After another sweltering midweek across the country, accompanied by Wednesday evening’s solar eclipse, things had thankfully cooled down a little by Saturday morning.
I’m assuming that Ann and Eddie Smith had reasons for being in Belfast other than visiting the event that holds the distinction of being the site of the fastest parkruns ever recorded by both a man and a woman… but despite not quite getting near those records, The Smiths harnessed the power of the fast, flat course, both running their fastest ever, Ann dipping under the magical 30 minute mark for the first time. Congratulations both!
Our other ‘overseas’ runner this week was Jim Crinnion, down at Medina parkrun on the Isle of Wight. As it was when I ran there five years ago, they were using their summer course at Appley Park by the beach, which is a good 7 miles away from their usual location in the centre of the island. This must surely be a record for distance between normal and alternate course?!
Staying in the south, Tom Tinsley and Gill Milne visited Chippenham in Wiltshire, Gill getting her sea legs by completing the Pirates challenge (7 C’s and an R) while Tara Hipwood was a short hop across the Severn in Wales, returning to Penallta. Despite the scent of wildfires hanging in the air, Tara didn’t go too ‘Caerphilly’, earning a course PB. Niamh Garratt didn’t allow being six months early to thwart her romantic plans, running at Valentines in North London.
Further north, the endlessly racing travellers Lynne Cornell and Susan Hillman took in Blackpool, ahead of running through the illuminations that evening. Over the border, Alex Oliver-Evans ventured to Livingston, in the hinterland between Glasgow and Edinburgh.
After last week’s club tourism, there were a couple of repeat visits to North Yorkshire. Lucy and Rob Ward made up for missing Fountains Abbey by returning there this week instead, and Cate Walker edged closer to her goal of 100 different venues before the end of 2026 (now 98!) with a trip to Northallerton.
Back in the north-east, as is often the case, we had ladies filling out all the podium places. Catherine Young was 1st lady at Fulwell Quarry for the umpteenth time, Lena Lou was 2nd at Gateshead, complete with course PB, and Aoífe Monaghan and Sarah Kerr were 3rd at Blackhill and Town Moor respectively, the latter showing extreme consistency to match last weeks placing in a time 2 seconds faster. Yana Bevan chipped in with a course PB at Leazes.
I was down in Leeds at Woodhouse Moor on something of an ersatz ‘stag do’ (a no-fuss trip for a gig with my best-man). My friend gamely took part in his first ever parkrun, enjoying it for the most part, though admitting he found the crowds in the early stages somewhat overwhelming. I assured him that most of our local runs fall far short of the near-700 in attendance on this occassion!
A nice three-lapper around the tree-lined perimeter of the park, on tarmac and cycle-paths, mostly flat, though with a notable incline that is suddenly and sharply steep just before the end of each lap. They also had maybe the longest funnel I have ever encountered, possibly around 100 metres from finish line to tokens, but it was certainly warranted with the volume of runners present!
I had last set foot in this park 18 years ago, being a stone’s throw from the house I lived in as a student in 2007/08, which is coincidentally around the time Woodhouse Moor started (event 922 today), though I was unaware of parkrun back then, so a nostalgic post-run wander was in order. Surprisingly little had changed!
