The 96th Brueton parkrun set off at a fast and furious pace. A deep puddle on the first corner caught many leading runners out, with the effervescent Gavin DAVIES storming through the middle, creating a splash for those around him!!!. The early running saw Jonathan JENNINGS heading the field with the in-form Peter H. BROOKES in hot pursuit, followed by first time Brueton parkrunner, Stuart MALE.
From the half way stage, Jennings begins to extend his lead and finishes his 26th parkrun in a new VM45-49 course best time. Peter H BROOKES came second in an over 45s sandwich!!!. In the female run, Catherine RICKETTS came first narrowly missing her PB by 1 second, followed by Corinne FOX and Janet BARRACLOUGH. Two runners broke the 80% age-group rating, Jonathan JENNINGS and Louis SATTERTHWAITE, with Louis completing his 50th run.
Males
1st. Jonathan JENNINGS VM45-49 16.52
2nd. Peter H. BROOKES JM15-19 17.39
3rd. Andy LANE VM45-49 17.58
Females
1st. Catherine RICKETTS SW30-34 20.54
2nd. Corinne FOX SW25-29 21.50
3rd. Janet BARRACLOUGH VW50-54 23.08
Considering the weather there was still a big turnout - 134 runners, with 91 of these being male and 43 females there were a total of 40 PB’s. The under 14s seem robust to the effects of the weather with all male runners achieving PBs this week.
Under 14 male runners
1st. George SATTERTHWAITE 19.23
2nd. Hallam COX ( with dad Andrew) 20.28
3rd. William RANDELL 21.57
4th. Elliott WADSWORTH 22.54 his second PB this month
5th. Dylan MURPHY 22.56 his second PB this month
6th. Harry SAMPSON 26.59 (his 6th PB in just 10 weeks)
7th. James SPENCE 28.28
8th. Cameron BROWN 29.44 (his 9th PB in just 12 weeks)
In the Under 14 female run, Taylor MAGGS came first. Her great effort was rewarded with a time of 23.47, her 4th PB in 6 weeks with dad Darren finishing 1 second behind. We also had visiting parkrun runner; Mark JENNINGS. Some might describe him as a tourist park runner completing 60 different parkrun events throughout Scotland and England and today was his 125th parkrun.
For those trying to achieve a new PB and might be getting frustrated at lack of progress, perseverance can get you there in the end. A great example of this point is Stuart BEDDOWS. After 25 weeks, Stuart finally achieved a new in a time of 22.46. Mary SHELTON got her 6th PB in 9 weeks, and so one PB might be the start of a flurry of them.
Runners faces as they come to finish line are a mix of grimacing with fatigue and the joy of completion as they try to squeeze a few seconds off their time, and/or try to pip someone to the line. The friendly rivalry that develops throughout the field provides has a motivating effect for many runners. However, after finishing, a grimace turns into a smile, and the enjoyment is shared between runners. If you are pipped this week, then there is always next week; same place, same course, and hopefully better weather (that is said most weeks). Louis Satterthwaite forum (http://www.facebook.com/Lous5kForum) provides training tips to follow, and the face book page offers an opportunity to share your experiences.
In addition to the runners, there were some other fantastic achievements:
It's 100 not out for parkrun Director Nick Bowler who was involved in his 100th event. He celebrated by riding the safety bike (a great volunteering position as you see the run unfold and everyone cheers as you go by!). Nick is running the Chester marathon in October (as is Co-Event Director Larry) and so let us see if we can see them running each Saturday which is possible if we are inundated with requests to volunteer. If you have done more than 10 runs this year, then you should consider volunteering if you have not already. With this point in mind, all runners should thank this week's volunteers:
Charles Edward MORLEY • Dawn PRICE • Demi FENTIMAN • Ella FENTIMAN • Gemma NASH • Gracey COLLINS • Ian COOPER • Jenni BLAKE • Margaret SMITH • Mark THURSFIELD • Martin HANCOCK • Nick BOWLER • Peter COLLINS • Richard A CLARKE • Samantha BARRETT • Susan HARVEY • Tanya MURPHY • Tom MORRIS • Trish CHAMBERS • Viv COLLINS
So we move to next week, and it might be a farewell to the Winter course as Knowle and Dorridge Running Club are providing us with pacers to hunt down in that quest for a new PB. It was nearly summer this week but the summer course failed the course inspection at 8.00am with the grass representing more of a swamp than a finishing straight; maybe next week Winter will finally be over when it’s the last week in May. June, is officially Summer and who wants to be associated with putting off summer!!!!!
See you all next week….
Andy and Helen Lane