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HHpr Yr 1 awards |
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HHpr Yr 1 awards
Congratulations to the HHpr Yr 1 award winners.. of course everyone at HHpr, runners & volunteers, are stars.. just a bit of fun at our birthday celebrations
Certificates, a little silver shoe & some jelly beans for..
Male points winner - Paul Mazonowicz
Female points winner - Andrea Sanders-Reece
The family award - rain or shine @ HHpr - The Greens
Paparazzi award - Catherine Ames
Superhero award & running his 50th pr - Mattia Paganelli
Volunteer of the year - Anne Caspi
HHpr is made possible by, and with great thanks to, parkrun HQ, City of London Corporation, Hampstead Heath Events Team, parkrun sponsors (Sweatshop, Adidas, Lucazade), HHpr Event & Race Directors, our merry band of volunteers and all our runners.
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Event 52 – the first run of the second year |
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Event 52 – the first run of the second year
What a beautiful sunny day for the first HHpr of the ‘new year’. And by that I mean after last week’s birthday celebrations, HHpr is now into its second year and, judging by the turnout, more popular than ever.
In fact, out of 108 runners there were a mighty 26 first timers; that means at least 26 personal bests before we’ve even begun. As for ‘new PBs’ there were plenty of those too with 29 runners shaving seconds and, in some cases, minutes off their previous best time.
That’s what’s great about parkrun. Whether you have a competitive streak or not, you’d have to be made of stone not to feel proud when that text arrives with news you’ve beaten your previous best. Last time I ‘smashed’ my PB (by a huge four seconds) I did a little victory dance. I’m preparing something more elaborate for next time.
But what’s really special about parkrun is watching everyone put their heart and soul into getting to the finish as fast as they can, whether they’re in first, 21st or 101st place. And you really would have to have that heart of stone not to be moved as each and every one of us crosses the line. Because that real sense of achievement (and relief) is something we can all share. And that’s why we keep coming back to parkrun.
Today’s stats:
First three men: Hugh Torry (17.11); Rob Walker (17.45); Jonathan Hall (18.45)
First three ladies: Emma Withycombe (22.29); Natasha Cendrowicz (22.48); Mari Josephine Timoney (23.48).
New PBs: Rob Walker; Jonathan Hall; Dan Corby; Simon Langley; James Easterbrook; Tom Foy; Chris Heyes; Matthew Beard; Martin Bright; David Cole; Liam Hinebauch; Graham Buckle; Natasha Cendrowicz; Leo Littlewood; Juliet Chard; Aislinn Ryan; Sarah Morris; Alida Herbst; Susan Hinebauch; Eleanor Goldwin; Lorenzo Paganelli; Juliette Massey-Smith; Tobin Brothers; Nigel Whitmey; Jackie Seigler; Yonatan Zetuny; Gemma Lockwood; Leah Royall; Pam Goodman.
Well done to everyone who took part in today’s parkrun: organisers, marshals and runners. Let’s hope the sun comes back next week, but he can leave that Siberian wind at home.
Report by Louise Witts who did not get a PB today, but enjoyed it very much anyway.
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Event 51 - 1st Birthday Celebrations |
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(Picture shows winning women, Rosie Pitt with other HH parkrunners)
By Andrea Sanders-Reece
Our first birthday party and a brilliant festive look and feel to parkrun on the Heath today; balloons, cakes, champagne – whoopee! Danilo made paper chains for the finishing funnel and everyone’s smiles sparkled. To add to the fun, the route was run back to front, arguably producing a faster course (although, of course, the same dizzy heights had to be reached, just in a different way) demonstrated by a whopping 25 new pbs!
Trestle tables laden with food (thank you to everyone who contributed to the feast) and drink greeted the 105 runners and 15 volunteers (Avril Riddell, Bertie Miller, Bridget Peacock, Catherine Ames, Colm Flood, Danilo Paganelli, David Osele, Janice Tadros, John Ackers, Kayleigh Dunn, Mukesh Gohil, Patrick Fleming, Sheila Fitzgerald, Tim Nicholson and our race director for the day, Bridget Peacock).
The weather was disappointingly grey and very, very cold especially for the first weekend in May but spirits were high! Bridget welcomed everyone, thanked the volunteers and sponsors and made special mention of how fortunate we are to have parkrun on the Heath. The 13 runners new to the Heath and 8 to parkrun were given a warm welcome.
To mark the end of our first successful year various prizes were awarded:
Paul Mazonowicz won the male competition with 2603 points and I won the female prize with 3147 (thank you so much for the Love Heart Sweets and silver shoe); Anne Caspi won the volunteer prize; Mornington Chasers was the top club represented with 39 runners completing 258 runs; Mattia Paganelli won a special ‘Super Hero’ prize; Catherine Ames the paparazzi award; and the family award went to the Greens.
And Kayleigh (who has also done a huge amount to support Hampstead Heath parkrun) presented Bridget and Jess with cards and fizz.
Today’s winners - in what must have been a real battle to the finish line - Damien Lane (18:47) came in 1st just a second faster and spurring Daniel McKeown (18:48) onto a new pb time to take 2nd place, 3rd was John Armstrong. For the females, Rosie Pitt achieved a new pb (20:27), 2nd place Emma Abele (22:37) and 3rd Rochelle Larson (22:42) also a new pb!
Looking back:
Our first run attracted 50 runners and was race directed by Jess Mathur. In her welcome speech she said, “... the first Hampstead Heath parkrun which will be the most beautiful parkrun not just in London but possibly the entire world.”
In my first report – a couple of weeks later I commented,
“This is such a delightful place to run (yes I know there are lots of hills and difficult twisty-turny bits – they’re part of the fun), the dappled sun through the trees, the glistening ponds, the range of surfaces beneath our feet - peaty through the woods, gravel down towards the main string of ponds, tarmac across the challenging slopes of Parliament Hill – the changing views with each curve of the course or hill”
But it is not just the course that makes this parkrun so very special, it is the warmth, supportiveness and friendliness of the people and for that reason, Hampstead Heath parkrun will continue to be one of my favourite weekend activities.
Please like us on Face Book and there you can also see photographs from the day.
Look forward to seeing you all very soon and thank you to everyone at parkrun and Hampstead Heath for a fabulous event.
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A year @ HHpr. Thank you Sweatshop |
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A year @ HHpr. Thank you Sweatshop, 303 Holloway Road
HHpr extends a huge thank you to Sweatshop, especially our local branch at 303 Holloway Road - one of parkruns fabulous sponsors. Sweatshop donates a prize of a new pair of running shoes (with fitting) to a HHprer every month.
And not only to us, to every parkrun across the UK every month. Now, that is really great.
The prize is awarded by HHpr along the lines of all that parkrun stands for - be it for example commitment, perseverance, improvement, contribution, pb's….
If you would like to nominate someone, be it for overcoming adversity or in any other way, send their name and a supporting note to hampsteadheathoffice@parkrun.com and we promise to consider your nomination.
Here's a big shout out, and congratulations, to HHpr's Sweatshop prize winners Year 1... Kayleigh Dunn (5/11), Andrea Sanders-Reece (6/11), Juliette Smith (7/11), Bob Gould (8/11), Hannah McQuarrie (9/11), James Parker (11/11), Luis Coats (12/11), Claire Morris (1/12), Mattia Paganelli (2/12), Sheila Fitzgerald (3/12) and Paul Mazonowicz (4/12).
Thank you to everyone that makes HHpr what it is, PSH and all at parkrun HQ, our sponsors, volunteers and runners . We hope you'll be joining us to celebrate Year 1 @ HHpr this Saturday 5 May. We'll be running Route A with a twist (running the laps anticlockwise.. flying down Parliament Hill Fields) followed by fizz, strawberries & baked treats.. and for the brave a dip in the mixed ponds.
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Event 50 |
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By Andrea Sanders-Reece
Oh there is something so magical about HH parkrun - it seems it is even able to prevent rain. The dampness this morning at 0900 is classified as drizzle so doesn’t count! Anyway, by the time the 5K ‘go’ was called any wet stuff in the air became irrelevant and it was time to concentrate, breathe deeply and run! The soggy ground was more apparent than the air, particularly sloshing up through the muddy puddles of Lime Avenue and even causing the finish to be moved to prevent ploughing through more slime – it was the sort of day designed for black rather than white shoes. Extraordinary really how quickly things change, only a couple of weeks ago the ground, if anything, felt too firm and the long path to the ponds more like sprinting on dry concrete than splashing through puddles and loose shale.
Next Week – 1st Birthday!
Fingers crossed then that our weather fortune continues and next week, for our first birthday celebrations, we can bask in sunshine and warmth. This promises to be a splendid affair including a different twist to the route, cakes and plenty of good company and so much more!
And back to today
Despite the weather (sorry it seems so very difficult to avoid this at the moment) 89 people ran, each chasing their own goals, each with their own reasons. And maybe because of the cool condition, threatening skies and the desire to return home quickly, 21 people achieved pb times – brilliant – and three of them are aged under 14: Alex Beard, Noa Yavnor and Natalie Ohana-Cole, so I feel sure we will be seeing more pbs from them soon!
Kayleigh (today’s race director) extended an especially warm welcome to the 16 first timers to the Heath out of whom 12 were new to parkrun and our wonderful volunteers and essential sponsors – all so very much appreciated.
Other bits of news
Spring marathon season is currently in full swing with several of our regulars competing across the country and indeed Europe and further afield – our Facebook page includes regular updates about who is running, amongst many other things, so please do add comments if this is you and good luck!
Results
Congratulations to Pamela Gold who I think must be a parkrun tourist as she has now completed 51 runs and topped the age-grading in her first run on the Heath today at 75.77%. Please do check out the link to age-grading on the home page if you have yet to grasp its meaning and are interested.
Nick Gold came sprinting through the field from I assume a late start to take first place in a time of 18:15; in 2nd place was Tim Nicholson in 18:28 and 3rd Damien Lane 19:02. For the females, Rosie Pitt achieved her 6th win in 20:34; 2nd Becky Kingdon 21:57 and 3rd Emma Abele 22:38.
I was delighted to enjoy my 50th parkrun today; run in a controlled way to ensure recovery following last week’s London marathon and with time to talk with people I knew along the route (very sorry to anyone I slowed down with my chatter).
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