A running-mad couple are now engaged after a surprise proposal during a Parkrun event in Manchester. Tony Coyne popped the question to Sacha Fox during the Heaton Park event at the weekend.
Fellow runners cheered as she said yes - after stopping her watch so it didn’t impact her run time. Keen to finish the 5k though, Sacha, 49, then sped off, leaving Tony with a beaming smile.
The 51-year-old said that he was more nervous about logistics of being able to pop the question during the community-friendly event, rather than her actual response.
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“I am completely made up to be engaged,” the Ramsbottom resident said. “I had a fair indication that she would say yes as we had discussed it previously.
“I wasn’t expecting her to say no. I was more relieved that it had all gone to plan.”
His daughters Erin and Niamh were there to film the special occasion and help make sure he did not miss her going past. It was a real family occasion in a park of special meaning.
For the father-of-two, Heaton Park was a place he and his children grew up creating memories in, so to add to that list was ‘something special’ for Tony. The couple are now planning a running themed wedding - which Tony thinks will again include a Parkrun.
“That park is where I had my best childhood memories and where my kids grew up going as well,” Tony said, speaking about why he chose Heaton Park to pop the question. “It has had so many rites of passage so it has a lot of special meaning for us.
“We both absolutely love Parkrun so it just seemed appropriate. This has just added another special memory to a place that already means so much.”
Tony met his fiancée back in 2016 after a chance meeting when she sold him a ticket to a Manchester City game. The rest was history.
The pair, who have travelled as far as Galway in Ireland and Kelso in Scotland to partake in Parkrun, are now due to celebrate by doing an 100k ultra-marathon from Kelso to Lindisfarne, known as the Holy Island. They have their eyes on a few more marathons in the future as well.
Tony did complete a personal best of 19 minutes at the weekend, but now has a much bigger reason to smile.
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