Everybody seemed to have a spring in their step at this week's 475th edition of the Heaton Park parkrun. Paul's pictures certainly feature lots of flying feet, maybe inspired by the autumn sunshine which accompanied our 778 runners and walkers around the course. Whatever the reason, there were certainly plenty of people with good cause to celebrate this week.

First Timers and Visitors

Amongst our 71 first timers there 38 parkrun debutants, including another batch of Couch25K graduates from the Whitefield Run Together group. There were smiles all round as they conquered the 5K course and celebrated with cake!

Our visitors included a very happy bunch from County Antrim, appropriately dressed in emerald green and obviously intent on having the best time possible in our beautiful park. Pamela KANE and her friends definitely succeeded!

Volunteers

We had 55 Volunteers of all ages looking after our parkrunners. Sunday's popular Manchester Half Marathon meant that a good number were having a pre-race rest, but we're delighted they decided to come and help us out. If you'd like to join the volunteer crew send an email to heatonhelpers@parkrun.com and let us know when you're available.

Next time out our volunteer numbers will be swollen by the members of Prestwich Athletic Club who will be donning all our pacing bibs. It'll be a great opportunity to achieve that time you've been aiming for and if you've been thinking about joining a running club just have a chat with one of the pacers.

This Week's Leading Runners

Definitely with a spring in his step was Ian CARRUTHERS who led the field home in 17:57 in his 125th run at Heaton. That was the 10th time Ian has been first over the line. Next to finish was an unknown runner, with Chris McCARTHY in third place. His time of 18:32, on his 217th appearance at Heaton, earned him the highest male age-grade of the day with 77.70%.

Sarah THOMAS of Bury AC was the first female finisher in 19:59, with Abigail WARBURTON next in 20:20. Our third female in 21:04 was Justine ALBERT, making her Heaton debut on a visit from Bushy Park. Warming up for this week's international debut, Sheila JONES grabbed her customary top age-grading with 86.86% for her time of 23:20.

parkrun Clubs and Milestone Runs

Another busy week for celebration runs and these people had good reason to have a spring in their step.

50 Club - Lynn MORAN is our only new member of the 50 Club this week, claiming the red 50 shirt with her 47th run at Heaton. There have been 8 PBs since her first run in June 2018 and Lynn has also visited Chadderton Hall and Sale Water parkruns.

100 Club

• Naomi JACKSON is first to claim the black 100 shirt with her 85th appearance at Heaton since October 2015. Naomi also has 8 PBs and her travels to 11 other venues include a trip to Nidda parkrun in Germany
• Simon ROBERTS also reached his ton with his 69th run at Heaton since his June 2016 debut. His parkrun record also shows 8 PBs at Heaton and 11 volunteer appearances plus a string of visits to 14 other locations

150th run - we had three parkrunners making it to the 150 mark, including a returning regular.

• Louise THOMSON made her Heaton debut in June 2015 and ran regularly with us, picking up 22 PBs and volunteering 9 times before returning to her native Cumbria. Louise has now run 40 times at Carlisle and visited 27 other venues, but made the return to Heaton for her 77th run in our park and 150th in total
• Joe LOUGHMAN made his Heaton debut in November 2013 and the VM 65-69 runner has clocked up 134 appearances with 15 PBs. His other 16 runs have all been at Chadderton Hall
• At the other end of the age scale JM10 runner Hayden Cody WHITEHEAD reached the 150 mark with his 103rd run at Heaton. The first was in March 2015 and Hayden has 8 PBs to his name, as well as volunteering on 30 occasions. He has also run 30 times at Worsley Woods as well as visiting 9 other venues

200th run

• Josh DUNCAN made his Heaton debut in April 2014 and has completed 177 appearances with 7 PBs. Visits to Sewerby, Chadderton Hall, Oldham and Stamford Park have taken him to the 200 mark
• Charlotte CANTILLON (or CROWLEY as her maiden name shows in our results) returned for her 8th visit to Heaton to don the 200 bib. A regular at Bramhall, where she made her parkrun debut in 2013, Charlotte has also visited 25 other parkrun sites. Her Heaton trips have yielded 5 PBs, including a 30 second improvement this week

400th run - yet another big milestone run for one of our Heaton stalwarts. Mel SMITH has been a fixture with us since November 2009 and has completed 357 appearances. Although he only has 3 recorded PBs, the age-gradings for the VM65-69 runner have been remarkably consistent over the past 10 years, with one of his highest recorded just last month. Mel has also travelled to 12 other events, including trips to both Jersey and Guernsey.

PB Corner

Another 113 new Personal Best times were recorded this week, taking our all-time haul past the 35,000 mark. I can claim to have contributed 19 of those... but none since 2014! Not so much of a spring in my step nowadays, but making more of an impression are these 14 who improved their best times this week and have run at least 20 times at Heaton.

• Eric LOWE celebrated his first anniversary of parkrunning by clocking up his 22nd PB by 21 seconds and going under 28 minutes for the first time - and next time out will be his 50th run!
• John KERR claimed his 10th PB of the year as he took 9 seconds off his previous best from May
• Also improving their times from May were Joanne KAY, Aziz YUSUF, Alexander EASTON and Katie PARKER, who made a 10 second improvement on her 319th appearance at Heaton
• Siobahn COWARD went under 30 minutes for the first time as she took 20 seconds off her March PB, which was also when Matthew GARSIDE and John JACOB set their previous best times
• Colin BAMBER beat his September time by 6 seconds, whilst Ben KNIGHT took 15 seconds off his February 2018 effort and David ELCOCK lowered his March 2015 best by 24 seconds
• Jayne WALMSLEY made it 2 in a row, but Jo WAINWRIGHT trumped that with a 41 second improvement for her 4th consecutive PB

Great stuff from everyone who managed to record a new PB this week. You'll certainly have a spring in your step next time out!

Maybe the answer to all these springy steps lies in the history of our meeting place in the park. Keen historian and parkrunner Colette HEAVEY tells us more:

"The 12 acre boating lake was built partly on the site of the original Heaton Park Horse Races (1827-1838), established by the 2nd Earl of Wilton.  The construction of the lake took place between 1908 and 1912, dug out by previously unemployed men using only shovels and hand-pulled trucks  The lake was completed in September 1912. On its opening day on 17^th March 1913 one of the Councillors boat capsized to the great amusement of the crowds!  Later that month it was agreed to allow male bathing in the lake up to 9am in the morning.  It was proposed to fix dressing boxes by the edge of the water and a charge of one penny per bather for the use of boxes.

From the 1920’s permission was given for Sunday ice skating to take place, whenever the lake was fit for purpose.  In 1925 the British Pathe News filmed an item at the lake entitled, "Champion amateur and professionals show admiring and envious spectators some fancy skating at Heaton Park. Manchester"

The Lakeside cafe was originally a boat house. In the second world war, the RAF Air Crew Despatch Centre at Heaton Park (1941-1945) converted it to be used as a NAAFI building - a place that provided catering, retail & leisure facilities, delivering a much needed taste of home to service personnel. A cafe was later built further along the lakeside near the tram lines where the parkrun announcements are made. This was demolished some years ago, but its footprint is still visible there."

So you can see that we're all following in the footsteps of race horses and fancy skaters, which explains why some occasionally look like thoroughbreds whilst others fall on their backsides!

That's all for now. See you soon at the lake.

Duncan

Well, our 474th event was certainly one of the busiest we've ever held. The 15th anniversary of parkrun on 2nd October brought a camera crew from the BBC. We had a return visit from the Co-Op, handing out their #healthyswap boxes and bananas to celebrate their 25 year association with Fairtrade - and making a film of their own at the same time. There were milestone runs, brides to be, Couch25K graduates, first timers, old timers, messages from the Himalayas and a whole host of top class performances.

Volunteers

The whole thing was overseen by the most important group of all - our fantastic volunteers. There were 54 names on the roster - and one that wasn't. Andrew HARRISON sent us a message from his fund-raising trek in the Himalayas, where he'd been up bright and early:

"We did it!!!! We completed the inaugural Mount Everest parkrun this morning at 09:00 Sat 5th October 2019 - a distance of 5K between the villages of Khumjung and Mong La with the Everest Mountain range in the background.

The winner in a time of 3hrs 53m 16s was Andrew Harrison, closely followed by the initial pacemaker from Sheffield and bringing up the rear was Sherpa Dorjee.

All the best this morning at Heaton parkrun!"

The pictures accompanying the message show that Andrew's outing was in spectacular surroundings...and that he'd managed to get his brush all the way over there as well!

Back at Heaton Park our volunteers were having great fun as always.

If you'd like to join them in the future just send an email to heatonhelpers@parkrun.com and let us know when you're available.

Huge thanks to everybody and in particular to our photographers, Paul and Graham, who got in all the right places to record the morning's events.

First Timers and Visitors

There were 89 people completing Heaton parkrun for the first time and 33 of those were making their parkrun debut. Welcome to the world of parkrun - I'm sure you'll find it a wonderful place.

Our visitors included a group from Rossendale Triathlon Club who were supporting their friend and clubmate Karen SMITH as she embarked on her wedding day with a swift 5K. All our best wishes go to Karen and her husband Dave as they embark on married life.

Starting a new running life were the latest band of Couch25K graduates from the Whitefield Run Together group. After just a few months this group is already making a big impression in the local area and bringing lots of new runners to parkrun. Long may it continue.

This Week's Leading Runners

Our 837 finishers were led home by Joe MOORES of Rossendale Harriers in a lightning 16:18, a 6 second PB on his 4th appearance. Byron EDWARDS of Bury AC was next in 16:52, keeping himself ticking over on the weekend between running the Berlin and Chicago marathons! Steven HENDERSON of Sale Harriers completed the top three in 17:25, whilst Mike SHARKEY recorded the highest age-grading of the day with 84.11% for his time of 19:24.

Jacqueline FAIRCHILD of Preston Harriers was back for her first Heaton parkrun in 5 years and scorched home in 17:39, the second best female performance at Heaton this year and topping the female age-gradings with 81.05%. Salford Harrier Sarah CARROLL took 58 seconds off her March 2017 PB as she finished next in 18:23 on her 28th appearance. Rachel MARSHALL of Bury AC went under 20 minutes for the first time with a 13 second PB as she finished third female in 19:51.

parkrun Clubs and Milestone Runs

With everything else that was going on it was still an amazing week for milestone runs and all of these people get our congratulations for their achievements.

250 Club - a great day for Sue PORTER as she earned her green 250 shirt. Sue has been running at Heaton since September 2012 and has completed 191 runs with us, including 14 PBs. She has also visited 36 other venues and volunteered 67 times.

50 Club

• Matt MORLEY reached the half century with his 42nd run at Heaton. The first was in April 2018 and he has recorded 14 PBs as well as volunteering 17 times. His other 8 runs have all been at Worsley Woods
• Peter FENTON also qualifies for his red 50 shirt after 33 appearances at Heaton since December 2017. His 5 PBs include a 14 second improvement this week, whilst his other 17 runs have all been at Watergrove
• Paul SALE has run all but one of his 50 at Heaton, beginning in May 2015 and including 5 PBs. His other run was at Lytham Hall
• Laura GARROD first ran in June 2011 and her 48 appearances at Heaton include 10 PBs. Laura has visited Chadderton Hall and Cleethorpes
• Diane PRESTON has run all 50 at Heaton with 7 PBs since her debut in May 2018
• Amanda HURNDALL  is a Worsley Woods regular and has also run at Wilmslow and Stretford, but chose to come to Heaton for the third time to complete her 50
• Also reaching the 50 mark was Glyn DAWSON who has run 36 times at Heaton with 10 PBs and also completed 17 Junior parkruns. He has visited 7 other events, including Edinburgh this week where he ran his 50th

10 Club (Juniors only)

• Rebecca DUCKWORTH made her first appearance in April this year and has run all her 10 at Heaton with 2 PBs
• Thomas SWEENEY also qualifies for his white 10 shirt with his 5th run at Heaton since July. Busy Thomas has also visited Stretford, Chadderton Hall, South Manchester and Sale Water as well as completing 21 Junior parkruns

150th run

• Helen VEITCH began parkrunning in October 2011 and has run 144 times at Heaton with 9 PBs. Her travels have taken her to Worsley Woods, Glossop, Stamford Park and Delamere and she has volunteered 16 times
• Lisa BELL's first parkrun was at Heaton in October 2013. Since then she has visited 80 other events, but also managed to return to Heaton 47 times and record 6 PBs

200th run - Kay MILLS began at Heaton in July 2011 and has run 199 times with us, including 10 PBs. Her sole journey elsewhere was to Worsley Woods.

400th run

Gary ROSTRON and Graham HARRISON become the 5th and 6th people to reach the 400 mark at Heaton.

• Starting in April 2010, Gary has gathered 27 PBs in his 326 appearances with us and is a regular sight in his pacing bib, having volunteered over 50 times. A keen traveller, Gary has visited 34 other parkruns, including 8 different events in Australia

• Graham has accumulated his 400 parkruns quicker than anybody else at Heaton. Beginning in November 2011, Graham has clocked up 14 PBs in his 270 appearances at Heaton and also visited 41 other venues. Officially recorded as volunteering on 62 occasions, Graham is one of those priceless people who help out every week without being asked to do anything!

Finally, an apology for not giving a shout-out to Daniel RICHARDSON on his 15th birthday last Saturday. I know we see lots of people celebrating their birthdays at parkrun, but it's a bit special to know that Daniel was born in the very week that parkrun was also born in Bushy Park. Happy Birthday to both!

PB Corner

18 of the 112 new Personal Best times this week went to parkrunners with at least 20 appearances at Heaton, so our congratulations go to:

Sarah CARROLL, Rachel MARSHALL, Peter FENTON, Conor WILKINSON, Neil SWAN, Matthew MILLER, Philip KERFOOT, Tom THACKWAY, Jonathan FORD, Philip KYLE, Leighton DAVIES, Bernard MURRAY, Francine EDWARDS, Jessica SKEGGS, Jayne WALMSLEY, Clair KNEALE, Jo WAINWRIGHT and a special mention for Peter HENDERSON who marked his well-deserved selection as our latest parkrunner of the Month with a 17 second PB in his 86th run.

Well done everybody.

Dates for your diary

Saturday 19th October - it's PAC Pacing Day again as the members of Prestwich AC fill all the pacing bibs at Heaton parkrun. If you've been looking to improve your PB or have a target time in mind, this is a great opportunity!

Saturday 2nd November - time to put the frighteners on with your best Halloween costumes. I know lots of you think this is the best parkrun of the year, so we're looking forward to some great costumes. The best ones will win prizes!

Sunday 17th November - the annual MoRun is taking place in Heaton Park, starting at 9.30am. It's the 10th anniversary of MoRunning and this popular event will include 10K, 5K and 1.5K distances. Organiser Nathan Birdsall has contacted us to say that Heaton parkrunners can secure discounted entry by entering the Discount Code MoRun_parkrun19 when entering the event at https://www.mo-running.com/locations

If anybody would like to volunteer as a marshall at the MoRun please contact Nathan direct at nathan@thefixevents.com

Saturday 7th December - it's the big one, the Heaton parkrun Santa Dash for Barnabus! This will be the 10th year that we have held the Dash and over the years we've raised almost £8,000 for this great charity which works to help the homeless right here in Manchester. You'll be able to buy your Santa suits from Barnabus staff before the run and make other donations as well. Let's make this the best Heaton Santa Dash ever!

That's all for now. See you at the lake very soon.

Duncan

Another sparkling late summer morning saw 819 finishers cross the line at Heaton parkrun, backed up by 52 willing volunteers. In amongst some pretty torrential downpours we have enjoyed some perfect parkrun days in 2019, and this was the 18th time this year that our attendance has topped the 800 mark. Before this year we'd only reached that figure on 5 occasions, testimony to the growing appeal of parkrun at Heaton Park. We take a break for a week now as the annual Alzheimer's Memory Walk takes place in the park, but we'll be back for another dose of parkrun therapy on October 5th.

This Week's Run

There were 75 Unknown runners recorded in the results, the first of which was also our first finisher. Don't forget, you need that printed barcode to get a result. If you don't have your barcode please make sure you return your finish token. We lose tokens every week and they all cost time, effort and money to replace. If you have inadvertently taken a finish token away from Heaton parkrun please bring it back next time you're with us.

Second finisher was Bury AC's Josh BIRMINGHAM in a time of 16:20, beating his previous best by 20 seconds and gaining the highest male age-grading of the day with 79.98%. On his first visit to Heaton parkrun, Dominic HOWARTH of Leigh Harriers took third place in 17:11.

Abigail WARBURTON lowered her November 2018 PB by 12 seconds as she claimed first spot amongst the ladies in 19:47 in her 72nd run at Heaton. Bury AC's Katie GEELAN was next home in 20:09, with clubmate Sarah THOMAS completing the top three in 20:29. Rochdale Harrier Anna BLOMFIELD earned the highest age grade of the day with 82.61% for her time of 22:31.

There were 68 first time runners - 30 making their parkrun debut and 38 visitors who had already run at other events.

Our 52 Volunteers made sure everything ran smoothly. We waved goodbye to regular marshal Andrew HARRISON, who celebrated his 100th volunteering occasion before setting off to the Himalayas on a trekking expedition which will take him to the foothills of Everest. Thank you to everybody who has contributed to Andrew's fundraising, which will include a donation to Heaton parkrun.

Another globe-trotter is Hilary HERMAN, who made her 25th appearance as a volunteer and qualifies for her purple 25 shirt. Since 2016 Hilary has run over 50 times and also helped out with Pre-Event Set Up, Finish Token Support, Funnel Manager, Marshal, Barcode Scanning and as a Pacer. Thanks Hilary!

PB Corner

There was a massive haul of 116 new Personal Best times with 24 going to parkrunners who have appeared at Heaton at least 20 times. As we saw earlier, Abigail WARBURTON led the way and here is how the other 23 fared:

• It was 3 in a row for Conor WILKINSON, Nick FUHR, Lesley DUNKLEY, Leighton DAVIES, Carly BOCOCK and Francine EDWARDS
• Great efforts from a couple of youngsters with JM10 Hayden WHITEHEAD taking 17 seconds off his best from June 2018 and JW10 Olivia WHITTAKER knocking 23 seconds off for a second consecutive PB
• Also making it 2 in a row were Leanne ALLEN and Jo WAINWRIGHT, who went under 40 minutes for the first time
• The biggest reduction went to Catriona WALKER, taking 1:07 off her time from February 2018, with Idris DAWSON and Tom THACKWAY also beating times from last year
• Tony WALSH and Steve JARVIS both lowered marks set in 2017, whilst Mitesh PATEL took 3 seconds off a time that had stood since October 2012
• Matthew MILLER claimed his fifth PB since July and Natalie DAWSON took 34 seconds off her February PB
• Lewis WHITTAKER, Philip KYLE, Simone PRESSMAN, Ann WALSH and Michael JAMES complete PB Corner by improving times which were all set earlier this year

Great stuff from everybody who achieved a new Personal Best this week.

parkrun Clubs and Milestone Runs

There were 5 new entrants to the 50 Club and a couple of other outstanding achievements as well.

50 Club

• Martina ANTALOVA has run all her 50 at Heaton with 5 PBs since her debut in June 2013
• Catherine McKILLEN first ran parkrun in January 2018 and has since made 42 appearances at Heaton with 11 PBs. Her travels have taken her to Worsley Woods, Stretford, Chadderton Hall and Walthamstow
• Nadia HAMILTON-RAINEY has run 26 times at Heaton with 8 PBs since May last year, as well as volunteering 6 times. She has also visited 6 other events
• Worsley Woods regular Graeme JACKSON came to Heaton for the third time to don the 50 bib and beat his previous best on our course by 41 seconds
• and young Tom GILBERTSON earned his red 50 shirt with his 35th run at Heaton since November 2015 (9 PBs). Tom has also visited 15 other events

150th run - making it a family affair was Tom's mum, Vicky GILBERTSON, who reached the 150 mark with her 119th run at Heaton. Starting in April 2013, Vicky has 9 PBs and has volunteered 6 times as well as visiting no fewer than 28 other parkrun events.

350th run - not many have made it to this landmark, but Alan McENTEGGART follows his wife Anna who reached the 350 point in April this year. Alan made the first of his 319 Heaton appearances over 9 years ago in 2010, has 9 PBs and volunteered on 5 occasions. He has also run at Worsley Woods, Conwy, Oldham and South Manchester, but wherever he goes it's almost certain he'll be running with his dog! Well done Alan.

Dogs at Heaton parkrun

Having celebrated Alan's achievement it's a good time to talk a little about running with your dog at Heaton parkrun. We love having your canine friends along and it seems as though we're getting more and more dogs all the time. There's no denying that the presence of dogs amongst our very big field of runners and walkers can be a hazard. Other parkruns have got to the point where they have had to ban dogs from their events, but that's the last thing we want to do. So, to try and minimise the risks, please always consider these points:

• Only one dog per parkrunner please - you are responsible for your dog before, during and after the run
• Always keep your dog on a short lead. If you use a flexi-lead make sure it is retracted and locked in place throughout the run
• Unless you are a very fast runner (sub 20 minutes) and able to run comfortably ahead of most of the field, please start at the rear of the field. Problems occur when quicker runners are trying to overtake slower moving runners with dogs in the congestion at the start
• Once the field starts to spread out it is easier to move forward as your dog can see the way ahead - at least that's always been my experience
• If someone else is looking after your dog whilst you run, please make sure they don't let the dog run towards you at the finish or as you pass by
• Please clean up after your dog

We'll be keeping an eye on the situation because everybody's safety at parkrun is very important to us. If you have any observations or suggestions please let me know.

That's all for now. Don't forget that we are cancelled this week, so enjoy your parkrun tourism and we'll see you back at the lake on 5th October.

Duncan

Another Saturday and yet another momentous event at Heaton parkrun! After celebrating the individual success of our first 500 Clubber and a magnificent 90%+ age grading in our previous two runs, it was time for everybody to take a bow as we reached the 200,000 finisher mark and completed our first million kilometres at Heaton Park. It's taken over 10 years, but I'm sure the next million will come around a lot quicker. Well done to everybody who has contributed to that monumental figure and helped to make Heaton one of the biggest, most popular and definitely the best parkrun in the UK.....and probably the world!!

On the day the honour of being our 200,000th finisher fell to Rachel LEES who completed her 11th run at Heaton. Having made her parkrun debut at Chadderton Hall in April this year, Rachel first ran at Heaton the following month and has collected 4 PBs as well as making a couple of trips to Burnley and a return to Chadderton Hall. A delighted Rachel will definitely be making Heaton her parkrun of choice from now on!

Milestone Runs

There were lots of other individual landmarks to celebrate as well.

10 Club (Juniors only)

• Taliah GOLDIE qualified for her white 10 shirt with her 4th run at Heaton, having made her debut in May this year. Taliah has also run at Centre Vale, where she started her parkrunning in April, Watergrove and Chadderton Hall.
• Jacob THOMAS also enters the 10 Club with his 3rd run at Heaton. He first ran at Bolton in 2016 and has completed 6 runs there and 1 at Worsley Woods. This week's run saw Jacob improve his best Heaton time by over 7 minutes!

50 Club

• Chloe WALKER made her Heaton debut in May 2017 and this week clocked up her 42nd appearance, which have included 6 PBs. There have also been visits to Bolton, Stretford, Burnley and Pollok in Glasgow on the way to her red 50 shirt
• Nicola DALEY has run 22 times at Heaton with 1 PB since April 2016. Her other parkruns have all been in the South East at Kesgrave, Ipswich, Stevenage and Felixstowe
• Mark JONES was back for his 2nd run at Heaton and improved his time from his parkrun debut in September 2017 by 6 minutes. In the intervening 2 years Mark has travelled to 45 other parkruns, mostly in Australia and New Zealand

100 Club

• Chris DAVIES has been running with us since January 2016 and has 12 PBs in his 87 appearances at Heaton, as well as volunteering on 14 occasions. His travels have taken him to 11 other locations on the way to his black 100 shirt
• Tom DANIELS has 83 Heaton appearances on his current record since January 2012 with 3 PBs, although he actually ran with us 30 times from August 2009 before re-registering, making him one of our longest serving runners. The veteran Salford Harrier has also travelled to 5 other events

150th run - congratulations to Amelia PERCIVAL and Graham MEEKS on reaching the 150 mark. Amelia has run 122 times with 14 PBs at Heaton since 2016, with Graham making the first of his 114 appearances with 10 PBs 2 years earlier. Both have also travelled to 10 other events.

200th run - Wayne MAKINSON rounds up this section with his 200th run. Beginning in December 2010, Wayne has run 172 times at Heaton with 11 PBs, as well as visiting 16 other events. Wayne also stands on 24 volunteer occasions, so should be qualifying for his 25 shirt very soon.

First Timers and Visitors

There were celebrations amongst our first timers as well, with the graduating Couch to 5K runners from the local Whitefield Run Together group. These were the first graduates from the newly formed group but I'm sure we'll be seeing plenty more in the coming months. 36 of our 73 first timers were making their parkrun debut.

The other 37 first-time visitors included a group from Preston's Red Rose Road Runners. Samantha EDWARDS tells us how they enjoyed the day:

"A small group of 13 Red Rose came on tour to Heaton Park. We choose a parkrun each month to visit.  This month was Heaton parkrun. We had one of our group, Lisa, volunteering at the finish funnel and the rest of us ran the course.  After the first timers briefing and hearing about Angina Hill we were unsure what to expect.  This is the largest parkrun some of us have been to, so to see 800 plus runners was brilliant at a parkrun. 

We all loved the route, it was varied and very pretty.  We liked the two different loops which made the route interesting.  I know most of us really liked the view from the Manor and going around the lake.  We also loved seeing some lovely horses on the run too.  

Thanks for your contribution Sam. It's great to get an outsider's view and we're looking forward to welcoming you back very soon.

This week's Leading Runners

First of our 804 finishers over the line was Andre FRANCIS in 18:03, followed by Jon DEARNLEY-LANE of Rochdale Harriers in 18:13 and Rob MILLS of Prestwich AC in 18:16. Bury AC's Sarah THOMAS was first lady for the third week in a row. Her time of 20:00 saw her finish just ahead of Abigail WARBURTON (above) in 20:24, with Victoria OSTEN completing the top three in 21:40.

Christine ECKERSLEY (VW70-74) of Middleton Harriers claimed the highest age grading with 86.84% for her time of 26:58, with Joe CURRAN (VM55-59) of Accrington Road Runners scoring the highest male figure of 76.80% with his time of 20:11.

PB Corner

The beautiful weather conditions certainly encouraged some quicker running ,with no fewer than 155 new Personal Best times recorded on the day. 31 of those went to parkrunners with at least 20 appearances at Heaton Park, giving PB Corner its busiest week for a long, long time.

The highlights include:

• Richard COPE with his 5th consecutive PB
• Lara DEMPSEY taking over 3 minutes off for her first PB in 3 years
• Alan LACEY and Grace ALLERTON both taking over a minute off
• Dean WHITTLE beating his best from 2015

Congratulations also go to David RUDMAN, Michael WHITTLES, Jonathan FORD, Lesley DUNKLEY, Leighton DAVIES, Dale TURNER, Carly BOCOCK, Tony WALKER, Stuart RENNIE, Kehinde YUSUF, Anthony GORDON, Francine EDWARDS, Derek MAY, Rob ENGLAND, Molly STRAPPS, Pamela WILD, Elaine O'NEILL, Lindsay ROODURMUN, Carole PARKER, Lynn MORAN, Julie DIXON, Hannah HAMILTON, Tim WARD, Claire KNEALE, Vicky WHITEHURST and Jo WAINWRIGHT.

Fabulous effort by everybody and I'm sure you'll all be improving again very soon.

Volunteers

All of those runners needed lots of looking after and, fortunately, we had a brilliant volunteer response this week, with 58 names on the roster without any need to make a plea for help. Sunday morning's Bury 10K probably helped, with plenty of people resting up before the race, but whatever the reason it was great to have so many willing helpers. Thanks to each and every one of you.

One of our most willing helpers, Andrew HARRISON, was actually away on holiday but he'll be back on Saturday to celebrate his 100th volunteering stint. Andrew is a fixture at the bottom of Angina Hill (we've even named it Andrew's Corner), with his trusty brush ready to sweep away any excess rainwater. Having completed a century of volunteering occasions Andrew will soon be off on a fabulous adventure, trekking in the Himalayas to the Base Camp of Everest. After 9 months training, walking over 100 miles a month with plenty of hill climbing in the Lake District, Andrew will be raising money for good causes including Heaton parkrun. You can read more about his trip and make a donation by going to his Just Giving page at

If you would like to volunteer at Heaton parkrun please sign up for the weekly volunteer emails or drop us a line to heatonhelpers@parkrun.com.

That's all for this week. Just a final reminder that we will be cancelled on Saturday 28th September because of the Alzheimer's Memory Walk in the park.

See you at the lake!

Duncan

After the previous weekend's extravagant celebrations for our first ever 500 Club member, the 471st Heaton parkrun was a more muted affair, although there were some terrific performances and Barbara did manage to show off her rather splendid new 500 shirt!

First Timers and Visitors

It's a remarkable fact about Heaton parkrun that, in spite of the big attendances that we attract, every week about 10% of our field are making their first visit to the event. This week our turnout of 731 finishers contained no fewer than 90 first timers, with 52 of them making their parkrun debut, whilst the remainder were existing parkrunners coming to sample a little of what we have to offer. It's particularly pleasing that our debutants ranged in age from under 10 years to over 75, proving that parkrun is genuinely for everyone.

This week's Leading Runners

Nobody can argue that this week's outstanding runner was not the first over the line, but somebody who is consistently one of our top performers and this week excelled herself. Recently named as one of Heaton's parkrunners of the Decade, Sheila JONES of Radcliffe AC is regularly top of our age-grading charts so it's no surprise to see her there again, but her score of 90.14% is truly outstanding. Courtesy of a first PB in over 6 years, Sheila's time of 22:29 makes her just the 4th Heaton parkrunner to top the 90% age-grade mark in our 10 year history. Age-grading is basically a way of allowing a runner to see how their performance compares against the world's best time for someone of the same gender and age. You can read more about it by following the link in any of your parkrun result emails, but suffice to say that anything above 90% is considered to be World Class!!

Ian CARRUTHERS was actually the first over the line in a very respectable time of 17:05, his 9th first finish in 122 runs. In second place, Phil RYAN clocked a 31 second PB of 17:14, a time that gave him the highest male age-grade of the day with 85.59%. Fahmi MOHAMMED of Blackley North Manchester AC completed the top three in 17:27.

Sarah THOMAS of Bury AC recorded her 37th first finish in 107 runs as she crossed the line in 20:09. That puts her just 2 behind Sophie WHITTAKER who is currently Heaton parkrun's most successful runner with 39 first finishes. Maria LOWE of Horwich RMI Harriers was next in 20:31, ahead of Donna CARTWRIGHT in 20:37.

PB Corner

Sheila JONES clearly makes it into PB Corner this week, with a 7 second improvement on her April 2013 best in her 358th appearance at Heaton - comfortably over the 20 run qualifying mark! She is the first of 25 from our overall haul of 122 PBs to meet that criteria and here are the other 24.

• Richard COPE bagged a 4th consecutive PB, taking a massive 1:04 off to go under 25 minutes for the first time in his 25th run
• Other big improvements came from juniors James BLACKBURN with 1:02 and Tess DEMPSEY who knocked 1:20 off her previous best
• Eric LOWE claimed a 3rd consecutive PB whilst it's 2 in a row for Janet HUNT, Andrew FLANAGAN, Conor WILKINSON and Nick FUHR
• 3 seasoned runners beat times from 2018 with Alison WHITEHEAD taking 2 seconds off in her 118th appearance, Sam CASTLE (above) improving by 12 seconds on his 114th time out and Evvie FEINGOLD marking her 92nd run at Heaton with a 21 second PB
• Aaron PEARSON, Diane COHEN, Simon ROBERTS and Paul SCOTT also improved their previous best times from 2018, whilst Leanne ALLEN took 41 seconds off her time from December 2017
• Carole WHITWORTH made considerable inroads into her March PB with a 43 second improvement as Colm McKILLEN, Brian THOMAS, Chris BROGAN, Leighton DAVIES and Catherine SHIELD all broke PBs set earlier this year
• and finally, taking inspiration from her slightly older Radcliffe AC teammate Sheila, JW10 runner Olivia WHITTAKER improved by 5 seconds for her 17th PB in 27 runs at Heaton

Well done to all our PB heroes this week.

parkrun Clubs and Milestone Runs

There were plenty of people marking lots of significant milestones from a new Junior 10 Club entrant right up to a 350th run.

10 Club (Juniors only) - congratulations to Charlie HEWITT who is the latest of our junior runners to claim the white 10 shirt. Charlie has run 4 times at Heaton since June with 1 PB and his other runs have been at Chadderton Hall and Worsley Woods

50 Club

• Steve WHITWORTH completed his half century with his 40th run at Heaton. Starting in June last year, Steve has collected 12 PBs and also travelled to Oldham, Chadderton Hall and Worsley Woods
• Emma HUGHES made her parkrun debut at Worsley Woods in August 2015 and in addition to her 27 runs there she has now completed 23 appearances at Heaton with 4 PBs
• Also claiming the red 50 shirt is Grace ALLERTON who has run 27 times at Heaton since April 2016, but also likes to travel. This week she was at Croxteth Park, the 21st stop on her parkrun tour, where she ran her fastest ever parkrun to claim the red 50 shirt

100 Club

• Denise SARENS made her parkrun debut in August 2016 and has run 89 times at Heaton with 12 PBs. 11 visits to Worsley Woods bring her up to 100 and a black 100 Club shirt
• Also joining the 100 Club is Jessica SKEGGS with her 21st appearance at Heaton since April 2017. There have been 9 PBs including an 18 second improvement this week. Jess has also run 60 times at Stretford and at 7 other parkruns

150th run

• Andrew WHITEHEAD reaches the 150 mark with his 101st run at Heaton. The first was in January 2012 and there have been 14 PBs as well as visits to 15 other sites and 8 volunteering stints
• Susan LOBAS-COOK made her first Heaton appearance in April 2011 and has completed 144 circuits of our park with 18 PBs. She has also visited Worsley Woods, Watergrove and Bolton and volunteered 4 times
• Rob TOMLIN has been busy since January 2016 when he made his parkrun debut, the first of 120 runs at Heaton with 19 PBs. He has also volunteered 33 times whilst finding the time to visit 14 other events

200th run

• Claire FERGUSON makes it to the 200 mark with her 181st run at Heaton. Her debut was in June 2015 and there have been 17 PBs as well as visits to 8 other events
• Thomas HUTCHINSON made his debut in September 2012 and has 5 PBs in his 169 Heaton appearances. His travels have taken him to 21 other parkrun sites, including a trip to the USA

350th run

It was a big day for Sheila WETTON who has been coming to parkrun since January 2011 and has now completed 350 runs. 267 of those have been with us at Heaton, including 20 PBs, and she has volunteered on 28 occasions. There has been no shortage of parkrun tourism either, with visits to 58 other events including trips to Australia, USA and Canada.

There's always a great sense of personal achievement in any of these milestone runs, but on Saturday there will be an opportunity for everybody to share in the glory as Heaton parkrun records its 200,000th finisher and we break through the 1 million kilometre mark. Since our first run in June 2009, when 32 runners recorded the first 160 kilometres, we have grown steadily to the point where we require just 492 more people to cross the line to complete our first million kilometres at Heaton parkrun. In case you're wondering, that's about 25 times round the Earth! You've all contributed to that, whether you've run once or 500 times. That's got to be worth celebrating.

Volunteers

This week there were 47 happy helpers on our Volunteer roster. We wouldn't have got anywhere near those one million kilometres without the volunteers so we're immensely grateful for all the help you provide. If you haven't volunteered before there's nothing to be afraid of, just drop us a line to heatonhelpers@parkrun.com and we'll be delighted to find a role that's right for you. If you have volunteered before you know how much fun it is, so keep coming back.

Car Parking in Disabled Bays

It's been a while since we've had to mention car parking, but one complaint that does keep recurring is that parkrunners are using the bays reserved for Blue Badge holders in the Lake Car Park. Some people may believe that, because the parking charges don't apply before 10am, then it's also OK to use the disabled bays before then. Believe me, it isn't! There is plenty of other parking available and arriving late is no excuse. The parking wardens have been alerted to the problem and sooner or later you will get a ticket for your troubles.

Cancellation 28th September 2019 - Memory Walk

Heaton parkrun will be cancelled on Saturday 28th September as the annual Memory Walk to raise awareness of Alzheimer's is taking place in the park. Please take the opportunity to support the Walk or visit another parkrun.

That's all for this week. See you at the lake.

Duncan

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