Report writer: Rhona Stainthorp

Photographer: Simon Light

Celebrating International Women’s Day

Saturday was celebration day. Of course, parkrunners know that every Saturday is celebration day. For us at Bracknell we had the added celebration that, despite the rain earlier in the week we had been given the go-ahead to run in Great Hollands this week. It’s so good to return home even though the big mud baths were still very much in evidence. As usual the selfless volunteers had been out with flour and marker cones to ensure the route was clear if not mud free.

To celebrate International Women’s Day, we had a group of female pacers and Lisa doing a run-walk. Amazing to even attempt to stick to target times with the route as it was.

And then, a celebration tinged with sadness. Naomi once again graced the climbing frame as run director – but sadly for Bracknell this was to be her last captaining of the ship.

Naomi has run 209 parkruns in 24 different parks and chalked up 120 volunteering events. That means for at least every 2 runs she has acted as a volunteer. As this nostalgic meander through the photo archive shows she was there even before run #1 and has been a major part of the great success that is Bracknell parkrun.   We all owe her our grateful thanks but hope to see her running the course before she departs.

Before #1

Run #1

Naomi briefing first timers

Running in a group

And friendly rivalry

As usual the organisation was impeccable and to these 30 volunteers go further thanks: Alice FORBES Barry HILLER Doug BRADY Eve HANCOCK Evie CORNES Evie KING Heather SINCLAIR Jackie HUTCHINGS Jamie LOVELL Jane LIGHT Jessica BLACK John AITKEN John BAKER Joshua MELVIN Judith GUEST Katherine PRIESTLEY Kirstie KING Lisa PLUMMER Mike GRENHAM Naomi AITKEN Niall HUTCHINSON Rhona STAINTHORP Rhonda HARROWER  Richard COOPE Robert GUEST Sian MCBRIDE  Simon LIGHT  Stephanie PARKES Tessa HABBERLEY Wendy CUDMORE.

If you feel moved to volunteer, it’s the easiest thing in the world. Just click on: https://www.parkrun.org.uk/bracknell/futureroster then choose your day and job over the next six weeks – with more chances to come every week. After 25 “volunteerings” you will get your purple shirt. A nice choice of parkrun to match volunteering with the purple of women’s day.

Saturday was relatively mild with not a drop of rain, so a good day to begin a parkrun history and we were pleased to welcome 24 people who made their debut with us. They were joined by a further 17 parkrunners from around the country including Manchester, Pontypridd, Marlborough and many from closer to home.

In total there were 238 people who ran, jogged, walked, and did all three. Twenty-five of these managed a new PB, so clearly the mud slicks suit some people. And we had an important milestone to celebrate. Owing to the foul weather last week Ellie ran her 100^th in Sandhurst but was with us to celebrate this week:

Charlie St Aubyn also made his unofficial milestone of 200 events

The first three females to enter the funnel were:

1. Ella Davey (JW11-14) in 22:06, 72.25%. This was a new PB for Ella and her first-first in the tunnel
2. Bryony North (SW3—34) in 22:19, 66.39%
3. Natalie Webb (SW25-29) in 23:36, 62.71%

Well done to them all.

The first three males were:

1. Roger Thomas (VM45-49) in 20:12, 70.71%. Roger was our visitor from Manchester, and he came and swept the field on his first visit.
2. Tom Knight (SM30-34) from Bracknell Forest Runners in 20:36, 63.67%
3. Daniel Wing (VM35-39) in 20:55, 64.30.

Great running.

The top three age grade runners were:

1. Judith Guest (VM70-74) with 77.20%
2. Martin Wilson (VM70-74) with 76.73%
3. Ella Davey (JW11-14) with 72.25%

People of all ages rallied to the call to wear purple for Women’s Day, in all possible shades, and here we salute them:

These are just a tiny selection of the wonderful photographs that Simon took this week. If you haven’t already done so, just go to https://www.parkrun.org.uk/bracknell/photos/ and follow the links to the hundreds of smiling Bracknell parkunners.

Whisper it softly – but my weather app suggests there will be no rain this week and it will be comparatively mild. The daffodils are out on the field so it should be an excellent day to take a turn around the park. Remember – exercise is good for health and we all need that at the moment.

Once again, our thanks go to Naomi for all that she has done for parkrun:

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Official Bracknell Stats are:

Number of events: 258                Number of runners: 10,621         Number of runs: 79,400

Number of first finishers: 169     Number of clubs: 570     Number of PBs: 13,269

Average number of runners per week: 307.8       Average number of runs per runner: 7.5

Biggest Attendance: 469              Average run time: 00:31:59

Total hours run: 4 Years 303 Days 13Hrs 48 Min 56Secs   Total distance run: 397,000km

Female record holder: Sophie QUIRK - 17:54 - Event 125 (29/07/17)

Male record holder: Richard ALLEN - 16:46 - Event 91 (10/12/16)

Age graded record holder: Jessica WHITE - 88.45 % - 23:05 - Event 253 (11/01/20)

Bracknell parkrun #255 1st February 2020 by Jane Light

315 parkrunners took part on Saturday and braved the ‘soft’ conditions – mud pretty much all the way round.

We couldn’t have run without the volunteers so thanks to Andy, Anthony, Callum, Cameron, David, Doug, Eleanor, Emily, Evie, Finley, Heather, Izabelle, Joanna, John, Joshua, Kate, Kerry, Laura, Marcel, Martin, Megan, Mike, Paul, Samantha and Stephanie for marshalling, scanning, timing, setting up and down, pacing, directing and all the other jobs that are needed to stage a parkrun. As always, if you can help, email bracknell@parkrun.com to help.

Welcome to the 11 first timers trying out their first ever parkrun and well done. It’s not always that muddy….. And well done to the 48 people who achieved a personal best (PB) this week, an amazing achievement considering all that mud.

Our parkrun this week saw several milestones achieved. Well done to Junior Ollie who completed his 50th parkrun this week and has run many many junior parkruns too.

Another junior, Josie also celebrated her 50th parkrun alongside Chris Ashenden who ran his 50th, 44 of which have been in Bracknell. Elayne Faubel completed an unofficial milestone of 200 parkruns too.
Huge congratulations to Jo Everitt who completed her 100th parkrun, also running the majority of her runs at Bracknell.

Our biggest milestone achievement this week was Judith Guest who ran her 250th parkrun. Judith started running parkruns in 2014 and although she has run 181 of those at Bracknell, together with husband Robert, she has been working her way through the parkrun alphabet and they have run all but a couple of the hard-to-get letters now, running at 38 different parkruns.

Judith is very well known in the Bracknell parkrun community and is an inspiration to us all, especially those of us who now resort to ‘age grading’ to assess our running as we get older. Judith’s average age grading percentage is 79%, and she regularly achieves age grading of over 80%. To put this in perspective, this is equivalent to an age adjusted 5k time of about 18 minutes for women and 16 minutes for men. So it’s not surprising that Judith holds the age group record at 15 of the 38 parkruns she has run. An amazing achievement. Well done Judith. And thank you for all the volunteering you have done too.

See you all next week!

Report by Chris Prowse

Photos by Bruce Li

Three years to the day since I ran my first ever parkrun, also at Bracknell, I joined 438 other crazed souls (417 park runners, and 21 volunteers) to get up extra early and participate in run #251 at 8:30am on New Year’s Day.  Like many, this was the first part of a parkrun double header, completing Bracknell before heading off to another course nearby.  As RD Martin asked, “is anyone not going off to Cali afterwards?” (California Country Park), there was very little murmur, and I can confirm a great many of those at Bracknell, runners and volunteers, including Martin, did indeed make the four mile trek over to Cali for the second part of their New Year’s Day Double.

The start proved to be an object lesson in listening properly to, and indeed, attending,  the First Timer’s briefing, as many of the first to arrive at the start line lined up facing the wrong way.  The course has changed at least 3 times since I have been running there, but the most recent change switched the direction from anti-clockwise to clockwise.  People hoping to start at the back, suddenly found themselves at the front!  So a simple moral to this story:  just because you have run a course some time before, it is definitely worth spending some time checking the course again on the web page before the event, and listen carefully to the First Timer’s briefing!

Three, two, one, go! A short dash on the path, and onto the playing field.  Wow!  Quite a lot of mud all around until we reach the woods.  Interesting to see the old tree stump from a different angle (“Thank You, Marshall!”). A small chicane taking us back onto the playing fields after the woods, and another taking us onto the path up by the new clubhouse.  A small contra-flow section (should that be Coиtra?) was met with a stentorian bellow of “Keep Left!” and with the numbers running, this is clearing an important marshalling point.  Round the football pitches, down into the allotments (“Thank You, Marshall!”) and then a short, steep little section before heading back to the start.  Another lap, a PB, and on the bike to Cali. Not a bad start to the New Year.

Congratulations to Sarah McDade as the first female to finish and in a personal best time of 21:08.  And also to Graham Robinson, first male, with a time of 17:58 which was just 10 secs off his PB.  In all, 418 people ran, jogged, walked and sloshed their way around to the finish, with 64 (including yours truly) recording a PB for the course.  114 tourists were running Bracknell for the first time, which is almost 30% of the day’s participants.  Slightly sad to see that only 3 people were completely new to parkrun - let’s hope more will join as January unfolds.

As ever, a huge, massive, enormous and heartfelt Thank You to all the volunteers, without whom parkrun cannot function.  I know it has been said many times, but volunteering really does give back to this fantastic community, and there are many roles which allow you to run as well as volunteer.  Seriously, give it a go!

This week 418 people ran, jogged and walked the course, of whom 117 were first timers and 64 recorded new Personal Bests. Representatives of 51 different clubs took part.

The event was made possible by 22 volunteers:

Patrick WADSWORTH • Peter REILLY • Martin REILLY • Andy SCOTT • Bruce LI • Jay MELVIN • Finlay RITCHIE • Simon LIGHT • A J JAIN • Jodie SHIMMEN • Doug BRADY • Will HALSALL • Lesley GRAVES • J.d DANIEL • Hector DANIEL • Jane RALLS • Chris PROWSE • Miriam STALLARD • Evie KING • John BAKER • Kerry SCOTT • V TAYLOR

Today's full results and a complete event history can be found on the Bracknell parkrun Results Page.

The male record is held by Richard ALLEN who recorded a time of 16:46 on 10th December 2016 (event number 91).
The female record is held by Sophie QUIRK who recorded a time of 17:54 on 29th July 2017 (event number 125).
The Age Grade course record is held by Sophie QUIRK who recorded 86.59% (17:54) on 29th July 2017 (event number 125).

Bracknell parkrun started on 4th April 2015. Since then 10,341 participants have completed 77,160 parkruns covering a total distance of 385,800 km, including 12,948 new Personal Bests. A total of 781 individuals have volunteered 6,318 times.

Bracknell parkrun #250

December 28^th 2019

Report writer: Rhona Stainthorp

I’m typing this while listening to Radio 4.  There has been a great drama series about a group of people in Northern Ireland who are going to do a parkrun. It gets everywhere. Even into my Christmas stocking with a whole book on the history since the first timed run in Bushey park

But enough of frivolities.  This will be the last newsletter of the year: nay, the last newsletter of the decade.  And as the last parkrun of the year Bracknell hosted its 250^th run.  A nice symmetry even if it was not meant to be because the scheduled one had to be cancelled.  Not surprising really because this Saturday the route was just a little boggy in places so it would have been like a quagmire the week before.  Thanks go to the splendid organisational spirit of the team who handled the cancellation so efficiently.

Thanks also go to Bracknell Town Council for doing their best to keep the course navigable!! There were 294 participants for the end of the year bringing the total to 17,244 runners for 2019.  There were also 25 wonderful volunteers bringing the total to 1,443 for the year.  Twenty-five different males came in as first male over the 51 events (with four unknowns) and 29 different females came in as first female.

This week we celebrated some important milestones.  John Ellwood ran his 250^th!

Edward Robinson, Nicolas Cousins and Warren Carter all made their 100^th run.  Tony Stevens made his 50^th run and celebrated with a new PB.  Mud obviously suits him.  Well done to the all.

The people we have to thank for their splendid volunteering this week are: Andy SCOTT, David LAMMING, Debbie BRITTON, Doug BRADY, Evie KING, Heather SINCLAIR, Hector DANIEL,  J.d DANIEL,  Jane RALLS,  John GUNN,  Joshua MELVIN,  Kerry SCOTT,  Lisa PLUMMER, Liza HIDE-SMITH, Miriam STALLARD ,  Naomi TAYLOR-MINNETT,  Paul SCOTT,  Paul SINCLAIR,  Rachel STOCKDALE,  Rhona STAINTHORP, Rhonda HARROWER, Robin BRISCOE, Simon LIGHT,  Steve FORSTER,  V TAYLOR.

The first three males and females were:

1 Simon BENNISON (VM35-39) from Bracknell Forest Runners in 19:43

2 Hector DANIEL (JM11-14) from Bracknell AC in 19:48

3 Tom KNIGHT (SM30-34) from Bracknell Forest Runners 19:57. A new PB for Tom

….. and

1 Milly ROUTLEDGE (SW20-24) in 22:48. New PB for Milly.

2 Heather SINCLAIR (VW50-54) in 23:40

3 Alice NEWSTEAD (SW20-24) in 23:45

The top three age graded people were:

Judith GUEST (VW70-74) with 78.19%

Hector DANIEL (JM11-14) with 73.23% and

Alistair RITCHIE (55-59) with 71.19%

In spite of the boggy conditions around the cricket field 24 people were able to achieve a PB.  A great ending to the year for them.

Thirteen people chose to end 2019 by making their parkrun debut.  We hope this was the start of a whole new life for them.  In addition to them we played host to a further 29 first timers to Bracknell.  Tourists are always cheered and it was great to welcome visitors from Australia and South Africa.

You will notice that all these photos are from the beginning of the run.  By the time I’ve finished, I can’t manage to remember to get my iPhone out of my pocket.  Have you got any more neurones firing than me?

So here we are at the end of the year.  It was a great success.  We are beginning to remember the different twists and turns of the new route and of course are grateful for all the flour marking the tree roots and coloured cones ensuring we go the right way.  Having the pavilion open has been a real boon: hot and cold drinks, ice creams and a place to sit, not to mention the loos!!

January 1^st will see the first run of 2020.  But spoiler alert, this will start at 8:30 – so remember to set you alarms.  And check out our sibling run, you at be able to get to your second run at 10:30.

Happy New Year!!! And may the going be good for you every Saturday at 9:00.

A huge thank you to the 26 volunteers who made today's battle through the mud possible for the excellent 303 runners who successfully completed the Bracknell parkrun.

A pleasant temperature today. A quick stretch. A well presented briefing from Run Director Martin (upon his playground tower!)... and it wasn't long before we were lined up and... OFF!

I am still getting used to the new course however I see it has started to make an impression with the runners. It is already some nicknames as I overheard some fellow parkrunners christen the first couple of corners in the grass of the new route as "Mud-Fest" and "Mud Bath" - aptly named and certainly not suitable for a sprint finish!

I found myself particularly impressed with all of the junior parkrunners participating today. They worked very hard especially getting their little legs out of the sticky mud and up over the inclines. They sure seemed to make up for it with the downhill sections though! Many were very visible proudly wearing Junior-10 parkrun shirts, although I must question the colour choice: not many of the shirts were still looking very white by the end of the run!

Congratulations to Callum who finished 1st male for the fourth time at Bracknell with a fantastic new Personal Best.

Congratulations to Lisa Hale who finished 1st female for the first time - congratulations and we hope you'll come back to defend your title!

Congratulations to Lara on her 100th parkrun - what a lovely balloon!

This week 303 people ran, jogged and walked the course, of whom 21 were first timers and 44 recorded new Personal Bests. Representatives of 23 different clubs took part.

The event was made possible by 26 volunteers:

Martin REILLY • Richard COOPE • Andy SCOTT • Mark ARCARI • Judith RITCHIE • Finlay RITCHIE • Ellouise CLARE • Steph CLARE • Emily BINNING • Ana HURTADO • Andrew CLARE • Alan SHELDON • Samantha GWYN-GRIFFITHS • J.d DANIEL • Hector DANIEL • Evie KING • Dewi MEREDITH-SMITH • Kerry SCOTT • Callum BROADBENT • Richard LOVE • Cameron LOVE • V TAYLOR • Lulu HUGHES • Izabelle SPENDELOW • James SPALL • Eleanor PICKLES

Today's full results and a complete event history can be found on the Bracknell parkrun Results Page.

The male record is held by Richard ALLEN who recorded a time of 16:46 on 10th December 2016 (event number 91).
The female record is held by Sophie QUIRK who recorded a time of 17:54 on 29th July 2017 (event number 125).
The Age Grade course record is held by Sophie QUIRK who recorded 86.59% (17:54) on 29th July 2017 (event number 125).

Bracknell parkrun started on 4th April 2015. Since then 10,115 participants have completed 75,690 parkruns covering a total distance of 378,450 km, including 12,717 new Personal Bests. A total of 769 individuals have volunteered 6,189 times.