Published Tuesday 17 May 2022 at 16:37
Volunteer ‘Running Mayor’ for BwD, Andrew Gardner has been encouraging residents to embrace running for all its health benefits for a year now.
Looking back at the year of campaigning and ahead towards more opportunities to get more people running across the borough, Andrew shared his year in review:
A year ago I signed up for the volunteer role of Running Mayor for Blackburn with Darwen. I didn’t quite know what to expect, but I am a passionate advocate for running, having experienced first-hand both the mental and physical benefits. I’m also part of local running group Blackburn Road Runners, but locally we are lucky enough to have a supportive borough-wide running community for people to get advice and inspiration from.
A busy working Dad, Andrew finds the time to share his passion:
It’s a privilege and I’m looking forward to more activity in 2022, including being a pacer for Wesham 10k (Preston), Chester Half Marathon, Chester Marathon and the next Blackburn 10k, running has given me so much so pacing is my way of giving something back and helping people achieve their goals.
One of the highlights from the year has been sharing running stories from the community:
Thanks to Ian, Tracy and Christine for sharing their running stories with us and helping illustrate what running can do for our health.
Ian Staying alive – a runner’s tale | The Shuttle: Blackburn with Darwen Council News
Tracy Running for wellbeing – Tracy Davies | Blackburn with Darwen Connect (bwdconnect.org.uk)
Chris Running stories: Christine Warrington | The Shuttle: Blackburn with Darwen Council News
If you’re considering trying running as part of your everyday activity – check out Andrew’s tips and tricks for getting started and sign up for Blackburn Couch to 5k, a supportive local group.
Andrew rounds up by sharing plans to create a Weavers Wheel running route for residents next month:
I’m also running the Odro Virtual Half Marathon next month with my running pal Shafiq Khan – we’re going to run a route using the Weavers Wheel on Friday June 10th and record it on GoPro for you to check out and maybe inspire a few folks to try it.
Read all about Andrew’s year as Running Mayor:
March 2021 Running Mayor introduction
April 2021 Runners tips and tricks – getting started
July 2021 BwD Mayor meets Running Mayor with Blackburn Children’s University
Aug 2021 Triple marathon charity fundraiser news
Nov 2021 Running Mayor journey blog – 6 months review
Dec 2021 Find the Time to Run blog
Dec 2021 Vlog – inspiration for BB10K runners