Running Pontypool parkrun-Volunteering as Tail Walker. Giving Blood & parkrun Tourism-The Full Ponty

[@audgester]

Beautiful vid! Really good of you to give blood and volunteer! It is so nice that you and Poppy cheer everyone on and thank everyone, it really means a lot to encourage others and be encouraged too! A great exchange of energy and cheerfulness. The hotel room was really fun too!

[@NicolaRuns]

Thank you so much 🤗 giving blood is so important that I really wanted to include it in the hope that it might encourage others to do so 🤞

[@bernadettemccarthy9839]

So lovely to meet you and Poppy at Pontypool parkrun, glad that you enjoyed your day and your holiday revisiting the Coast path 😍

[@NicolaRuns]

Thank you, it was brilliant! 😍 It was great to meet you too 🤗

[@susanhunt751]

I am claustrophobic so your hotel room looks terrifying! You have certainly earned your place in heaven - donating blood and parkrun volunteering on the same weekend 😇 Loved the vlog (and was transfixed by Poppy's bobble 😳)

[@NicolaRuns]

Thank you 🤗 Yeah it wasn't a big room and I did miss having a window! But it had everything we needed and it was super affordable! Lol to Poppy's bobble! 🤣

[@emmarunyeard6832]

Love Wales sooo much so really enjoy your Welsh adventures xxx thankyou so much for sharing... I look forward to your updates much more than anything on the tellybox #realpeopledoinggoodthings

[@NicolaRuns]

What an absolutely lovely thing to say. Thanks Emma 🤗 I now live Wales and am feeling super bad about always going to Scotland instead?! What was I thinking?! I've been missing out!

[@anitaplatt1248]

Great video as always & lovely to see Drew 😀

[@NicolaRuns]

Thank you 🤗 it's always lovely to see happy, smiley Drew isn't it 😃

[@barnabynorman157]

I've been there - not on a parkrun day though! Its great though. You saw lots of things that I missed. Lovely to see Drew too. Thanks for sharing.

[@NicolaRuns]

Things are always better on parkrunday 😃😃😃 And awww Drew is so smiley isn't he?! 😁

[@StuRuns]

That's my friend Berni ahead of you with the doggo! It would be awesome to have a proper sprint finish around that pitch on the narrow path.

[@NicolaRuns]

She's a ridiculously lovely human isn't she?! 🥰😃 Oh my goodness I'd not thought about that! Imagine it, might be carnage... and it would be super intense as it would feel like a super small space to be in! It'd be awesome! 😃

[@lukedaniel7669]

Dmitri was RD when we did Pontypool juniors back in 2019 :) We loved the park.

[@NicolaRuns]

I'm not entirely sure he's ever had a week off?! 😜🙃

[@thamossop]

I gave blood many years ago but I didn't eat enough and felt faint so ended up stopping. Many years later and I had a go again and this time I ate more before hand and I've been fine. Feel so happy to be giving blood now and have done it about 10 times now since I restarted and know as long as I eat properly, I'll be fine. Such a good thing to do.

[@NicolaRuns]

Oh yay! Well done for persevering and finding what worked so you could continue. That's ace! 👏👏👏

[@andynicholls5502]

Fantastic - well done for being a blood donor.

[@NicolaRuns]

Thank you, spread the word! Let's get more people donating 😃

[@SwimBikeRunStu]

Nice one. I walked my first parkrun a few weeks and i really enjoyed it.

[@NicolaRuns]

Thanks 😃 I love parkrun whether we're walking or running, it's the getting out there with awesome people that I love. That being said... Poppy was a bit annoyed there were no slow walkers as the finisher in front of us was like 44 minutes and I think Poppy thought she was going to get a proper chilled out walk as Tail Walker but it wasn't to be! 🙃

[@terben7339]

Thank you for a lovely video. From far away South Australia, I am really enjoying your parkrun tourism. Not surprisingly, UK parkruns are so different from my local venues. Multi-lap courses seem much more common to your tourism than is common here. We have many out and back courses, which follow shared cycle/walking paths, rivers or beach fronts. We even have one parkrun around the rim of an extinct volcano. One of our local runners makes excellent videos of our local venues in his quest to complete all the parkruns in our State, to become a 'Statesman' as we call it.

[@NicolaRuns]

Thank you 🤗 I'd absolutely love to do more Australian parkruns! We've only done 3. You're right... Multi lap courses are favoured here but I absolutely love a 1 lapper! Which is the volcano parkrun? That sounds super cool! 😃

[@terben7339]

@@NicolaRuns It's Mount Gambier, which is about a 5 hour drive for me. The crater contains a deep lake which supplies fresh water to the city.

[@NicolaRuns]

@@terben7339 that's super cool! I'd so love to visit!

[@timeonfeet]

Nice job with the volunteering Nicola, really important to have our Parkrun volunteers. The hotel reminded me of those Japanese pod hotels, pretty cool!

[@NicolaRuns]

Thanks 🤗 Yes! That's what it felt like! Or staying on a cruise ship! 🙃

[@tonyreeves5083]

Well done for donating! Great video again, Nic. I really like how you’ve captured the nature of the course and I was really surprised that there were just 74 finishers - there seemed to be more runners than that!

[@NicolaRuns]

Thank you 🤗😃 Yes it's a smaller parkrun but you're right, it did seem like more! 🙃

[@bren70ssss94]

Nice one , you could have brought the blue dog along but he would have ran ahead and won lol , thanks for looking after the patient yesterday and buying him chips , best girlfriend ever 😁👍

[@NicolaRuns]

I'm behind on my editing! I did take Bluey along to parkrun with me the day after Al's accident so that him and Poppy could rest. It took WAAAAAAAAAAY longer with Blue though as we had to start at the back and then there were SO many things that needed sniffing or scent marking! Then there was the puddle drink stop and ALL of the dogs that we had to stop and say hi to 🤣 it was lovely to run with Blue at parkrun but I'm only used to running with him off lead on voice command so it was definitely weird for both Blue and I as he was like "why am I on a lead?!" 🐾😂

[@richsullivan1950]

Great to see the blood donation at the start Nicola, it's such a worthwhile thing to do. I once failed the sink test and was told I couldn't donate due to low iron. My GP actually told me I'd done my bit, so stop donating and give running a miss!! Two things that were not going to happen. Seabrookes and a Club are too much of an attraction to stop

[@NicolaRuns]

Thanks 🤗 Yes that's happened to me loads but it's ace now they have the second, more scientific test, so that us guys with lighter blood can still donate 😃

[@richardbuck1729]

Have been to that donation centre many a time. Getting close to a 50 badge!

[@NicolaRuns]

Yay! Well done, that's awesome... Be good if you got a red t-shirt with a 50 on the back! 😜

[@abigailrowcroft9399]

Great video thanks Nicola. A lovely reminder of often visiting that park as a child with my grandparents who lived nearby! It was where I had my first attempt at skiing too! Also good to see the clip of the Zip hotel - nice to see what the room is like as we're staying there in a couple of weeks! My son is going to love those lights!!

[@NicolaRuns]

TBF the lights are pretty awesome! To me it felt just like staying on a ship. Hope you enjoy your stay. There is a 1 mile trail run right outside the hotel! It's a little nature reserve... Get up early and have a walk round, it's so cute! 😍

[@Mookiethedog]

Good on ya with the blood donation! I used to do that and platelets! (I was refused because of a heart murmur eventually!) I'm so impressed with your volunteerism and Poppy's crazy energy with a chill personality. Looks like a great course!

[@NicolaRuns]

Poppy is the perfect adventure buddy! Unless you like peace and quiet as there's never a dull moment with Pops around 🥰 I wish everyone who could would donate blood! 🙃

[@FrugalMrB]

I’m tailwalking at Skipton this Saturday for the first time. I’m a part time dog sitter so I’ll be taking Neville the golden retriever with me - he is staying with me as his owner is doing the London marathon

[@NicolaRuns]

Oh that's so lovely, has he done a parkrun before? 😃

[@FrugalMrB]

@@NicolaRuns No, it will be his first one. Over the past 3 weeks, I've run with 2 other dogs and it was their first parkrun as well - but Neville is more of a walker than a runner!

[@taffman1]

Where does Poppy get her energy from? Some of Allen's tents seem to have more room than that hotel room you and Poppy shared.

[@NicolaRuns]

Hmmm... I'm yet to see him pitch one, I think he saves the smallest tents for when we go camping together! They're tiny 🤣 we loved the pod hotel ☺️ Poppy is an awesome adventure buddy, always super full of energy 😃

[@thebuttonmushroom]

Great video! What blood group are you? I’m B+. Unable to donate anymore due to a concoction of drugs I’m on but recommend to everyone. Well done! Still chasing my pontys…!

[@NicolaRuns]

Thank you 🤗 I always tell Poppy I'm the best one... Top of the class... A+ although of course it's not "the best" when it comes to donating blood 🤣 You should have tried a little harder in blood school with your B but a B+ is better than a B- 😜🤣 In all seriousness though I totally agree with you, we need to keep recommending it to everyone as I know sooooooo many people who are fit, healthy and able to donate but never have 😫 I think it's getting that first donation out of the way that is the hurdle 🙃

[@thebuttonmushroom]

I started doing it after a talk in Sixth Form where my Head of Year told us he was frightened of the sight of blood but was still a donor. That made me think anyone could do it! And yes, it’s so easy! I’m not too of the class like you 😜but I have always used “Be positive!” as something of a mantra in life so happy to have that group! 😀

[@NicolaRuns]

@@thebuttonmushroom oh my goodness 'be positive' is bloody ace for your blood type! I love it! 😃😃😃

[@Rubix78]

When I ran here they told me it was relatively flat 😂

[@NicolaRuns]

Depends what you're comparing it to! 😜🤣

[@JasonCliftJones]

I've tried 3 times and they can't get the blood out of me; veins are too deep into my arm. :( Kinda hoping with losing weight it might make it easier to find a vein, but not optimistic. Been told I should focus on pushing others to donate instead. :)

[@NicolaRuns]

That must be disappointing but raising awareness is just as important 🤗