The return of parkrun was met with scenes of relief and joy on Saturday as the weekly running event took place in Eglinton Park for the first time since the start of the Covid pandemic.

After over 18 months without the weekly ritual, hundreds of runners took part in the 5km run around the country park, joining the tens of parkruns resuming in Scotland this weekend, thanks to the lifting of restrictions to allow outdoor running events to resume.

170 people took part in the event - with over 30 of them achieving a new personal record, having kept up with running during the pandemic and arranging virtual runs whilst the event had been off.

The event at Eglinton will now run every Saturday from 9.30am.

The event is free but organisers say please register before you first come along.

Only ever register with parkrun once.

Don’t forget to bring a printed copy of your barcode to get your time texted to you.

A spokesperson for Eglinton parkrun said: “What a fabulous morning! Sorry about the rain....at least it kept you all cool!

“A wonderful turnout of 170 runners, 32 of whom recorded new personal bests (PB)! A massive welcome to our 23 first timers and to our visitors from Ireland.

“Thank you so much to our superstar volunteers....we already have a full roster for next week.

“If anyone can help out in future weeks though please send us a message and we’ll get you added in.

“And from all the core team here at Eglinton parkrun, thank you so much for your support, we are so happy to be back!”