22/08/2026
What a fabulous birthday celebration this morning. 💪🥳
👉👉The results are up: https://www.parkrun.org.uk/nantypandy/results/2026-08-22/
The photos are up: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?vanity=nantypandyparkrun&set=a.1441862534663568
👇And, thanks to Alex, you also get treated to this run report:
Nant y Pandy parkrun #294 – Saturday 22nd August 2026
A bit of a special parkrun tourism trip for us this morning, with a group of 10 making the journey up from Weston-super-Mare to Nant y Pandy – and there were plenty of reasons to celebrate!
The main one was for James Lucas, who completed his 61st and final current Welsh parkrun, meaning he has now completed every parkrun in Wales! A brilliant achievement and a pretty good excuse for a road trip to Anglesey.
We also had another birthday in our group, with Samantha Smith celebrating her birthday today. Happy birthday Sam!
As it happened, we picked a very good day to visit, because Nant y Pandy was having a birthday of its own – today marked the event's 8th birthday. And because it was the 22nd – 2-2 – there were plenty of tutus on display too!
The birthday celebrations continued at the finish with bunting, cakes and chocolates waiting for everyone. Always a good way to finish a parkrun.
The course
Nant y Pandy is a lovely out-and-back route heading towards the reservoir, with some beautiful scenery along the way.
It's certainly not completely flat though! There are three cheeky lumps to negotiate near the beginning which, being an out-and-back, are waiting for you again towards the end. Nothing horrendous, but you definitely know they're there!
One of my favourite bits was the boardwalk section, which is a really nice feature of the course and adds something a little different.
Conditions underfoot were nice and dry today, although it was very muggy once we got running. Nant y Pandy is also known for the possibility of spotting red squirrels, but sadly none of them decided to make an appearance for us today. Maybe next time!
Today's numbers
A total of 209 people completed Nant y Pandy parkrun #294, supported by 24 volunteers.
It was certainly a big tourism day too, with an impressive 112 people visiting Nant y Pandy for the first time, while 23 runners recorded a new PB.
First finishers
Men
1. Steven Broadbent – 17:18
2. Will Tomlinson – 18:15
3. John Stringer – 18:55
Women
1. Hayley Fairclough – 21:09
2. Zoe Jones – 22:13
3. Dawn Fairclough – 23:27
The highest female age grade of the day was Gillian Middlemas with 74.96%.
The results also show Visit Slough with an age grade of 240.59%, which I think we can safely file under “something has gone slightly wonky with the results data” rather than a new world record!
Milestones
Congratulations to today's official milestone runners:
- Nick Cason – 100 parkruns
- Oliver Dudley – 25 parkruns
- Darren Jones – 25 parkruns
- Eleri Mai Willaims – 25 parkruns
- Nikki Jones – 25 parkruns
And of course another big congratulations to James Lucas for completing the full set of 61 Welsh parkruns – quite some achievement and a great one to be there for.
A really enjoyable morning at Nant y Pandy: beautiful surroundings, a fun course, plenty of celebrations and, most importantly, cake at the finish!
Thanks as always to the 24 volunteers who made event #294 possible, and happy 8th birthday Nant y Pandy!
Alex Hamilton
