A group of stags who travelled from Cardiff set the pace for their weekend in Derry stopping off to break records at a parkrun.
Tom Baird, the groom-to-be, took his herd of stags to the event, with several finishing in the UK top 10.
On Saturday morning, the group of 14 — made up of elite athletes, including triathletes, runners sponsored by Nike, rugby players, and first-timers — took in the sights of the parkrun, which crosses the Peace Bridge, before heading for a pint in the city.
Speaking to the Belfast Telegraph, Tom, set to marry his fiancée Hannah in May, said the event was “a great way to get in a bit of exercise before everything kicked off.”
He said: “We thought parkrun was a good way to get a workout in on Saturday morning before everything kicked off.
“The great thing about parkrun is that anyone can take part, it’s a nice, accessible event. A lot of us are runners, but there are a few boys who don’t usually run.
“The boys who are good at running got to enjoy themselves, and a few rugby players jumped in and had fun. Even my brothers, who don’t usually run, managed to get around alright, and they all had a good time”, he said.
One of the stags, Jake Smith of Axe Valley Runners, finished the parkrun in first place, breaking a five-year-old record with a time of 14 minutes and 17 seconds.
He was closely followed by fellow stag James Edgar, who also broke the previous record, finishing in 14 minutes and 40 seconds.
Ben Claridge, James McCrae, and Piers Copeland all finished in under 15 minutes and 25 seconds.
The groom-to-be, who is originally from Lisburn, completed the course in 16 mins and 32 seconds, a time the Derry City Parkrun described as “remark-worthy on any normal day”.
Best man James Edgar, who placed second, said that while Tom was “not punished in typical stag fashion,” the idea of a parkrun was “a bit too soft,” so he arranged for the stags to wear skintight Lycra running suits, typically worn by professional athletes.
“Tom originally requested a parkrun to be inclusive for everyone. We thought that was a bit too soft, so we stepped it up. Some of us squeezed into tight Lycra that would normally only be seen on a track.
“We just thought, ‘30 miles per hour wind on a cold, rainy day — that’s the look we’re going for.’ We managed to borrow a few suits from friends, and one of the guys got one ready for Tom. We surprised him with it on Friday night.
“I think it fitted beautifully, to be honest — there wasn’t much left to the imagination,” he joked.
“We stayed in Castlerock and made our way up to Derry on Saturday morning and spent most of the day there. Our first stop was breakfast at Scullery in Derry, had a pint of Guinness, went paintballing, then hit Trinity Bar and Tap House. We spent most of the day in Derry and had one last drink in Castlerock.
“I’d definitely recommend Derry for a stag — we got a great welcome everywhere we went,” he said.
After Saturday’s night on the town, the group went for a “very hungover” dander on Castlerock beach, with one stag braving another impressive run.
“On Sunday we spent the day on Castlerock Beach and had a very nice, hungover group walk. We forgot the clocks went forward, so we did it on about four hours of sleep. One of the guys even ran 20 miles that morning!”
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