Celebration of Telford parkrun legend Jim postponed after event off due to icy conditions
A planned tribute to legendary Telford park runner Jim Hussey has been postponed after Saturday's run was cancelled due to dangerous conditions.
Despite the cancellation, a number of runners from Jim's athletics club, Telford Harriers, joined parkrun organisers and members of his family in laying floral tributes to the 85-year-old, who died last week.
Jim had been a mainstay of the Telford event, bellowing encouragement at runners from a tree stump at his marshalling station on the busiest junction of the route.
On Satirday morning flowers were laid at the stump – with Telford parkrun director Kim Fawke saying people would have another two to three weeks to add to the tributes.
Kim said that the planned tributes to Jim ahead of today's run would now take place on Saturday, February 4.
She said it was "disappointing" to have to cancel - a decision taken after a 7.15am inspection - but it was the only option for the safety of the runners, with icy conditions from the current cold snap leaving the course too treacherous to run.
She said: "It was too icy. It was really dangerous in places. We are disappointed but it was unavoidable. We have now rescheduled for February 4 and we will be paying tribute to Jim then.
"The flowers and tributes will stay there for about three weeks so people can add their own, and that gives them the opportunity to get there."
Kim said that those present on Saturday morning had still taken the chance to pay their own tribute – adding that some of the park run organisers had the chance to meet some of Jim's family as they put flowers at his junction.
"A couple of members of his family came down with us and they are going to come back on February 4, it is like the two families coming together."
She added: "We are going to miss him so much."
Kim said the group would be doing fundraising in Jim's memory, with the hope of buying a bench for Telford Town Park.
She added that they would also be getting a permanent memorial for his junction on the parkrun route.
Kim said she expected the February 4 tribute to be "sad and emotional" but that the club wanted to celebrate the life of a hugely popular man – who was known by park runners across the country.
Speaking to the Shropshire Star last year, Jim had talked about the event's power to involve people of all types – while being modest about his own role in the popular run.
He said: "The parkrun is different – they don't have to do it start to finish, it's all ages and all abilities. Kids, seniors, oldies, now they all take part.
"It's a wonderful thing that has got so many people off their backsides. Depending on where they are from they can come down for 9am and be back in at 10am with the rest of the day.
"I have enjoyed it; I've encouraged, I've inspired and the amount of people that have come up to me in recent months to say I'm the only reason they are doing this...
"I've gone down there and done what I've done but anyone can do that."
