Parkrun Week 42

“Pain is temporary; Strava is forever” – Strava advert

Good morning lovely Dashers. We really are getting to the short strokes at the end of the parkrun Championship season with, incredibly, only 5 weeks left before we crown our 2024 Champions. In both leagues, nothing is decided and a few swift parkruns could still be decisive. It will be a difficult balance though, as we are also heavily into race season, both cross country and road, so I know that many of you will be saving your legs on a Saturday morning. This weekend was no exception with some superb Dasher performances at both the Red Rose Cross Country and the Accrington 10k. Huge kudos and congratulations to you all; it’s always a joy to see the results and photos coming through (even though you all look stronger and fitter than I ever do! It’s been suggested that I try yoga but I have tried bending over to pick up my keys and so I’m pretty confident I would hate yoga…) Once again, you represented Dashers brilliantly – well done!

And so on to parkrun. What we lacked in quantity again this week we more than made up for in quality with an astonishing 4 out of 14 parkrunners this week recording Top 10 finishes across the 11 venues visited. So a big shout out to Thomas Perricone who was 2nd at Hyndburn – along with a shiny new PB, many congratulations – David Seddon (6th at Witton), Niall Bancroft (also 6th at Worden) and especially Helen Woodcock who was 1st lady finisher at Narin Beach.

I was on my travels again and visited a lovely course in Redditch called Arrow Valley for the third time. I did manage to blob my way round to a new PB but still in a very modest time compared to many of you. I will take it though, and highly recommend the course to anyone visiting the Midlands. The start time was slightly delayed, however, as a rather large flock of geese decided to amble slowly across the start line just as we were about to get going! They did eventually settle on the grass bank overlooking the start and honked loudly as we set off – perhaps they are regular parkrun spectators?

There were no changes to the Ladies Championship table as many ladies were smashing the cross country and so the Top 3 places remain firmly in the grasp of Linda Coffey, Jacqueline Shaw and Diane Dudgeon.

There was slightly more activity in the Mens Championship event. Both Steve Whitehead and Niall Bancroft recorded their highest percentage scores of the season (excellent work gents) and George Thompson became the latest member of the ‘8 Club’ reaching his required qualifying mark. This allowed George to climb 1-place in the league table up to 19th and this week also saw forward moves made by Thomas Perricone (a huge 5-position leap from 32nd to 27th), Paul Taylor (climbing 4 places from 30th to 26th) and David Seddon, who is now 24th after a 2-place rise.

It's as-you-were at the top with Brian Shaw still in front from Simon Smith with Jez Turner inching out Andy Smith for third place.

Unbelievably, next weeks parkrun will be in November which is scary (and not just for Halloween). Where has the year gone? If you are venturing out then check the parkrun app or social media because there are a few cancellations. At time of writing I am aware that Clitheroe Castle, Ormskirk, Sale Water and, a bit further afield, Glossop are all off but there may be more as the week goes on. Regardless, have a wonderful week, fill up your cars before the budget and happy parkrunning!