parkrun #462 – 8^th April 2018

Stories from the park

The great news is that a couple of spring-like days meant that the blossom was coming out on the trees and the mud was much less than last week!

This week’s field of 623 finishers had 63 first-timers and 42 different clubs represented. There was a large contingent of visitors from Marlow Striders who clearly all had a great time – thank you for visiting! And our first male finisher had come all the way from Bristol in order to do some training for the English Road Running National Relay competition up in Birmingham next weekend, but had forgotten his barcode! #DFYB! Our next finisher was our female course record holder, Pippa Woolven from Wycombe Phoenix Harriers & AC in an impressive 17:19 (just 12 secs slower than her record).

Celebrations all round!

With the wonderful team of pacers out there an amazing 105 people recorded Personal Bests – that is 17% of all runners – wow!! As barcode scanner, I saw first-hand the delight as these people finished and regained their breath! The good news is that the course will get faster as it dries out more – so even more to come with pacers on the first Saturday of every month.

It is worth taking a moment to thank the fabulous pacers – many people commented on how encouraging and supportive they are. And their precision in terms of coming in on time was very impressive indeed – as you can see by scrolling down the results page. Thank you – top job!

We also congratulate new members of the parkrun milestone clubs:

10 Club – Abdulhameed NEIOUKH

50 Club – Ian GILHAM, Amanda KEEN, Louise DIGGENS, Robert GILL, Chris WILSON

100 Club – Simon SLATTERY, Russell COOK

250 Club – Michael DYER

As many of you know, there is a tradition of cakes for milestones – and Amanda Keen had surpassed herself with Kale & Apple Cake (yum) as well as a traditional sponge iced with the red 50 T-shirt and green holly leaves. Many of her friends from Burnham Joggers and parkrun and triathlons were there to help with the celebrations and cake!

Today Amanda was running as a VI-guide with Andrew Jones, who is currently working back to get under 25 mins after some injuries. Amanda started guide-running through parkrun and says how much it has enriched her own running; when guiding, it is a very close and trusting bond between the two of you, and the guide has to say everything that is coming up and that makes you both experience the details of the run more intensely. For most people their single biggest fear of becoming a guide-runner is that they would not be able to prevent a fall. Amanda has never experienced that issue, and indeed had a story of how Andrew had held her up one week when she caught her foot!

She also talked about the challenge at the start when it is busy – she likes to start a little further up the field, as it is easier for other runners to overtake the two of them, than it is for her to find a safe and wide-enough route for the two of them to pass. Her biggest challenges are people with headphones who cannot hear her call out, and people who run in front and then slow or stop suddenly.

We currently have 3 VI runners at Black Park – around 25-28 mins, 32-35 mins and 45-55 mins respectively. If you would be happy to guide, please drop an email to black-parkoffice@parkrun.com and we would love to add you to the rota.

If you would like to understand more and go on the official England Athletics course to gain more experience and register, then this is the link: https://www.englandathletics.org/disability-athletics/get-involved/sight-loss-awareness-and-guide-running-workshop

Today’s parkrun was all made possible by 59 volunteers – a big cheer for them:

Barbara ALLEN • Mark LUCAS • David PRIDDY • Fred ASHFORD • Glyn WATKINS • Jenny ZAREMBA • Mary LORD • Andy TORRANCE • Steve PARSONS • Joe NOLAN • Rose O'NEILL • Stephen MCALISTER • Antony SMITH • Chris ZAREMBA • Laura HAWKINS • Zoe SMITH • Freya SMITH • Kenneth BROWN • Bob STANBROOK • Diane KENDALL • Karen ALOE • Steve WELLS • Mantej DHATT • Karen TRUNKFIELD • Karen Anne PATTERSON • Tim DAWSON • Joanna MORIARTY • Rob LOWE • Oonagh THOMPSON • Joanne HARRISON • Minnie CROSS • Gary HOOK • Ian SEARS • Suzy GAULTON • John MILES • Michael PRICE • Fiona JAMIESON • David ROSS • Audrey PARSONS • Mitch KERBY • George MARDALL • Toby ROBINSON • Nigel WRIGHT • Ken PHILLIPS • Ben ROBINSON • James ROBINSON • Abigail MORIARTY • Amanda KEEN • Janett BAKER • Kathryn FROST • Mairi VODDEN • Sam PHILLIPS • Holly PHILLIPS • Anthony VODDEN • Ollie STRIDE • Yestin LINTON-SMITH • Marie KOUHI • Mary PALMER • Jaskaran Singh SALL

Thank you to George for the beautiful photos – these are already on the Flickr group, which can be accessed via the photo link on the Black Park parkrun page or via this link:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/gmardall/sets

Achievements this week

There were some age graded results that deserved a huge cheer:

• Pippa Woolven (SW20-24) of Wycombe Phoenix Harriers & AC (our female course record holder from her 2104 run) recorded 85.5% age grading today
• Catherine Staunton (VW60-64) of Chiltern Harriers and Margaret Mardall (VW70-74) both recorded 79.1%
• Dawn Godwin (VW45-49) of Windle Valley Runners recorded 79.0% age grading on her first parkrun at Black Park
• Ida Burrows (JW15-17) of Thames Valley Triathletes recorded 78.7% on her first parkrun at Black Park
• Ian Gilham (VM55-59) of Eton Tri recorded 77.2% on his 50^th parkrun
• Maureen Pedri (VW60-64) of the Running Sisters Network recorded 76.8%
• John Smith (VM75-79) recorded 76.5%
• Ben Robinson (JM11-14) of Duke of Edinburgh’s Award Scheme recorded 76.1% with a PB on his 4^th run
• Simon O’Neill (VM50-54) of Marlow Striders and Guy Woolett (VM45-49) of Gade Valley Harriers both recorded 75.6% age grading.

Although the amazing Margaret Moody still holds the course record of 92.5% set back in April 2014.

I also felt the need to pick out a few Aesthetically Pleasing Finishing Times:

• Derek Shaw with 23:23 – a new PB at his 52^nd parkrun!
• Edward Harris with 23:32 – a new PB at his 3^rd parkrun!
• Michael Burnett of Hillingdon Triathletes with 25:25
• Tim Davies with 25:52
• Juan Crosby with 27:27 – a new PB at his 4^th parkrun!
• Annabel Greatorex with 28:28
• Hannah Vose and Mark Digby – both from Burnham Joggers, with 29:29
• Linda Lord with 38:38
• Anthony Bruce with 40:40 on his very first parkrun ever!

Looking ahead

The good news is that our new team of Run Directors are being trained up under Dave’s watchful eye and have been loading the results successfully for the last couple of weeks, and understanding how each of the volunteer roles makes Black Park parkrun work so well.

We are always looking for people who are prepared to help in one of the volunteer roles. Please email black-parkhelpers@parkrun.com with the date(s) that you can help. They are easy to learn and the volunteers have great fun together, as well as a sense of satisfaction when all goes well (especially in the weeks where we do not lose any of the finisher tokens!!)

Finally, our group of run reporters always wants to bring to life some of the different experiences of different individuals and groups within Black Park parkrun. If you would like to tell a little of your personal story, please do email parkrunstories@yahoo.com and we will hopefully catch up with you at Black Park and feature your story.

Black Park parkrun started on 18th July 2009. Since then 16,178 participants have completed 168,891 parkruns covering a total distance of 844,455 km, including 27,072 new Personal Bests.

parkrun #452 – 20^th January 2018

Stories from the park

My husband and I often say that it never rains on parkrun – because even when the forecast is rain, it is amazing how often that 45-60 mins on Saturday mornings is actually rain-free. I’m afraid that was not quite true today. There was definitely some wet stuff coming down – although it was not too heavy. Having spent a couple of minutes in front of the wardrobe trying to decide on clothing choice, it was interesting to note the wide range of clothing choices: right from the shorts and vest but with gloves, through to long-sleeves and long trousers, or a mix of these. I was also amused to overhear two gentlemen running side-by-side up by the ‘North-End puddle’ (at c.600m) say: “urgh, I am getting muddy”. The good news is that Black Park mud is very light and small particle size, so brushes off very easily!

The forecast probably put some people off, so we had a smaller-than-recent number of finishers at 534. However there were 48 first-timers and 41 different clubs represented.  An impressive 53 people recorded Personal Bests.

This week I chatted to mother and daughter team:  Allison and Verity. Verity has been having a bit of a break since her 100^th parkrun last summer, but today had braved the cold to meet up with (and I think a little bit of racing against) friends Emily and Mollie, and their Mum, Frances.

Allison first found out about parkun in 2012, after seeing a poster on the noticeboard in Black Park during a family walk.  She has now done 182 parkruns and Verity 109 as well as a couple of Junior parkruns. Allison recalled how when Verity was a baby, they would spectate whilst other members of the family ran. Then they built up to taking part: doing the first 1K and cutting back, or to 3K and then stopping at the café, with Verity in the pushchair and then with Verity on her bike.  One day they realised that if they could make it to the café and walk back to the finish area, then they could do the whole 5K. From there Verity progressed to running too and ran the whole way for the first time when she was 6 ¾ years old.  And speeding up every year. Quite a progression!

Allison was sporting some lovely leggings today – and it transpired that she had worn these, and her parkrun T-shirt in one of the school assemblies that she had led in her role as Deputy Head. They are her ‘pants of perspective’ – worn in honour of Anna McNuff who came into the school to inspire and enable children to get outside and explore. Allison shared her experiences of parkrun – and how all of them would be welcome at parkrun.  It was all such an inspiration that the school had a specific day where every child wore leggings, as their ‘pants of perspective’!

This conversation all led me to read up a little more on Anna McNuff – named by the Guardian as ‘one of the most inspiring female adventurers of our time’ and by Conde Nast in the top 50 ‘most influential travellers in the world’. She has done a TEDx talk (barefoot and in leggings, of course) and has a book called ‘The Pants of Perspective’. Whilst she did not consider herself a runner, she ran the 3,000km Te Araroa trail in the wilds of New Zealand – camping rough or with shelter from the local Kiwis – the first time anyone has done this unsupported. Naturally, it was not all a smooth run…..

https://annamcnuff.com/books/

So today’s lovely parkrun has given me ‘pants of perspective’ – inspiration, friendship and fun that goes way beyond the 5,000m of the lovely woodland that we travel through together.

And it also made me want to reference the lovely piece in this week’s parkrun newsletter from Bushy Park – including Elisabeth’s perspective from her ‘corner’ of the different groups within the 1,300 people who stream past and how they behave, what it means to share in something at the same time as other members of her family are doing the same in different parts of the country, and how it has meant that she always gets greeted on the street now whenever she is in out in Teddington. Could it be because of the internet, she asks?!

http://blog.parkrun.com/uk/2018/01/16/elisabeth/

This was all made possible by 21 volunteers – a big cheer for them:

David PRIDDY • Fred ASHFORD • Andy TORRANCE • Sue BREE • Ian SMALES • Zoe SMITH • Freya SMITH • Bob STANBROOK • Carol COOMBS • David COOMBS • Cherry KEY • Minnie CROSS • Raymond John HOYLE • Audrey PARSONS • James HORSFIELD • George MARDALL • Alexandra MARTIN • Lotte VISSER • Martin STEWART • Madeline KATTA-WORAE • Jaskaran Singh SALL

Thank you to George for the photos – these are already on the Flickr group, which can be accessed via the photo link on the Black Park parkrun page or via this link:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/gmardall/sets

Achievements this week

It is worth noting that our first male finisher this week was Harry Turner in the junior 15-17 year-old age group with a new personal best of 17:03 and an age grading of 79.12%.  In fact 4 of the top 6 finishers all ran PBs – with 6^th position going to Ben Jackson in the junior 11-14 year old age group with an age grading of 76.38%.

We also congratulate new members of the parkrun milestone clubs:

10 Club – Callum SMITH, Lucas HOMER

50 Club - Craig GRAHAM, Kevin HOLLIGAN, Lara SOUTHWORTH, Luke STRICKLAND

100 Club - Simon MARKS

I also felt the need to pick out a few Aesthetically Pleasing Finishing Times:

Zena Phillips of Datchet Dashers with 22:22

David Gaffney of Hillingdon AC with 24:24

Phil Pocock with 24:42

Manzoor Mohammed with 25:25

Karen Trunkfield with 28:28

Keiran Ottley (first timer) with 29:29

Alex Glonek of Farnham Common Joggers and Wheelers with 31:31 (with an aesthetically pleasing 101 runs!)

Gary Strickland with 32:32 (a new PB on his 10^th run)

Richard Wolfe (first timer) with 40:40

Looking ahead

As always, we will have pacers for the first Saturday of the month – 4^th February.

Finally, our group of run reporters always wants to bring to life some of the different experiences of different individuals and groups within Black Park parkrun. If you would like to tell a little of your personal story, please do email parkrunstories@yahoo.com and we will hopefully catch up with you at Black Park and feature your story.

Black Park parkrun started on 18th July 2009. Since then 15,613 participants have completed 163,169 parkruns covering a total distance of 815,845 km, including 26,377 new Personal Bests.

parkrun #443 - 25th November 2017

Stories from the park
The weather had turned much colder, so it was great to see 502 courageous people out to run, jog and walk the beautiful Black Park course. 46 were first timers and 46 ran a Personal Best – many congratulations to both groups!

This stunning photo from our fabulous photographer George Mardell (thank you George) really captures the beauty of the frosty day:

And Logathas Velayuthapillai posted a wonderful video of the run to the parkrun discussion group Facebook page. Some impressive on-the-run camera work! (And postings of videos and pictures from parkruns around the UK showed that whilst we enjoyed the cool and frosty conditions, others were enjoying even cooler and frostier!)

This week I caught up with Audrey Parsons – one of our wonderful volunteers that you will see at Black Park pretty much every week. Those will dogs will know her well – she stands just by the café as everyone arrives and has dog treats in her right pocket , which every dog seems to know! I asked her how she came to help out at Black Park, and she explained that her husband Steve started coming along when Black Park parkrun started in 2009 and although she cannot run due to back pain, she wanted to get out of the house and be a part of it too. She will do any volunteer job, although she loves barcode scanning most – and like most of us, has a fear of pressing the wrong button on the timer! Steve has run 335 runs at Black Park (with an incredible consistency over the last 9 years and an impressive age grading of 77%!). Thank you Audrey and well done Steve!

Here is a photo of all of our wonderful volunteers – Audrey is on the right hand side, sat on the bench

Achievements this week
Representatives of 34 different clubs took part and we also congratulated new members of the parkrun milestone clubs:

10 Club – Chloe WALKER
50 Club - Kate CALLOWAY, Michael FERREIRA, Paul CORNEY
100 Club - Darren PERKINS, Denise NISBET, George LOVEDAY, Marta KNILL, Michael HAYWARD, Rachel TEDDS
250 Club - Nick WILSON
Plus Dave gave a shout out at the start to Jane Martin, running her 200th parkrun.

It was fantastic to see Denise Nisbit accompanied by a group of Hayes and Harlington Runners in their distinctive blue and orange kit and enjoying the day with cake and candles. Denise has done over 80% of her 100 runs at Black Park and still says that it is one of her very favourite courses, although she has also run parkruns in Denmark and USA.

Denise proudly sporting her 100 balloon and a tutu!

The event was made possible by 29 volunteers – a big cheer for them:

Barbara ALLEN • David PRIDDY • Fred ASHFORD • Jenny ZAREMBA • Maureen PEDRI • Andy TORRANCE • Alastair REECE • Vince ELLERBY • Sue BREE • David Anthony MORGAN • Ian SMALES • Zoe SMITH • Freya SMITH • Bob STANBROOK • Benjamin ROBINSON • Josh LEE • Minnie CROSS • Raymond John HOYLE • Audrey PARSONS • George MARDALL • James ROBINSON • Jo SHEPHERD • Alexandra MARTIN • Jane TRAFFORD • Lotte VISSER • Martin STEWART • Holly PHILLIPS • Madeline KATTA-WORAE • Marie KOUHI

Looking ahead

Dave announced the plan for Christmas and New Year: there will be no run on Christmas Day at Black Park (but there are others in the area), but there will be a run on New Year’s Day at 9am and those that are keen can then travel on to Upton Court to parkrun there at 10.30am.
All Saturdays through the festive season will have the usual parkrun.

Next week is the last pacer Saturday of the year, so a chance to try and hit a new PB before seeing in the new year.

Finally, our group of run reporters always wants to bring to life some of the different experiences of different individuals and groups within Black Park parkrun. If you would like to tell a little of your personal story, please do email parkrunstories@yahoo.com and we will hopefully catch up with you at Black Park and feature your story.

Black Park parkrun started on 18th July 2009. Since then 15,217 participants have completed 158,619 parkruns covering a total distance of 793,095 km, including 25,943 new Personal Bests.

First Saturday of the Month means Pacer Day at Black Park parkrun!

I would encourage anyone to have a go at pacing. Why? Well it delivers a completely new challenge to the 5K. Joe Nolan started this adventure for me and I try to do every month. It is common sense to only pace at a pace of PB+2mins or slower. The aim is to finish on time +/- 10 seconds and run at a steady pace.

This month I was allocated 28 min to aim for, the park was a bit of a bog and it was trying to rain as we arrived. I had dropped my daughter at the airport so had already been awake for 4 hours!

All the pacers get to the front for a photo shot and then we make our way back to get in time order.... something that is a little tricky for some!

The new PA system worked a treat and we heard every word of Davids pre-event speech and we welcomed the first timers. One right next to me from Lille in France who was going to follow me round.

GO! Start watch... and then stand still for a few seconds and then try to get going...

1st km: Always a struggle as the path is crowded with fellow parkrunners all jostling and eager... just follow the 27min pacer... and don't overtake them... err yes I have done it in the past! Am I going too fast... too slow... oh look a puddle.. too tempting hit it hard!

1K marker is a time check. 2 seconds slow... pretty good!

2nd K through the mud of the crossroads. My French follower is right beside me and doing well. Keep the pace steady and watch as the 27 min pacer eases away... still tantalisingly close!

Time check at 2K marker and we are are go for the 3rd Km. There is a tree with a bench.. "Halfway There"... and the ear worm of Bon Jovi ... "livin on a Prayer"

The 3rd Km is a tough one... gradually up hill all the way.. through the open space. Here the GPS watch grabs a signal in the clear sky... really I am going THAT fast? No it's just guessing and trying to make up for all that time under the trees!

Past the crossroads and along the pine tree lined avenue for the 4th km, my favourite section! Until you turn left to see... THE MASSIVE HILL OF DEATH!!!!!

It's actually a gentle incline... not even the steepest gradient - that's the first km... but I always feel everyone around me falter. "Heads up, stand tall, follow me!" check time at 4km marker.

Turn left and it's a welcome downhill. The muddiest section of the run... my second favourite bit!!! Here it's the hardest bit to pace right. You have to keep a steady pace as basically you are running out of space to adjust! Keep to time on the left turn. Smile at the camera, and turn right. "Anyone still with me... go now!", normally this is the bit where everyone who has kept with the pacer leaves them trailing down the home straight. I cannot speed up, or slow down.. keep it steady! Through to the finish and stop the watch: 28:03 not bad this week! My French follower finished ahead of me and several more got PB's around me.

Well done and have a go next month if you want just ask Joe to add you in!

Joining the 25 Volunteer club: Steve PARSONS

Joining the 50 Club: Anthony BROWN, Jacek KRAKOWIAK

The event was made possible by 40 wonderful volunteers:

Mark LUCAS • David PRIDDY • Fred ASHFORD • Glyn WATKINS • Mary LORD • Andy TORRANCE • Mark STEVENS • Alastair REECE • Steve PARSONS • Joe NOLAN • Jackie STALLWOOD • Stephen MCALISTER • Arjun BABHANIA • Philip Morris JONES • Antony SMITH • Zoe SMITH • Freya SMITH • Gary NISBET • Martin JOSTEN • Bob STANBROOK • Steve WELLS • Frances ALCOCK • Karen Anne PATTERSON • Tim DAWSON • Minnie CROSS • Gary HOOK • Raymond John HOYLE • Suzy GAULTON • Matthew ROBINS • Fiona JAMIESON • Denis KERBY • Audrey PARSONS • Hilary GAUNA • George MARDALL • Toby ROBINSON • Jo SHEPHERD • Janett BAKER • Ella CASEY-PRIDAY • Madeline KATTA-WORAE • Marie KOUHI

This week 506 people ran, jogged and walked the course, of whom 58 were first timers and 60 recorded new Personal Bests. Representatives of 39 different clubs took part.

Today's full results and a complete event history can be found on the Black Park parkrun Results Page.

Photos of the event are at: https://www.flickr.com/photos/gmardall/sets

The male record is held by Ben LIVESEY who recorded a time of 15:09 on 10th March 2012 (event number 140).
The female record is held by Pippa WOOLVEN who recorded a time of 17:07 on 28th June 2014 (event number 262).
The Age Grade course record is held by Margaret MOODY who recorded 92.51% (22:15) on 5th April 2014 (event number 250).

Black Park parkrun started on 18th July 2009. Since then 15,116 participants have completed 157,068 parkruns covering a total distance of 785,340 km, including 25,796 new Personal Bests.

Today's weather and running conditions

Autumn is definitely upon us, with the coolest parkrun for 6 months or more, but 559 people ran, jogged and walked the beautiful course of Black Park parkrun. 57 were first timers and a fantastic 78 recorded new Personal Bests – congratulations!  It is starting to get muddier now – so many people donned their winter trail shoes and there was a need for some assistance when one of the buggies got stuck in the mud!

 The statistics

Of course parkrun does not happen without the amazing High-Viz stars and we thank this week’s 25 volunteers who made it possible:

Barbara ALLEN • David PRIDDY • Fred ASHFORD • Andy TORRANCE • Sue BREE • Laura HAWKINS • Zoe SMITH • Freya SMITH • Bob STANBROOK • Dominic HOLLERON • Peter TOUGH • Charlotte PEDRICK • Raymond John HOYLE • Roderick PATON • Audrey PARSONS • Verity MITCHELL • George MARDALL • Ken PHILLIPS • Amanda KEEN • Lynne PATRICK • Richard GOBLE • Janett BAKER • Clare STRIDE • Jane TRAFFORD • Holly PHILLIPS

Representatives of 37 different clubs took part and we also congratulated new members of the parkrun milestone clubs:

10 Club – Neelum JOSHI

25 Volunteer Club - Ken PHILLIPS

100 Club - Keith HYLANDS, Linda SOMERVILLE and Nigel WRIGHT

In terms of results at the fast end of the field, the three highest age grades were recorded by:

John SMITH (VM75-79) – 80.30% for the time 23:36 (66^th overall).
Margaret MARDALL (VW70-74) – 79.38% for the time 28:03 (211^th overall).
Luke EDWARDS (JM11-14) – 78.95% for the time 18:22 (third overall).

It was noteworthy that the first 3 female finishers were all under 30 and members of three different clubs:

Hannah KITCHEN (SW25-29) of Hillingdon Triathletes, was first (4^th overall) over the line in 18:46 - 27^th time in 35 appearances.
Bettina HANLON (JW15-17) of Wycombe Phoenix Harriers & AC, was second (26^th overall) over the line in 21:03.
Emily GOW (SW20-24) of Bracknell Forest Runners, was third (31^st overall) over the line in 21:30.

The first 3 male finishers were all under 25 and none of them is a member of a club:

Charlie EDWARDS (SM20-24) (Unattached) was first over the line in 18:20 - second time in 121 appearances.
George TIPPING (SM18-19) (Unattached) was second over the line in 18:21 - has been first to finish on 6 previous occasions.
Luke EDWARDS (JM11-14) (Unattached) was third over the line in 18:22.

 News from the parkrun field

The group of us run reporters wanted to bring to life some of the different experiences of different individuals and groups within Black Park parkrun. If you would like to tell a little of your personal story, please do email parkrunstories@yahoo.com and we will hopefully catch up with you at Black Park (depending on your speed!!) and will feature your story.

In order to get us started, this week we hear from Linda Gaitskill (A 1869664) who did her 40^th parkrun (38^th at Black Park – having also been a parkrun tourist at Wycombe Rye and Harrow). This is her 7^th weekend in a row – but next Saturday she will be off for her first-ever triathlon!

Linda started running in about 2000 and is in the 60-64 age group. At the moment she is coming back from a knee operation in February and is hoping to beat her PB from October 2016 of 34:09. She says that the key for her at the moment is slowing down a little, so that she can keep a consistent pace – rather than switching between running and walking.

Linda lost her eyesight when she was 19 and comes to Black Park with her guide dog ‘Lily’ – who can be a bit boisterous when out of the harness, but leads Linda through the streets and public transport to live an active life. Today Linda ran with Lynne Patrick as her guide, and wants to say many thanks to Dave Priddy and the team of people who help in terms of organising picking her & Lily up, running with Linda and ensuring that Lily gets a walk (and usually a swim in the lake too!)

When asked what her favourite part of the run is, Linda said ‘finishing’ but she also admits that hearing the voices of people that she knows around her can be a massive motivator to run a bit faster!

We wish Linda the very best of luck with the triathlon next weekend and look forward to catching up with her at Black Park – her focus is to get a PB before Christmas and get to 50 parkruns in the spring.

Note about parking

A last little notice – the car park can be very busy and buying your ticket can take a bit of time. But if you are a regular Black Park visitor, then the annual pass makes a lot of sense – saves you money and saves you time on Saturday mornings too!

Our parkrun

Black Park parkrun started on 18th July 2009. Since then 14,831 participants have completed 153,278 parkruns covering a total distance of 766,390 km, including 25,281 new Personal Bests.

The male record is held by Ben LIVESEY who recorded a time of 15:09 on 10th March 2012 (event number 140).
The female record is held by Pippa WOOLVEN who recorded a time of 17:07 on 28th June 2014 (event number 262).
The Age Grade course record is held by Margaret MOODY who recorded 92.51% (22:15) on 5th April 2014 (event number 250).

Written by: Jenny Zaremba (A34006)

Today's Weather and running conditions:

A bright autumnal morning with sunshine and clouds. The ground was firm underfoot with a few puddles.

News from the Park:

Black park was it's usual beautiful setting for parkrun today. A slight chill in the air but little wind and essentially dry. A vast difference to the conditions in the Caribbean with Hurricane Irma running riot and the Clermont parkrun in Florida cancelled as a precaution to the worsening conditions.

The build up to the event was as usual managed well and at 9:00am we were released!

The post run discussion by the newly formed 'News Team' at the San Remo coffee hut involved a certain nervousness as we realised that we would have to think of something to write here! Our main conversation involved the etiquette of puddles and how to navigate them when running. Overall we thought it best to head straight at them and not deviate as it would waste time! Sorry for anyone who gets splashed in the future!!

We will be chatting with attendees in the future for any interesting stories and tales 'from the field' and will write them up in the future.

Milestones:

Joining the 10 club: Barnaby HARRISON

Joining the 100 club: John Richard Palmer DALTON, Leslie GILLOT

Joining the 100 club: Colin John ADAMS

Well done to all runners and volunteers... I guess I will be back next week

The important stats section:

This week 533 people ran, jogged and walked the course, of whom 42 were first timers and 60 recorded new Personal Bests. Representatives of 35 different clubs took part.

The event was made possible by 28 volunteers:

Barbara ALLEN • David PRIDDY • Fred ASHFORD • Kathryn SMALES • Ian SMALES • Laura HAWKINS • Zoe SMITH • Freya SMITH • Bob STANBROOK • Jessica RYAN • Diane KENDALL • John TIPPING • Karen ALOE • Josh LEE • Minnie CROSS • Raymond John HOYLE • Audrey PARSONS • Hilary GAUNA • Paula KELLY • Ken PHILLIPS • Alex MARTIN • Richard GOBLE • Ella CASEY-PRIDAY • Lotte VISSER • Martin STEWART • Holly PHILLIPS • Ollie STRIDE • Madeline KATTA-WORAE

Today's full results and a complete event history can be found on the Black Park parkrun Results Page.

Male placings: George TIPPING (SM18-19) (Unattached) was first over the line in 17:55 - 6th time in 284 appearances. George MANGAN (JM15-17) (Unattached) was second over the line in 18:08. Charlie EDWARDS (SM20-24) (Unattached) was third over the line in 18:28 - was first to finish once before.

Female placings: Maureen DOWLING (VW50-54) of Bracknell Forest Runners, was first (22nd overall) over the line in 20:55 - first time in 6 appearances. Julie BARCLAY (VW50-54) of Woking AC, was second (37th overall) over the line in 21:36 - was first to finish once before. Ciara WILLIAMS (SW25-29) of Hillingdon AC, was third (42nd overall) over the line in 21:45 - has been first to finish on 14 previous occasions.

The three highest age grades were recorded by: Maureen DOWLING (VW50-54) – 84.30% for the time 20:55 (22nd overall). Janet BINNS (VW55-59) – 84.29% for the time 22:23 (56th overall). Julie BARCLAY (VW50-54) – 81.64% for the time 21:36 (37th overall).

The male record is held by Ben LIVESEY who recorded a time of 15:09 on 10th March 2012 (event number 140). The female record is held by Pippa WOOLVEN who recorded a time of 17:07 on 28th June 2014 (event number 262). The Age Grade course record is held by Margaret MOODY who recorded 92.51% (22:15) on 5th April 2014 (event number 250).

Black Park parkrun started on 18th July 2009. Since then 14,774 participants have completed 152,719 parkruns covering a total distance of 763,595 km, including 25,203 new Personal Bests.

Written by: Mark Lucas #A1386

Since the first Black Park parkrun on 18^th July 2009, 14,674 runners have collectively run, jogged and walked 757,570km – which is approximately the distance to the moon and back.  So in the week where large parts of the USA experienced a full solar eclipse, we want to salute all of those people and say that nothing can eclipse Black Park parkrun. We love you to the moon and back!

Of course parkrun does not happen without the amazing High-Viz stars and we thank this week’s 24 volunteers: who made it possible for 603 people to enjoy the beauty of the increasingly autumnal Black Park course with the first conkers and sweet chestnuts starting to fall to the ground:

Barbara ALLEN • David PRIDDY • Fred ASHFORD • Jenny ZAREMBA • Mary LORD • Andy TORRANCE • Sue BREE • Arjun BABHANIA • Laura HAWKINS • Bob STANBROOK • David COOMBS • Minnie CROSS • Raymond John HOYLE • Suzie BUCK • Audrey PARSONS • George MARDALL • Ken PHILLIPS • Richard GOBLE • Ella CASEY-PRIDAY • Clare STRIDE • Jane TRAFFORD • Lotte VISSER • Holly PHILLIPS • Ollie STRIDE

There are many bright stars in this galaxy who volunteer week after week. If you would like to join them once in a while, please do click the link on your results email and become a volunteer (you will look lovely in lilac! And bright yellow too!)

Just on this topic – you may have heard Dave announce at the start that we are looking for more volunteers as we have three regular Visually Impaired runners and would like some more help guiding them . Their times are in the 50 mins range, the high 30s and the mid 20s. You do not need to have guided before, but if you would be happy to give a helping hand (quite literally), please email black-parkoffice@parkrun.com

We welcomed 62 first-timers and many tourists from other parkruns.  40 different clubs were represented and we also congratulated new members of the parkrun milestone clubs:

10 Club – Dexter DALSTON and Jake KEARNS

50 Club - Kaldip BANSAL and Nick CLEMO

100 Club - Tina JOHNSON

250 Club - Heather PIPER

Some people travel at the speed of light:

The three highest age grades were recorded by:

Michael HILL (VM60-64) – 81.59% for the time 20:22 (19^th overall).
John SMITH (VM75-79) – 81.27% for the time 23:19 (86^th overall).
Frank FULCHER (VM45-49) – 80.48% for the time 18:11 (second overall).

The first 3 female finishers were:

Sarah GROVER (SW20-24) of Dacorum & Tring AC, was first (13^th overall) over the line in 19:48 – her first appearance at Black Park (and we hope that you will come back soon).
Susan JARMAN (VW40-44) of Chiltern Harriers AC, was second (18^th overall) over the line in 20:18.
Hayley NANCOLAS (VW35-39) of Valley Striders AC, was third (27^th overall) over the line in 20:52.

The first 3 male finishers were:

James LAING (SM25-29) of Hillingdon AC, was first over the line in 16:58 – an impressively consistent record of 11^th first finish in 12 appearances.
Frank FULCHER (VM45-49) of Handy Cross Runners, was second over the line in 18:11.
George TIPPING (SM18-19) (Unattached) was third over the line in 18:52 - been first to finish on 5 previous occasions.

Finally, a thank you to our first aider Mary Lord who patched up the lady who had a tumble at the 4.5km mark. We really hope that the grazes heal up fast - and that you come back soon. You said that this was the first time that you had run this far in 30 years; we wanted to reassure you that so many of us have tripped and we hope that you will be back with us soon to enjoy a less eventful 5km!

Looking ahead, next week we have the wonderful pacing team in action. So to the 87 people who got PBs this week, many congratulations! To you and everyone else – how about coming back next week to see how your stars align for another PB?