News Categories

News

 

Event 125 Race report by Sam Dooley


 
It was a grey drizzly Saturday at parkrun Leeds this week. ("...more like Lancashire than Yorkshire ..." I heard). So who turns out on a day like this? Let me tell you. Firstly, the ladies. A cracking race up front saw Race 117 winner Dawn Broom come within 13 seconds of her PB yet find it only good enough for 4th place. Lesley Legget (winner of Race 122) set a new PB of 19:43 with an age graded 86.90%, but found it only got her 3rd place. But it was Sarah v Sarah that took the eye, ... and it was Sarah Jarvis that took the honours in 17:46 by beating female course record holder Sarah Tunstall into second place. Her winning margin just 7 seconds. Perhaps most remarkable was that the two Sarah's were 2nd and 5th overall. That shook the men up.
 
None were shook up more than winner Glen Phair. Two weeks ago he took third place, and needed to run 42 seconds quicker this week (17:29) to keep the rest of the field behind him. Steven Eastwood chopped 25 seconds of his best to get 2nd men's place, pipping James Mcreesh on the line.
 
So who else turned out? 37 first timers swelled the ranks, including Stephen Morris and Kevin Walling, who are both Bushy parkrunners and owners of coveted 100 jackets. Both enjoyed the hospitality of Caldos cafe afterwards, with Stephen also celebrating a new PB in his 102nd run.
 
As well as the 9 athletes name checked above, a further 227 parkrunners crossed the finish. That's 236 in total.....equalling the parkrun Leeds best set 4 months ago. So perhaps we should be asking who didn't turn out? Unfortunately husband and wife "team" David and Amanda Birkby were both absent. Both injured. David though was volunteering and cheering runners on, while Amanda was resting a broken bone in her foot. Her absence allowing Ellie Dooley to further increase her points lead to a huge 656 after just 21 runs. Missing too were Stephen Morris's two sons (they didn't miss the cafe though). Had they donned their kit (as they have at Bushy Park), they'd have helped us set a new record.
 
Who else didn't turn out? Maybe you reading this? Not ran for a few weeks?? Not yet shrugged off the winter blues??? Maybe it's time to get back to Hyde Park in Leeds and help to well and truly break the numbers record. Injuries, illness, or a note from your mum are acceptable reasons to stand down. Other than that......no excuse. Why not be part of the first parkrun Leeds to crack 300?
 

 

 


Tue 03/09/2010

 
RATING:   COMMENTS (0)  
parkrun through the eyes of a student


 
I found out about parkrun through my course which is Sport and exercise science at Leeds University. We had the opportunity to put ourselves forward to become one of the parkrun race directors; I didn’t go for that position but have been able to be involved in other ways.

I have volunteered as a steward and have also ran the 5km race after signing up on the website. The first time I went, I didn’t really know what to expect as I had never been to a parkrun event before although I had heard some great things about it. My first experience was extremely positive, the atmosphere was amazing and there was such a buzz around Hyde Park as people started gathering and warming up before the race.

There is a real sense of community at the event and I think it’s a great way to integrate and mix different ages, backgrounds and abilities. As a student, I find it really refreshing because it takes you out of the student bubble that you so easily find yourself in and allows you to meet adults and different members of the community. I have never once come away from the event without meeting and chatting to at least two new people!

Running is a great way of bringing all sorts of people together with a common goal and this can easily be seen at the event. One of the things I love about it is no matter what your fitness level, you’re made to feel welcome and there is so much support and encouragement from everyone. It’s a brilliant way of promoting fitness within the community; I have seen people progress from being able to only just walk the 5km to being able to run it!

The fact that parkrun is free of charge makes it accessible to everyone especially to us students who haven’t got much spare cash. It was really encouraging to see more students at the event last time I was there, instead of lying in bed which is the image that most people have of students on a Saturday at 9am! The event is so well organised and your times get sent to you not long after the race which spurs you on to want to train and beat your time for the next race.

Things like the Santa dash where people dress up as Santa to run the race and team relay runs are great ways of keeping people interested and a great way of linking fitness with fun! After every race people are welcome to go the local cafe for a nice relax and the first time I volunteered at the event, everyone went to the university cafe for some porridge and a small awards ceremony for prizes such as ‘most improved runner’. I think all these small touches add something extra to the event and bring people together.
parkrun puts a fun and excitement into fitness and builds a real sense of community and I think is a brilliant event that should be supported.

Sophie Cassidy
University of Leeds
Sport and Exercise Science BSc
Level 2
 

 


Mon 03/08/2010

 
RATING:   COMMENTS (0)  
Event 125 Update


 

 The results have been completed and sent through to head office and should be online soon!!! Head office is having issues with the uploading results, they hope to have it fixed soon however until then you will not be able to see todays results online. Thanks to all the volunteers and well done to all the runners, another successful event!!

 


Sat 03/06/2010

 
RATING:   COMMENTS (0)  
laptop request


 

leeds parkrun is looking for a new laptop to help with results, if any parkrunners have an old laptop (which has at least 2 GB RAM and Windows 7) that they are replacing then please e-mail us and let us know!

 


Fri 03/05/2010

 
RATING:   COMMENTS (0)  
March Results Fix & Barcodes


 

 Dear leeds parkrunner,

 

Due to a few IT issues we have been unable to stay on top of all the corrections you have sent in to us. We apologise for the delay and we have decided to put an end to it once and for all. Throughout the month of March we are going to try to fix all of the results that are incorrect from previous weeks. If you know of any errors that you would like correcting then emailparkrun@leeds.ac.uk and ensure the email subject reads “March Results Fix”.

 

Our software allows us to update results from event 117 (2nd January 2010), excluding events 119 (23rd January 2010) and 123 (20th February 2010) for some reason unbeknown to ourselves. If your correction falls on one of these dates or prior to event 117 please still send them in and we will do our best to rectify, although we cannot guarantee.

 

The usual midweek updates will still take place during this time and I ask that you send us any discrepancies with the results by the Tuesday after the event at the latest, with a subject that reads “Midweek Update”. After the “March Results Fix” the only opportunity to correct a result will via a Midweek update, failure to send corrections in by the following Tuesday after the event will result in us being unable to process any changes.

 

On a lighter and more exciting note, leeds parkrun is embracing the new barcode system!

We have set a date for the change over which is Saturday 13th March.

This will mean all participants must present their barcode to the event’s administration desk at the finish. Unfortunately if you do not have your barcode then your time will not show up on the results pages of the website.

 

It’s dead easy to obtain; please see the guide below:

 

Through the newsletter

 

 

  • The weekly parkrun newsletter has a link to your barcode on the right-hand side under "Your profile".
  • The newsletter is sent every week on Wednesday evening.
  • So find a recent newsletter in your mailbox, then click the link to get to your barcode.

 

Through any email correspondents

 

 

  • The e-mails that are sent to runners and volunteers has a link to your barcode in the 'footer' at the bottom.
  • The e-mails are sent every week to runners and helpers.
  • So find an e-mail from your most recent participation, then click the link to get to your barcode.

 

Here are a few tips on protecting your barcode courtesy of the Glasgow parkrunners

 

 

Cheers


 


Thu 03/04/2010

 
RATING:   COMMENTS (0)  
< BACK  1 of 11  NEXT >
  

BBC Athletics News