A bright but blustery morning for parkrun this Saturday.
While not technically the furthest flung location of any Claremonter this week, Rose Hawkswood was the only one ‘overseas’, at Dunleath in Northern Ireland. As the crow flies, that honour went to Sophie Douglas, following in Lucy’s footsteps from just last week to Margate. Further north, Lena Webster-Costella was in Staffordshire, running with family at Bramshall Road.
In the north-west, Tom Tinsley was at the familiar haunt of Princes in Liverpool, while Tara Hipwood was abroad again at Riverfront in Newport. Recently, this parkrun has yielded some of Tara’s fastest ever times, and the other shoe finally dropped today, as she beat her overall PB of almost 4 years! Perhaps anyone chasing a new best time should consider a visit to south-east Wales…
Speaking of PB’s, it seems not a week goes by at the moment without Aaron Mansell grabbing one. After his recent flurry of course PB’s, Aaron impressively set a new overall best at Newbiggin-by-the-Sea. Back in the Toon, we had 17 runners split across Leazes and Town Moor, with Sarah Kerr finishing as 1st lady at the latter.
A small band of us headed south out to Cotsford Fields, on the coast near Peterlee. Something of a hidden gem, they had celebrated their 200th event the previous weekend with just 47 runners, a total matched by today’s turnout.
The local team were incredibly friendly and welcoming, and the tight-knit nature of the community was highlighted by the seemingly endless string of people having their milestones announced pre-run, including two centenary volunteers (plus one regular celebrating his 75th birthday!)
90% of the 2 lap route is on narrow tarmac/gravel paths, with a brief foray round the edge of a grassy field, only slightly squelchy after the overnight rain. A charming cliff-top location, the back straight (which I believe also doubles as a short section of the upcoming Durham Coastal Run) offered stunning views over the sun-sparkled ocean, which helped distract slightly from the couple of inclines and strong headwind we had to deal with on this stretch.
Some minor scanning gremlins almost saw Cate bumped up 6 positions in the results, but in the name of sporting fairness, she said she preferred that the final outcome was eventually accurate! Though taking it easy with a race the following day, Maria Dueñas finished as 2nd lady.
