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Wimbledon Common parkrun - Event No. 264 - 28 January 2012 |
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Lovell, Causer’s First Time Wins and Banana Man’s Sweet Success
We had two new winners today although top billing this week goes to Banana Man, Ian Doig, who’s raising money for Whizz Kidz in this year’s Virgin London Marathon. There was a little confusion at the briefing as the rumour had gone round beforehand that it was Ian Higgins who was about to turn up as a banana. Ian H may like bright colours but that would have been taking thins a little too far.
Anyhow, Ian Doig in his bright yellow banana skin threw down the gauntlet by challenging the rest of the field to beat him. The forfeit for finishing behind him? A pound in his Whizz Kidz bucket. Now anyone who has clocked Ian’s times recently would know that with a field of over 270 he was likely to do well. What he couldn’t have known was that he would hit the jackpot. To quote Ian: ‘You won't believe it when I tell you that I raised £1,150.00. Someone contributed £1000.00 (anonymously) into my just giving page’. That is a fantastic result and very generous of the kind donor. Now, we all want to know where the lottery ticket was bought.
In the men’s event, Mike Causer (VM40-44), of Thames Hare & Hounds (pictured), returned after last week’s third place debut to claim first place in 16:56. Mike’s time was a PB and he also achieved the best age graded performance of the day. Ed Mezzeti (SM30-34) of Oxford City AC, was second in 17:53. and first timer Nathan Martin (SM25-29) of Holmfirth Harriers AC, was third in 18:20.
Current standings in the Men's annual points competition:
Charles Hampden-Smith (Hercules Wimbledon AC) 379 pts.
George Longworth 369 pts.
Ian Higgins (Thames Hare & Hounds) 346 pts.
In the women’s section debutante Sophie Lovell (SW25-29) of Leeds City AC, was first (34th overall) in 21:52. Rebecca Pickard (VW35-39) was second (35th overall) in 21:52. Maria Halley (SW25-29) was third (39th overall) in 21:52.
Current standings in the Women's annual points competition:
Chelley Addis 382 pts.
Jo F Thompson 349 pts.
Maria Kenny 312 pts.
Many of you will have noticed that this week’s times were somewhat awry at some points. (I would like to believe that the first three ladies home all crossed the finishing line at the same time but sadly it didn’t happen. That would have made some photo.) Apologies, there was a total cock up with the timer so we have had to manually enter times based on the limited information we have. If you have them, and your time is not correct, please would you email through your times and finishing positions so that we can update the records.
The following runners recorded the best Age Grade scores:
Mike Causer (VM40-44) was graded 80.61 % for the time 16:56 (first overall).
Terry O'Neill (VM55-59) was graded 79.70 % for the time 19:57 (13th overall).
Richard Evans (VM50-54) was graded 78.04 % for the time 18:54 (8th overall).
This week there were 276 runners, of whom 52 were first timers and 32 recorded new Personal Bests. Well done to Matthew McDonald who achieved a PB on his 29th event, Philip Butler on his 37th and Mark Hedderley on his 36th.
Congratulation also go to Andrew Fickling who completed his 100th, to Sally Jones, John Hudspith and Rebecca Anthony for whom this week was their 50th event and to Paul Rogers who ran his 10th event. The pile of outstanding 100, 50 and 10 Club t-shirts continues to grow. The park wardens are going to have a fit when the container lorry arrives in the car park.
Thanks as ever to this week’s volunteers who included Anais El Kadiri, Anthony Eastaway, Carol McCormack, Charles Hampden-Smith, David Pennell, Hilda Mulrooney, Nicola El Kadiri, Olenka El Kadiri, Oscar Leyenda, Peter Brunnen, Phil Tosh and Rebecca Emerson
Representatives of 16 different athletics clubs took part. Wimbledon parkrun started on 6th January 2007, and since then 6,120 different runners, including participants from 265 athletics clubs, have completed 36,798 runs covering a total distance of 183,990 km, and there have been 7,893 new Personal Bests.
There seems to be a band wagon rolling to see how many Wimbledon parkrunners we can get to enter the Abingdon marathon later this year. There is much discussion about how to combine training with a social life. Let’s cut to the chase. Why not just enter the Marathon du Medoc - 23 wine tastings over 42 kilometers!
The Women's course record is held by Charlotte Best who ran in a time of 17:08 on 11th December 2010 (event number 206).
The Men's course record is held by Chris Parr who ran in a time of 15:04 on 23rd April 2011 (event number 224).
The Age Grade course record is held by Jane Davies who recorded a 92.99 % run (21:24) on 29th January 2011 (event number 212).
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Wimbledon Common parkrun Weekly Report - Event No. 263 - 21 January 2012 |
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A Hercules Wimbledon Double
Not too much to report this week. The roving reporters have gone to ground. Either that, or this week’s gossip was not for printing and as I have no wish to bore you silly with tales from my week on the slopes (it was great, since you ask), I’ll just get on with the results.
Despite the return of the muddy conditions, Kieran White (SM35-39) of Hercules Wimbledon AC (pictured), was first in 16:29 – a new PB and his third win in 5 appearances. Josh Mutch (SM20-24) of Brighton & Hove City AC, was second in 17:08 having recorded 3 previous wins. First timer Mike Causer (VM40-44) of Thames Hare & Hounds, was third in 17:22.
Current standings in the Men's annual points competition:
Charles Hampden-Smith (Hercules Wimbledon AC) 300 pts.
Nick McKay 290 pts.
In the women’s event, Claire Grima (SW30-34) of Hercules Wimbledon AC, strolled to victory (22nd overall) in 20:02 to maintain her impressive record at Wimbledon parkrun – her 25th win in 30th appearances. It was a very close race for second place with two first timers looking to make their mark. Jennifer Munday (SW30-34) was second (40th overall) in 21:09 with Natalie Middleton (SW30-34) was just a second behind in third place (41st overall) in 21:10.
Current standings in the Women's annual points competition:
Carol McCormack 300 pts.
Sophie McKay 289 pts.
Chelley Addis 285 pts.
The following runners recorded the best Age Grade scores:
Oscar Millard (JM14) was graded 81.41 % for the time 20:05 (23rd overall).
Kieran White (SM35-39) was graded 79.98 % for the time 16:29 (first overall).
Mike Causer (VM40-44) was graded 78.60 % for the time 17:22 (third overall).
This week there were 273 runners, of whom 36 were first timers and 33 recorded new Personal Bests. Among this week’s notable performers with new PBs were Ian Doig, Richard Pates, Trevor Mitchell, Philip Butler and Richard Hurrell. Representatives of 15 different athletics clubs took part.
Many thanks to this week’s volunteers who included Andres Falconer, Carol McCormack, Charles Hampden-Smith, Finbarr Hutcheson, John Philip Carter, Oscar Leyenda, Pete Mulholland, Peter Brunnen, Rebecca Emerson, Samantha Pickford and Simon Woodley.
Next week Andrew Fickling is a 100, John Hudspith and Windmilers’ Sally Jane Jones are due to run their 50th parkruns.
Wimbledon parkrun started on 6th January 2007, and since then 6,068 different runners, including participants from 263 athletics clubs, have completed 36,522 runs covering a total distance of 182,610 km, and there have been 7,861 new Personal Bests.
The Women's course record is held by Charlotte Best who ran in a time of 17:08 on 11th December 2010 (event number 206). The Men's course record is held by Chris Parr who ran in a time of 15:04 on 23rd April 2011 (event number 224). The Age Grade course record is held by Jane Davies who recorded a 92.99 % run (21:24) on 29th January 2011 (event number 212).
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Wimbledon Common parkrun Weekly Report - Event No. 262 - 14 January 2012 |
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Jules is the Weall Deal
Conditions were cold & frosty but otherwise quite good. The temperature was sub-zero (-5oC) but the Common was utterly beautiful on the Common. Frost was clinging to everything at ground level - and as the sun hit it only that small area melted. Needless to say, the ground was firm and not slippery as in recent weeks. Both Clive Scammell and Peter Brunnen have some great pictures – take a look. Clive as ever has managed to capture the emotion of the moment in his photos that not every runner will appreciate and Peter's got some great shots alongside the big pond.
We had a record attendance of 308 runners. As a result the course was very busy on the first lap, particularly the first two sides before Parkside, making it difficult to overtake at times – but then again I have that problem every week! It possibly helped some people run the first kilometre a bit slower and maybe produced better times overall. There again, I guess most people who were held up in a bottle neck will think it slowed them down.
On the other hand…..there were lots of pb’s – 50 in all, including 4th placed Nick McKay. Looks like Nick’s marathon training is already beginning to pay off. He was even seen running the 2 odd miles from his house as a warm up for this week’s event, Looks as if he’s taking the points table quite seriously this year and Ian may need to raise his game! Although it’s still the volunteers that lead the way.
Phil and Annie Tosh (finish constructors) went AWOL but fortunately Francesca took the situation in hand and took over funnel responsibility. This has taken her to the top of the female points table! Top of the gents’ table are two more volunteers – master baker John Sabourin and one of Wimbledon’s busiest paparazzi, Clive Scammell. While we’re on the subject, Peter Brunnen is desperate for some more photographers. People don’t need to be experts and only need a standard automatic camera. Peter will deal with the uploading to the website. So if anyone can help out Peter will be delighted to hear from them.
Jeremy Purnell was awarded the Dec sweatshop prize for having volunteered 8 times in 2011. Well done Jeremy and a word to the wise – it really does pay to volunteer!!
Men's placings:
James Savage (SM25-29) of Aldershot, Farnham & District AC, was first in 16:44 – his 10th win in 14 appearances. Emlyn Christie (SM35-39) of Wimbledon Windmilers, was second in 16:58, having recorded 1 previous win and delighted to go under 17 mins with a new PB. Eoin O'Connell (VM40-44) of Serpentine RC, was third in 18:04. Eion has 11 previous wins to his name.
Current standing in the Men's annual points competition:
John Sabourin (Wimbledon Windmilers) 200 pts.
Clive Scammell (Unattached) 200 pts.
Women's placings:
Jules Weall (SW25-29) of London Heathside Runners AC, was first (39th overall) in 20:42 on her first appearance. Betony Garner (SW30-34) (Unattached) was second (50th overall) in 21:03. Alice Anderson (SW25-29) (Unattached) was third (66th overall) in 21:24.
Current standings in the Women's annual points competition:
Carol McCormack (Unattached) 200 pts.
Francesca Carter (Wimbledon Windmilers) 200 pts.
Sophie McKay (Unattached) 193 pts.
The following runners recorded the best Age Grade scores:
Liam O'Hare (VM60-64) was graded 87.51 % for the time 18:49 (13th overall).
Terry O'Neill (VM55-59) was graded 85.25 % for the time 18:39 (8th overall).
Richard Evans (VM50-54) was graded 79.30 % for the time 18:36 (6th overall).
This week there were 308 runners, of whom 46 were first timers and 50 recorded new Personal Bests. Representatives of 22 different athletics clubs took part.
There were some interesting observations on some of the runners finishing between 21 and 22 mins. We are not sure where the Esquevillas family hail from but three of them pitched up all running in the 21s. One of them, Luis, was one of a trio of runners who all finished within 2 secs of each other and all who all recorded PBs. The others were Hugh Woolhouse and Helen St John. Hugh’s wife Lucy was only a few seconds ahead. Looks like there will be some more stiff family competition to look forward to.
Further down the field, Ruth Benzimra was a first timer visiting from Bruerton - though she travels the parkrun spectrum - and we learn from James Ellis (who's met her marathon running) that she's run 150 Marathons - and by April this year will have run for six years without missing a day running! John and Francesca Carter spoke to her as they were setting up the funnel and hopefully will have sent her home with good vibes about us southern parkrunners!
And now a couple of public announcements……
With the bumper numbers, we ask people to park their cars properly in the car park – not on the verges or in disabled spots. We are likely to be closed down by the rangers if the car park is abused… and this is a serious problem with the increasing number of runners each week. One suggestion – other than running or cycling here would be to park on the other side of the common and run through as a gentle warm up for the event.
Oh yes, and we had quite a lot of people who didn't bring their barcodes and asked to be added to the results. There are also an increasing number of people who either remember their number and write it down at the end or have the code on their phone. This makes life easy for them but more difficult for us. Up until now we have tried to be as accommodating as possible but particularly with rising numbers we will have to stick with the parkrun rule of "no paper barcode, no recorded result". Please help us to help you.
Apart from thanking all this week’s volunteers especially given the freezing conditions, special thanks go to this week’s two roving reporters – Francesca Carter and Charles Hampden-Smith.
Wimbledon parkrun started on 6th January 2007, and since then 6,032 different runners, including participants from 263 athletics clubs, have completed 36,249 runs covering a total distance of 181,245 km, and there have been 7,826 new Personal Bests.
The Women's course record is held by Charlotte Best who ran in a time of 17:08 on 11th December 2010 (event number 206). The Men's course record is held by Chris Parr who ran in a time of 15:04 on 23rd April 2011 (event number 224).
The Age Grade course record is held by Jane Davies who recorded a 92.99 % run (21:24) on 29th January 2011 (event number 212).
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Wimbledon Common parkrun Weekly Report - Event 261 - 7 January 2012 |
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James Robertson Does Justice to Earlier Promise
Happy New Year to everyone at Wimbledon parkrun and a happy 5th Birthday. Someone complained there was no birthday cake but didn’t he notice, every Saturday at Wimbledon is a celebration of cakes and flapjack courtesy of John Sabourin. In this year’s Wimbledon New Year’s Honours John was awarded a bottle of wine for his services to confectionery. Other awards went to Sue Rothwell for the most appearances in 2010; Andy Weir and Claire Grima for the most numbers of wins; Carol McCormack and Pete Mulholland for their near constant presence as volunteers; Lucy Woolhouse for winning last year’s women’s annual points competition and Nick McKay – or was it Ian Higgins? – for the top spot in the men’s points competition. And remember you can get maximum points in this year’s competition each time you volunteer up to three times. Just take a look at this week’s leader boards – all volunteers. Phil Tosh is no longer the runner up.
In another sign of the New Year we had 35 new resolutions turn up to swell numbers to 293. Highest finisher of the newcomers was Tom Graham from Basingstoke.
Last week, James Robertson (pictured) finished a close second on his first Wimbledon parkrun having taken a rather wide detour around the cones on the second lap. He promised to return and win next time. This week he kept that promise.
Men's placings:
James Robertson (SM20-24) of Kingston AC & Polytechnic Harriers, was first in a new PB of 18:05, his first win in second appearance. Nick McKay (SM30-34) was second in 18:34. Matt Hales (SM30-34) was third in 18:37.
Current standing in the Men's annual points competition:
Philip Tosh (Wimbledon Windmilers) 100 pts.
Clive Scammell 100 pts.
John Carter (Wimbledon Windmilers) 100 pts.
Women's placings:
Geraldine Hellings (VW50-54) of Wimbledon Windmilers, was first (42nd overall) in 21:21, her 4th win in 131 appearances. Sophie McKay (SW30-34) (Unattached) was second (45th overall) in 21:29. She has had 3 previous wins. Lucy Woolhouse (VW50-54) was third (56th overall) in 21:52.
Current standing in the Women's annual points competition:
Clare Benka 100 pts.
Hannah Merriman 100 pts.
Francesca Carter (Wimbledon Windmilers) 100 pts.
The following runners recorded the best Age Grade scores:
Liam O'Hare (VM60-64) was graded 87.05 % for the time 18:55 (7th overall).
Grenville Tuck (VM60-64) was graded 82.64 % for the time 19:35 (14th overall).
Geraldine Hellings (VW50-54) was graded 78.53 % for the time 21:21 (42nd overall).
Many thanks to this week’s volunteers who included Carol McCormack, Charles Hampden-Smith, Charlie Snow, Clare Benka, Clive Scammell, Francesca Carter, Hannah Merriman, James Wallace, John Carter, John Sabourin and Phil Tosh.
Many of you will have started your training for the London Marathon this week. While it is not the role of parkrun to provide advice I do have one word of warning. BEWARE CHRISTMAS TREES!! Having been jettisoned on 12th Night they are now stalking the pavements lying in wait for the unwary, taking on a life of their own in the wind. On dimly lit pavements they are almost impossible to avoid. I speak from experience.
This week there were 293 runners, of whom 35 were first timers and 15 recorded new Personal Bests. Representatives of 21 different athletics clubs took part.
Wimbledon parkrun started on 6th January 2007, and since then 5,985 different runners, including participants from 261 athletics clubs, have completed 35,941 runs covering a total distance of 179,705 km, and there have been 7,776 new Personal Bests.
The Women's course record is held by Charlotte Best who ran in a time of 17:08 on 11th December 2010 (event number 206).
The Men's course record is held by Chris Parr who ran in a time of 15:04 on 23rd April 2011 (event number 224).
The Age Grade course record is held by Jane Davies who recorded a 92.99 % run (21:24) on 29th January 2011 (event number 212).
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Wimbledon Common parkrun Weekly Report - Event No. 260 - 31 December 2011 |
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Debutantes’ Ball
Out of the mud and puddles this week emerged three newcomers to contest the top spots in two close finishes to this week’s mens’ and ladies’ events. The men’s finish might have been even closer if second placed James Robertson hadn’t gone walkabout round the cones on the second lap (the photos tell it all!). There was an even more exciting finish in the ladies event with the first two recorded at the same time.
Men's placings:
James Michael Eden (SM35-39) (Unattached) was first in 18:08 on his first appearance. James Robertson (SM20-24) of Kingston AC & Polytechnic Harriers, making his Wimbledon parkrun debut was second in 18:14. Nick McKay (SM30-34) was third in 19:04.
Current standing in the Men's annual points competition:
Ian Higgins (Thames Hare & Hounds) 4326 pts.
Nick McKay 4038 pts.
Charles Hampden-Smith (Hercules Wimbledon AC) 3764 pts.
Women's placings:
Zoe Shannon (SW20-24) of Dorking & Mole Valley AC, was first (10th overall) in 19:40 her 4th win in 5 appearances. Newcomer Saskia Millard (JW14) of Herne Hill Harriers, was second (11th overall) in the same time - 19:40. Previous winner Amy Aronson (SW25-29) of Hercules Wimbledon AC, was third (19th overall) in 20:17.
Current standing in the Women's annual points competition:
Lucy Woolhouse (Unattached) 4483 pts.
Sophie McKay (Unattached) 3945 pts.
Annie Tosh (Wimbledon Windmilers) 3718 pts.
The following runners recorded the best Age Grade scores:
Liam O'Hare (VM60-64) was graded 85.91 % for the time 19:10 (4th overall).
Saskia Millard (JW14) was graded 84.58 % for the time 19:40 (11th overall).
Grenville Tuck (VM60-64) was graded 81.53 % for the time 19:51 (12th overall).
Here’s a little snippet courtesy of Pete Mulholland….’There are many ways of celebrating the New Year but five races over the two days was a bit unusual to say the least but that was the means taken by Charles Hampden-Smith. If competing in the Wimbledon Common parkrun and the HW/Lauriston 5-mile Multi Terrain wasn’t enough on New Year’s Eve, Charles then proceeded on the following day to compete in three more parkruns at Bushy Park, Nonsuch Park and Riddlesdown’
Congratulations to Estelle Clark who completed her 50th parkrun this week!!
We had a complaint this week from a lady who was walking the common with a friend. I have no idea what precipitated the outburst but one of our runners apparently told this lady’s friend in no uncertain terms that she should ‘go back to China’. Her friend who is from Hong Kong, has lived here for 8 years and says that in all her time here she has never been spoken to like that. If you ever read this sir, I’m sure you know who you are and I would guess a few runners around you know. The point is that this is totally unacceptable. Parkrun is meant to be a community event and, above all, fun. Apart from being totally wrong such outbursts reflect badly on the event as a whole.
And while I’m doing the grumpy old man bit, please, if you are only intending to run one lap (which is fine), do not run through the finish line as this throws out the finish positions.
Returning to a lighter note, thanks as ever to this week’s volunteers who included Amabel Watkins, Annie Tosh, Carol McCormack, Charles Hampden-Smith, Chris Rebbeck, Ian Higgins, John Carter, Keith MacIntosh, Mariza Cheing, Matthew Salisbury, Pete Mulholland, Peter Brunnen, Peter Justin Collins and Philip Tosh.
This week there were 205 runners, of whom 23 were first timers and 11 recorded new Personal Bests. Representatives of 21 different athletics clubs took part.
Finally…..Next week is our 5th Birthday!!! Wimbledon parkrun started on 6th January 2007, and since then 5,950 different runners, including participants from 260 athletics clubs, have completed 35,648 runs covering a total distance of 178,240 km, and there have been 7,761 new Personal Bests.
The Women's course record is held by Charlotte Best who ran in a time of 17:08 on 11th December 2010 (event number 206).
The Men's course record is held by Chris Parr who ran in a time of 15:04 on 23rd April 2011 (event number 224).
The Age Grade course record is held by Jane Davies who recorded a 92.99 % run (21:24) on 29th January 2011 (event number 212).
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