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Saturday 12th May Event #141 |
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Woodbank parkrunners have now been running for 4,861 hours. That's over 200 days, or nearly 20,000 episode's worth of Coronation Street. Think of all of those feet, pounding on the paths of Vernon and Woodbank Park and that poor hill, slammed a little further into the ground each week.
Unfortunately, it never seems to feel that the slope has become any gentler, particularly the second time round, and especially when the sun is in your eyes as it was this fine Saturday morning. The weather was full of promises of summer, which it's sadly not forecast to keep, as 164 runners, with varying motivations, adorned their best Adidas gear and aimed for a personal best. The Adidas mention is no joke; it does seem that since we announced that Adidas will be attending the parkrun on Saturday May 26th, more people have been practising dressing to impress. And with some runners having three stripes adorning legs and arms, 46 out of 164 managed a personal best - 28% of Saturday's runners. This is possibly a record for Woodbank parkrun, but the records will have to be checked! We are nearing another record as well; the best attendance currently stands at 183 runners, only 19 more than this week. Will we break this record on May 26th, when we have on the spot prizes from Adidas and CAKE? Definitely the day to bring a friend.
Or even a family member. But be warned: this may result in some serious competition, which we had once again this week with father and son, Joe and David Ardern vying for second and third place. Last week, Joe pipped his father to the number 2 barcode by a few seconds. This week, dad showed him how it was done with a new PB of 17:39, 25 seconds ahead of Joe. We'll be watching for next week to see if Joe can beat his own PB of 17:29 and leave his dad in the dust.
First place, however, was taken by Adrian Nutter, in his first parkrun since November 19th last year. It was a new PB for him too, knocking off a sweet four seconds to cross the finish line in 17:36, three seconds ahead of David.
Jonny Stewart had a good first parkrun, coming in sixth position with 19:03.
Helen Fraser, Lou Harrison and Hilary West battled it out for the top three spots in the ladies' table. Helen edged a little closer to her PB as she came in first, 42nd place overall, with 23:12. Lou beat Hilary into second by just 5 seconds. Siobhan Thompson, Jonna McFadden, Kate Ann Wilson, Shelley Jones and Sarah Wood all managed PB's, which bodes well for the women getting further up the table. Sarah knocked 30 seconds off her PB, which will hopefully cheer her up after getting the wrong recorded time last week! She is currently top of the points table overall; a good hundred points above Estelle Chapman.
The men's points table is a close affair at the top, with only five points separating Anthony Naulty (3,155) and Paul Collins (3,150). A good tip for those getting a headache as they look up from lower down the table is apparently to volunteer early on in the season. You get 100 points for volunteering - the same as coming first in your gender - which could give you a nice head start.
Animals are an overlooked part of our parkrun. Generally, we may be too busy trying to catch our breathe up the hill, or trying to pass in the person in front; or in my case, working out how far I've got left before I can collapse. Yet we get the benefit of running every Saturday in one of the prettiest parts of Stockport, with the birds, squirrels, and the monument to the animals that took part in the wars. And there are also the dogs, a couple of whom participate in one way or another.
Charlie, who apparently looks like the dog from the Simpsons, can be frequently seen dragging his owner off the course to investigate a seriously important smell. Despite these breaks - which often occur going up the hill - he still manages a better time with his owner, Tom McFadden, than I do. Charlie warms up for his weekly parkrun by chasing squirrels. For those trying to break the 29 minute barrier, this could be a good tip.
Most runners will have been greeted by Sasha Holland the German shepherd, whose paws are apparently too big to type messages on Facebook. Sasha has a soft spot for treats and licking sweat from people's legs. She would like more people to attend parkrun with dog treats in their pockets. There's also Fox, sometimes seen with run organiser Tony. Fox is enduring the early teenage year where he wants to be part of everything, and doesn't understand the concept of 'sit', 'heel' and 'stay', managing to pull Kath's shoulders out of their sockets. They do say dogs are like their owners!
Next Saturday is the warm up for anyone taking part in the Manchester 10k on Sunday 20th. A gentle parkrun is still good for you, apparently... I'm running my first 10k, and did try to get out of parkrunning on the Saturday with the notion that I should rest beforehand but didn't succeed! Good luck to all runners; whether it's trying to get a new PB, or just complete the course on Saturday, or the same on the Sunday. Let us know how you do, and I can have something else to include in the run report!
See you next Saturday at 9am!
Sarah M
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Run Report Event #140 |
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122 pairs of legs took to the Stockport Harriers racetrack with determination, strength and probably one or two hangovers, on the morning of Cinco de Mayo. Eight brave first timers ran up the Hill twice, and 35 individuals celebrated a new personal best. The weather was mild, with the echo of a slight chill in the May breeze and the paths were less muddy than the previous week. The heady days of summer cannot be too far away, but even without the (hopefully) warmer weather, many a brow was dampened with sweat as it leapt across the finish line.
And first across that line was Christopher Evans, participating in his first parkrun in just 17:24. Second and third were Joe and David Ardern, with 17:50 and 18:10 respectively. It was David’s 51st parkrun, so hopefully he collected his t-shirt from the club house, as we have had a delivery! David and Joe both recorded best age graded scores as well – and if you’re not sure what the age graded score means there is an explanation on the results pages. Well done too to Beryl Normansell, who had the best age graded score for her category.
Estelle Chapman was first for the ladies; her first win in 51 appearances. She did it with a personal best of 24:27. Naomi Sinclair was just 20 seconds behind, narrowly beating Kate Ann Wilson into third by just one second.
‘PB Pam’ Mottershead achieved yet another PB, knocking a rather impressive one minute 7 seconds from her time two weeks ago. The thing is now, Pam, we’re expecting a PB every week. No pressure! Another PB shout-out needs to go to the other Mottershead, Rebekah, who reduced her best time by 40 seconds.
Andrew Connor, Oliver Mason, Park Corner and Christian Eagle all finished the race within 7 seconds of each other, and all four got a new PB. We’ll be watching for next week to see if the same thing happens again!
Parkrun really does make a difference to a lot of people. Emma Glen was parkrunner of the month for February, beginning parkrun again late last year and has reduced her time since then by ten minutes. Emma says that the award was the first she’s won for anything sporty, as she claims not to ‘be sporty’! We disagree! Parkrun is great not just for those people who are ‘runners’, but for those who want to have a go for a variety of reasons, where the main race is
against yourself and getting a new PB.
Parkrunner of the month for April was the brilliant Bev Sellen, who continued to do the parkrun even with her arm in a sling after dislocating her shoulder. Bev is someone else who is an inspiration to others; beginning parkrun by just walking one lap, then building up. She has mentioned she’s using the voucher to buy some trainers with wings – if you find any, reserve a pair for me as you won’t need them soon!
There was an issue with placings and timings this week; Tony has narrowed it down to those who finished 60-80. If those people who know they’ve got the wrong time can let Tony know via either our facebook page, or by emailing woodbankoffice@parkrun.com it would help us to sort it out. You just can’t get the staff…
Speaking of staff, thank you to the people who volunteer to marshal the run. The knowledge that there are a couple of people at the top of that hill, ready to shout at you if you’re not running when they see you always manages to get my legs working again at least. There was a lot of encouragement from all the volunteers on Saturday, so thank you. Parkrun does depend on people volunteering two or three times a year, and it is fun – you see a side to the race you normally miss. Big thanks too, to Pamela Sharp for taking photos. You can see her pics on Facebook and on this site, and if you look closely, you’ll even see some people smiling as they run! If you’d like to volunteer, drop a line to Tony at woodbankhelpers@parkrun.com. A reminder email goes out, and its mentioned on Facebook, and on the website, plus the rota goes up in the club house. It is possible to swap your date as well. Plus, you get the bonus of 100 points without having to run up that hill. Twice.
The Offerton 10k Park Race takes place at 7.30pm on July 4th, if you fancy the challenge. Tony mentioned something about bringing the forms for it next week, but they should be available online too for anyone brave enough to do that hill, plus a longer one. Another HUGE event takes place on Saturday May 26th, when we have Adidas at the Woodbank parkrun. There will be CAKE provided by those generous cooks among you and other goodies, plus the chance for some on the spot prizes from Adidas themselves. Make sure you’re wearing your Adidas running gear that day as it may help you in the prize stakes!
If anyone has anything you’d like me to mention in these run reports, or on Twitter, please do get in touch either via the Woodbank parkrun emails, through Facebook or our Twitter which is @WoodbankParkrun
Hope everyone has a good week and see you next Saturday at 9am for event #141!
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Woodbank parkrun Report, Event 139 |
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Run Report for Event #139
After a week of torrential downpours, the morning of Saturday 28th May managed to cease with the rain and even dry up on the ground slightly. One hundred and eleven runners (hopefully) brought their barcodes and paced their way around the park.
The day also brought about Woodbank parkrun's 2,500th personal best, with it coming from Lynne Taylor as she knocked 44 seconds off her previous week's time. Christian Eagle managed his fifth consecutive PB, whilst Jonna McFadden got his 8th PB out of 10 runs! In total, there were 27 hard earnt PB's. Well done to Josie Lynch on hers and for being so excited about it via Twitter!
Thirteen runners tried the Woodbank parkrun for the first time today - we hope the hill hasn't put you off next week, Andy Connor! Gavin Astin was first for the men, with 18:25. Gavin was also top with his age-graded performance. Richard Brown was second, with a new PB of 19:18, beating Paul Collins into third by just 10 seconds.
For the ladies, Stockport Harriers runner, Rosa Chrystie-Lowe ran first in 21:48; this was her 6th win in 12 appearances at Woodbank. Helen Fraser was second with 23:51. Estelle Chapman and Ruth Beach completed their 50th parkruns - that'll be new t-shirts for them! Michael Bramhall is now just one away from t-shirt time - now there's an incentive to be there next Saturday at 9am!
There's a bit of a battle between Paul Collins and Anthony Naulty to be top of the men's points table, with just three points separating them. Sarah Wood is at the top of the women's, with 3239 points. Just as an aside, Anthony is top of the men's with 2969; a noticeable difference between the men and women here! Remember you can earn 100 points by volunteering if ever you can't run due to a bigger race the following day, such as that minor event that happened in London last Sunday. Well done to Sarah Leah and the all the other parkrunners who managed the 26.2.
And of 'minor' events, we have one here on 26th May, when parkrun sponsors Adidas will be at Woodbank with some of their employees! Might be an idea to where your Adidas kit that day!
Woodbank parkrun organiser Tony Ward found an excellent excuse to not improve his position on the points table today as he's participating in the Manchester Marathon tomorrow. Good luck to him, Martin Fleetwood and to any other parkrunners taking part; let us know how you get on!
One last thing, you can now follow us on Twitter at @WoodbankParkrun
See you next Saturday at 9am!
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Special Adidas Event |
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Date: May 26th at 9:00am
A note for you diaries. On the 26th May we will be hosting a special event on behalf of Adidias. A number of their employees will be running on that day to help celebrate the company's commitment to sport and raise awareness in this Olympic 2012 year.
Just a though, it might be a good idea to wear your adidas kit on that day. 
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Sweatshop Parkrunner of the Month - January 2012 |
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 Congratulations to Mark Lee Clough.
January 2012 Sweatshop Parkrunner of the Month
Well done to Mark on becoming the first Woodbank Parkrunner of the Month in 2012. His first run at Woodbank was in June 2011, he has been a Woodbank regular ever since and has seen his times improve by over 6 minutes. Mark has also given up his Saturday mornings to help out as a volunteer.
Thanks for all your support, enjoy the new shoes.
The Woodbank Team.
Sweatshop are a major sponsor of the parkrun organisation and every month generously provide this prize for a runner of any standard who has performed well in the month and shown overall improvement and commitment to the parkrun. Thanks to Sweatshop owner Hugh Brasher for his continued support of our work in grassroots athletics.
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