Having already put paid to this week’s cross-country, Storm Bert did its best to disrupt parkrun too, but some events did manage to beat the weather and go ahead, including the “big 3” in Newcastle of Leazes, Town Moor and Jesmond Dene.
The biggest Claremont turnout was at a snowy Leazes Park, where the runners had to contend with a course that is slightly longer than usual as well as the adverse conditions. Further afield, Aoife Monaghan and Jack Shawcross were looking for an event that had survived the conditions in Cumbria, just about arriving at Bower Park in Aspatria in time for the start. They proceeded to do a double with Jack finishing 1st and Aoife 1st lady (the field was admittedly very small, but you have to be in it to win it!).
Further south, Lily Crouzier joined the Wombles on Wimbledon Common in what she described as a “sloppy, muddy parkrun”. Sloppy it may have been but Lily posted an impressive time of 24 minutes, which is probably her best ever 5K. As a first timer on the course, it is not recorded as a PB and, not surprisingly, there were no other PBs recorded this week.
Well done to everybody who got out for a run, but most praise should go to the marshals and officials for freezing their bits off to allow the events to take place!
