With the Town Moor cancelled for 3 weeks due to The Hoppings, attendance at other North East events was swelled this week. The largest Claremont contingent was, unsurprisingly, at Leazes Park where 4 of the 10 sky blues claimed course PBs – Eric Adams, Kimberley Metson, Holly Porter and Cate “PB every week” Walker. The seven-strong Whitley Bay group couldn’t match that and, in fact, the only other PBs of the week were achieved by Roberto Marzo at Denton Dene and Catherine Young with her pushchair at Fulwell Quarry.
The Town Moor regulars may have been dispersed around the North East, but we Claremont Road Runners were dispersed all over the country – from Aberdeen to Land’s End! The Smiths were in Aberdeen and it was Lucy Ward who got as far away from them as she could, running at Land’s End. I didn’t know that there was a Land’s End parkrun, though it is definitely a tourist hotspot with over half the field being first timers! Maybe some day, though the course description says “hillier than you think, but flat for Cornwall!” so perhaps there is no rush!
Scotland was popular with Shilpa Iyanna running in Glasgow and Claremont representation at two runs in the Borders. Aoife Monaghan was in Peebles, where Jack Shawcross took 1st place at Wallaceneuk parkrun and Izzy Neatrour was running along the banks of the River Tweed at Hay Lodge, Kelso.
Much further south, Mark Anderson was also running a riverside course, this time the River Taw in Barnstaple, Devon. It must have been to his liking as he beat all opposition to claim 1st place. Manchester, Sheffield and Kent were also visited this week by Aaron Mansell, Alex Harding and Niamk Garratt respectively.
