will then reach a turn-around point (all marshalled) and will head back in the direction of the start.
When they reach the play area instead of going straight they will run around it. Here there is a noticeable but small incline. Apparently the path itself coming back also has elevation.
Next they will then head back along the same part of the Camel trail repeating this lap again.
After the second time around the park they will head back toward the start. Going beyond the carpark and up another slight incline where the finish is on the right on grass.
Footwear
Only a small part of the course is on grass. The rest is tarmac. Our son was tailwalker and completed it in hi-tops with no issues.
About the Camel trail
The Camel Trail is built along a disused railway. 18.3 miles (29.5km) from Bodmin to Padstow. It is largely traffic-free and relatively flat. It is known that you can spot otters, bats, kingfishers, egrets, and local marsh flora along the route.
My Experience Volunteering at Bodmin junior parkrun
After the initial yes please response to our offers we also received a reminder e-mail. This was super wonderful in that, not only was it very passionate, but also there was a nice account of most of the volunteer roles.
Warm Up
The children and their parents were very enthusiastic during the warm up and possibly the most interaction I have had so far. Potentially it is the fact that I am also more practiced but the children joining in loudly with the countdown was fantastic.
Finish Tokens
When it came to handing out the finish tokens I totally got confused about the course. As first finisher came around the playground the second time I mistakenly thought he was going to run back down the path again. Resulting in me having to race him to the finish so that I was there ready to hand him his token!!
Was such a lovely bunch of children and I appreciate each and every thank you. Was hard to hear some them “making excuses” that their times weren’t better when they were phenomenial! Also first finisher got a massive PB – but after speaking with his family it turns out it is because he has been playing football and not done Junior parkrun for 3 years – and not my sprint finish lol.
The Time Keeper at Bodmin junior parkrun
Each Junior parkrun is a little different and what the finish tokens were on was a little difficult to get the tokens off. The time keeper was really good and told me to take a bunch off at once – which I did when I got a chance but they all felt like they came through so quickly after that.
The time keeper was also really encouraging of all the children finishing. Not only that but she made sure that I knew EXACTLY which order they all crossed the line too!
Bodmin Junior parkrun Stats
First of all well done to our youngest for officially getting his 10 volunteer credits. He’s actually helped out much more than this but never got a credit (and not done if the kudos so never been bothered). It is nice that he has got this before he turns 18 though – as it is only an official thing for Juniors.
- 37 finishers crossed the line between times of 9:34 and 18:44.
- 21 male and 16 female.
- 16 children finished within 12 minutes and 2 under 10 minutes.
- First girl crossed at 10:11.
The highest age gradings however went to different children – 66.21% in 10:20 (JM19) and 63.01% in 10:47 (JW10).
With 4 first timers to Junior parkrun and no tourists.
Well-done to 16 children who achieved a PB.
Thanks to 13 volunteers.
Read about my other volunteering at Junior parkrun
We started our parkrun journey with Junior parkrun after reading about it on Sarah’s blog (MumofThreeWorld). You may also be interested in my previous post about Should children do parkrun?