A bride and groom swapped a champagne breakfast for a 5km parkrun on their wedding day. Newlyweds Rachel Drapper and James Dinsdale couldn’t entirely blame their achy limbs on the hours they spent grooving on the dance floor or posing for photos. Just hours before they tied the knot on Saturday (August 24) at Normanton Church, the couple hit the track of the Rutland Water Parkrun .
James, 32, said: “It was a lot of fun. Despite the weather we were absolutely determined to do the run. “It was a really special way to start the day.
” The happy couple invited their guests to take part, although many made their excuses ahead of the day with dozens more pulling out after a downpour of rain on Saturday morning. In the end about 20 dedicated friends and family joined Rachel, James and the 280 other people on the start line. Although it didn’t come as a shock to guests that the sporty couple were adding the parkrun to their wedding day to-do list, other runners were in awe.
“People did think we were bonkers,” James said. “We got asked when and where we were getting married and it was quite fun to point over at the church.” After celebratory drinks the previous night, the wedding runners prepped in different ways to ensure they didn’t flag mid-run with one woman taking energy gels and another guest having a full English breakfast ahead of lacing up their trainers.
The bride and groom’s tactics also differed. Mid-run James sacrificed his time by stopping to greet f.