CRAIG’S BLOG: Welcome home Cuerden Valley Parkrun, and the most asked question!

Craig Goldsworthy has set himself an incredible challenge to run every single day in 2023 to raise funds for St Catherine’s in memory of his friend Michelle, who was cared for by our community nursing team at her home.

– You can sponsor Craig’s fantastic efforts here

Adapting to weather conditions

Since I started running back in 2008, when even a drop of rain would put me off going out, I have had to change the way I think about all-weather running. Racing, although I’m not very quick – on a good day I could run a 5k Parkrun in under 23 minutes – has been a huge part of my life. If I look back and have to choose a favourite era, it would be the five years I spent as a member of The Great North Run community.

Training for the big day from June onwards, following a strict exercise regime and eating a gallon of sticky, sickly energy gels, we had no choice other than to just get out, whatever the weather. The reason I mentioned GNR is because the mindset I keep now is this: If I sign up to a race, I can’t guarantee what the weather is going to be like, if it’s raining or extremely windy (Star Paws – Mad Dog 2022 – if you were there, you know!) I can’t pull out and the organisers aren’t going to reschedule for a dry day, so I have to run.

Therefore whatever the weather, either cold, wet, hot, slippery, dark, windy, uphill mud, downhill mud or hailstone, you will always see me pounding the footpaths and trails in shorts and a T-shirt, because a) I hate being too warm when running (even in -4 conditions, within 5 minutes I’m at equilibrium) and b) jackets are a faff!

I’ve recently done the St Catherine’s Santa Dash which was quite wet, and I’ve signed up to the Worden Park Boxing Day 10k, so those events tick off my runs for those days.

St Catherine’s 365 charity fundraiser

We held a community event to boost the fundraising total, and I’m absolutely speechless about how well supported it was; I can’t imagine that St Mary’s Community Centre has ever been as full! Not only was it like a Leyland reunion, but each element was simply perfect, from the food – provided by Happy Bunnies in Longton – to the service from the bar staff, and the music – expertly and professionally planned and delivered by Jazzi Geoff Wrennall and his son Logan. The dancefloor was full from start to finish. It wouldn’t have been so successful without my wife Helen’s careful planning.

There was a raffle of around 25 prizes, most of which were donated from local businesses, including discount vouchers from The Loft – a clothes shop in Towngate, Leyland – and Whittaker’s Butchers, located in Leyland Market. Other prizes included signed football shirts from Wigan Athletic and Man City women’s team, and three grand hampers.

Together with a game of ‘roll a pound coin closest to a bottle of wine/spirit’, we raised a whopping £16,40 in four hours! Again, thank you to all who came to the event and enjoyed the night with us.

Welcome home Cuerden Valley Parkrun – CVP!

As any avid Park runner would proudly admit, when we book a mini-break or UK/overseas holiday, the first thing we’ll look for is – yep you’ve guessed it – a nearby Parkrun. For me this year was Nant-y-Pandy Parkrun in Llangefni, Anglesey; an out and back route, through red squirrel inhabited woodland on a solid path, running adjacent to the River Cefni.

The point of this paragraph is to celebrate the return of CVP! A long-anticipated revealing of a new course in a new home, CVP, as it will always be remembered, is now Worden Park Parkrun in Leyland and if I was to describe it in a few words, I’d say: muddy, muddy and muddy.

There used to be a saying at CVP which was, ‘It’s not a Parkrun if it’s not wet and muddy’. Well if you have a similar rhetoric then WPP is the place for you! When CVP ceased back in early 2020, it was like we’d (the CVP community) lost a piece of our identity. It might sound a bit strange to the non-Park runners out there, but having a home Parkrun for seven years which welcomed over 200 runners every week, suddenly taken away from you, a huge part of your weekly routine vanishes, along with the familiar faces that shared some of the toughest climbs in Lancashire, but every cloud and all that! Thank heavens for the Red Rose Parkrun Tourism group; a great bunch of like-minded people, venturing out ticking off various venues in and around Manchester.

The most asked question

The most asked question, which I’ve been asked on an almost daily basis, is ‘So, are you going to carry on next year?’

Earlier in the year, the answer was ‘I’m not sure’. Towards mid-year this changed to ‘I think I’m just going to do a bit of walking’ and now it’s ‘I’m going to continue Park running on a Saturday morning, a mid-week run and maybe an occasional run with Lee and the lads.’

I always listen to my body and it’s telling me to take it easy after New Year’s Eve. If I’m not careful, I might end up like the legend of running every day, Mr Scott Jackson; who has been lacing up his running shoes every day for over seven years! The thing is I don’t think my legs would be up for that, so I’ll be putting my feet up on New Year’s Day.

The final push

Thank you to everyone who has supported me and those who continue to support me in different ways, whether that’s chatting to me in passing or donating through my Just Giving page. I sincerely appreciate all the sponsors, so if you have donated and I haven’t thanked you personally (some are anonymous), please take this as my official thanks!

Without your generosity, I wouldn’t be writing this blog telling you that the running total now stands at a staggering £6,400, which includes £200 from our lovely neighbours, with whom we are blessed. What can I say? December promises to be equally as exciting, as it includes those closest to Michelle, and my final run of the challenge on New Year’s Eve.

Runners that joined me from 1st September – 30 November

Monday mornings throughout, with Lee Walker, Matthew Waring and Mark Partington.

September
A 3 mile route from Worden Park, through Euxton and over the M6 to the Langdale estate, with Lou Walsh.
A 3 mile run from big Tesco in Leyland, through the rabbit warren (Langdale estate) and back, with Simon and Tracey Alami, joined by their friend Leanne Finch.
Kew Woods Parkrun, in Southport, with Scott Jackson.
Hyndburn Parkrun, in Clayton le Moors, with Adam Silcox.
Another 3 mile route around the rabbit warren, with Julie Standen, Joanne Heald and Barbs Bond.

October
A 5 mile run around Buckshaw Village, with Clare Halsall.
Another 3 mile rabbit warren run, with Hannah Boyd.
A 3 mile route up to the Green Man and through Buckshaw Village, with Calvin Wallace.
A scenic 3 mile route along the Old Tram Road, the River Ribble and back to Walton Park, with Caroline and Chris Clarke.
A double bubble 3 mile route around Longmeanygate and Moss Side Industrial Estate, with Si Campbell & a 3 miler through the rabbit warren, over to Euxton and over the M6 with Julie Campbell, joined by Si.
A 3 mile route from Worden Park to Seven Stars, along Wade Brook and up Fox Lane, with Allen Morgan.

November
Lytham Hall Parkrun, with John Bunn.
A 4 mile route from Buckshaw Bernabeu, through Whittle-le-Woods and back over the tops of Buckshaw, with Tracey Edmondson.
A 3 mile run through the streets of Bamber Bridge, with Lisa Baron and Kelly Wilson.
A 3 mile route along the roads of Houghton, with Catherine Latham.
Haigh Woodland Parkrun, in Wigan, with Fiona Gutteridge, Alison Dick and Andrew Fairweather.
A 3 mile run around the rabbit warren and through Worden Park, with Andrea Jenkins and Simon Banfield.
North Yorkshire Water Park Parkrun, with Jonathan Blackburn, Pauline Roberts and Luisa Martin.
A 3 mile run around the original Cuerden Valley Parkrun, with Ian Miller.
A 3 mile run around the rabbit warren, with John Carruthers

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