With Me Now Pow Wow 2022! Running Perry Hall parkrun. parkrun Podcast Listener Meet-Up in Birmingham

I absolutely love our Pow Wows. Once a year we host a podcast listener meet-up and they just get better and better! During lockdown our podcast community grew and became like a second family. During that time, a certain member of our community (mentioning no names Emma...), made sure we all knew about Perry Hall parkrun and planted the seed that we might all get together there once the lockdowns eased and we could all meet up again.

All of a sudden it was time for our 2022 listener meet up and so we headed en masse to Perry Hall with Emma hosting us (with the kind help of a fantastic bunch of volunteers and the Friends of Perry Hall Park who kindly supplied cakes and refreshments). To continue our parkfaffing we headed to the Tennis Court pub in Perry Barr. If you're visiting in future then this isn't the usual cafe but we needed somewhere to accommodate several hundred people so it was the perfect place for us on the morning.

The weekend didn't exactly go as planned, with Danny being the victim of crime, and Poppy taking a tumble so not being able to complete her parkrun... but overall a great time was had by all and our community came together to run, chat, laugh and bond. The Pow Wow cemented many relationships that, until now, had existed entirely online and it was heartwarming to watch so many people sharing our common interest which is of course our love of parkrun (and fancy dress and parkrun tourism!).

I'm already excited about next year's Pow Wow. It really is a highlight of my parkrunning year. Thank you to all of our listeners for coming along. You made it what it was! Special thanks to Emma for going on and on about Perry Hall parkrun. Your passion and persistence helped get us there and you were literally the perfect hosts! I absolutely loved it, I hope this video captures some of the spirit of the morning.

If you've not listened to the With Me Now podcast and you enjoy parkrun tourism then do check us out and then maybe join us at the With Me Now Pow Wow 2023!

Happy running,

Nicola :)