We have completed a full orbit around the sun since Leamington parkrun returned!

During this year Leamington parkrunners completed 18,719 runs covering a distance of 93,565 km in 53 events. That is more than running the full combined distance of the equator, tropic of cancer and the arctic circle together. It all thanks to all our volunteers who have helped in 2,049 volunteer roles!

 

I moved to Leamington Spa at the beginning of Spring 2022. Eager to connect with people and make new friends, I got in contact with Leamington parkrun, and asked to do as many volunteer roles as I can possibly fit with my run. I remember the warm welcome I received from everyone. Five months now since I started, and I am always welcomed with the warm smiles every time I turn up to parkrun (as runner or a volunteer). So a massive thank you to Leamington parkrun core team, volunteers and runners!

 

This week run is full of prime numbers! It was the 521^st event since Leamington parkrun began, and the 53^rd event since the post lockdowns return. It also happens to take place on the 23^rd of the month, and that month is the 7^th. All are fascinating prime numbers!

 

 

The sun was shining brightly this morning as 32 volunteers helped in making the event take place as seamlessly as possible for 314 runners. Amongst the crowd were 25 first time runners of our course, of which 15 ran their first ever parkrun – congratulations and we hope to see you back soon!

We had several amazing milestones today, with Elaine Cantwell and Catherine Dowsett’s 25^th run, Heather Blackmore’s 50^th run, Ian Davis’s 100^th run, Melissa Farnworth’s 150^th run, Mick Bennett’s incredible 300^th run! 42 new PBs today –brilliant effort in great conditions. A particular shout out must go to the 1^st male across the line: Scott Beverley setting himself an incredible 18:26 PB, and the first female Natalie Bhangal who crossed the line at 19:32.

We had Spa Brass running the café for us, and played a few tunes! They kept the volunteers at the parkrun base entertained with music while waiting for the runners to complete the course.

Pauleine, our lovely regular marshal in the first corner position has written a poem about parkrun

 parkrun

'Thank you Marshal!' A happy cry.
It's Saturday morning and time for fun.
All shapes and sizes are whizzing by,
It's a lovely day for a 5k run.

I'm still a novice Volunteer.
Admiring so many serious runners.
It's free to run, no profiteer.
Just warm welcomes for all comers.

It's good to know you can feel fitter
Without the denial of enjoyment,
Soon you're achieving a great deal better,
And it does me good, this willing employment.

I try to do my part, cheering and clapping,
Urging all to do their best.
Unconcerned, the baby's sleeping,
A dog tows its owner ahead of the rest.

'Want to go shopping on Saturday morning?
Have a coffee out as well?
Maybe a lie-in while day is dawning?'
NO! I'm really under parkrun's spell!

This week 314 people ran, jogged and walked the course, of whom 25 were first timers and 42 recorded new Personal Bests. Representatives of 28 different clubs took part.

The event was made possible by 32 volunteers:

David MURRAY • David EVANS • Kersti O'MALLEY • Trevor ROTHWELL • Robert GREENWAY • Stuart GREENWAY • Mohamed ELSHEEMY • Saty KANDOLA • Anthony CLAYDON • Amanda PARSONS • Sam ALLEN • Pete THOMPSON • Duncan ROBERTSON • Stephen TRAYNOR • Sarah MCKEEVER • David CHANTREY • Jeremy POPE • Florencia BREA • Susan WOO • Satty SINGH X • Nari SANDHU • Jill COATES • Margaret WEBSTER • Ivan PAVLOVIC • James MOFFATT • Zoe SCANNELL • Jay MADAN • Krys PIETRECKI • Cade BROADHURST • Colin COHEN • Cathal LOUGHNANE • Tony BRAY

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

The male record is held by Matthew ARMSTRONG who recorded a time of 15:22 on 6th October 2012 (event number 77).
The female record is held by Charlotte TAYLOR who recorded a time of 17:09 on 23rd February 2013 (event number 97).
The Age Grade course record is held by Monica WILLIAMSON who recorded 98.23% (19:45) on 25th September 2021 (event number 478).

Leamington parkrun started on 23rd April 2011. Since then 20,592 participants have completed 179,582 parkruns covering a total distance of 897,910 km, including 27,402 new Personal Bests. A total of 1,971 individuals have volunteered 13,997 times.

Phew it was a hot one today! It seems hard to believe it was only a couple of weeks ago that we did a freezing run in the rain -  and being the tail walker that week I got to enjoy the rain for longer than many of the other runners. There were 365 runners this week and 42 ran a personal best (including all of the first five finishers) which is impressive despite the heat.

We had several newcomers who were warmly welcomed by the team and given an overview of the course before the start.

There was lots to celebrate this week too, congratulations to Isabelle running her 10^th parkrun, Arvinder running his 25^th and Neil who was running his 100^th. Many Happy returns of the day to Finn who was celebrating his birthday too.

It is lovely that dogs are welcomed at parkrun and that a dog can join their runner on a short lead. We met up with some of our favourite this week saying hi to Lola who was running with Patrick, and petting Rivet who was helping our wonderful volunteer Heather, manage the funnel at the end of the race and generally cheering everyone on. We also got to meet Maisy and George, who had been walking with Helen, and were eagerly awaiting treats after the run, hopefully gazing at the café in case biscuits appeared.

It is lovely to see our furry friends being welcomed and I think (although I may have dreamt it) that I saw a cat in a backpack carrier join us a few weeks ago. I’m not sure what the parkrun policy is on other pets, I suspect that a racing rabbit would probably only inspire the dogs to run faster… Still, know that if you bring your dog along there will be water at the end and maybe even some treats for them too.

Congratulations to our fastest male runner, Frazer Knowles, and Stephanie Lunn, our fastest female runner, and to all who made it round on a hot Saturday morning – you may be able to spot yourselves in the photos below.

I hope the rest of your day is filled with iced drinks, fans and paddling pools as we prepare for the coming hot weather. Thanks to all the wonderful people, and their pets, who volunteer to make parkrun possible: Kevin BASKERVILLE, Lori BASKERVILLE, Ian BEASLEY, Martin BENNETT, Tony BRAY, David CHANTREY, Jill COATES, Colin COHEN, Ian DAVIS, Roz DOYLE, Jane EASTWOOD, Simon ELEY, Oliver George EVANS, Niall FERGUSON, Heather FIELDING, Arthur GIBLIN, Katharine GIBLIN, Caroline GRAHAM, Daniel GRAHAM, Sarah HARRIS, Tessa LUKEHURST, Jay MADAN, Katherine MILLS, Nigel MILLS, James MOFFATT, Paul MORETON-SMITH, David MURRAY, Norah NICHOLS, Graham PATTON, Krys PIETRECKI, Judith POLLACCO, Jeremy POPE, Trevor ROTHWELL, Liz SALTER, Zoe SCANNELL, Harry SHORE, Oliver SHORE, Heather SIMS, Satty SINGH X, Krisztina STRATH, Stephen TRAYNOR

If you would like to help out with future runs then you can see what needs to be done here  https://www.parkrun.org.uk/leamington/futureroster and contact the parkrun team to offer your services here leamington@parkrun.com .

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

The male record is held by Matthew ARMSTRONG who recorded a time of 15:22 on 6th October 2012 (event number 77).
The female record is held by Charlotte TAYLOR who recorded a time of 17:09 on 23rd February 2013 (event number 97).
The Age Grade course record is held by Monica WILLIAMSON who recorded 98.23% (19:45) on 25th September 2021 (event number 478).

Leamington parkrun started on 23rd April 2011. Since then 20,567 participants have completed 179,268 parkruns covering a total distance of 896,340 km, including 27,360 new Personal Bests. A total of 1,970 individuals have volunteered 13,965 times.

 

Well, a small fire near the allotments at the top of the course, and the rain and drizzle on Saturday, 2 July 2002 certainly didn’t interfere with or dampen the enthusiasm of 329 people who either ran, jogged and/or walked this popular parkrun course at Newbold Comyn.

The event itself was littered with bright spells of accomplishment, fun and fabulous camaraderie.Sue Bull from Kenilworth notably ran her 250th parkrun, Martin Gittins from Coventry his 50th and Junior runner Norah her 10th. Congratulations all, keep up the great work!

The tokens today were given out by super duo Wilf and his Dad Stephen, who were both volunteering for the 25th time. Thank you guys; look forward to seeing those purple t shirts soon!

Local Ultra runner Colin Bailey from RunWithIan and Kenilworth Runners also finished his 186th parkrun in 23mins 4 seconds, less than one week after completing his epic 111-mile run in The Warwickshire Ring Canal Race - a circular route comprised of sections of the Coventry, Birmingham & Fazeley, Grand Union and Oxford Canal towpaths.

Also on hand serving tea and refreshments to brighten the day were Royal Spa Brass who are currently on a drive to raise money to save The Band Factory, a dilapidated 120-year-old community building on Althorpe Street which they occupy and rent out to other local community groups at a low cost.

As always there were plenty of stories and smiles shared as runners and walkers finished in the rain and were welcomed by a fabulous group of volunteers at the finish funnel. Thank you to the 39 of you who made this event possible, namely:

Malcolm FRY • David MURRAY • Krisztina STRATH • Lisa HARTILL • Marti DHESI • Kersti O'MALLEY • Stuart GREENWAY • Saty KANDOLA • Chris RAWCLIFFE • Frazer KNOWLES • Stephen EVANS • Ian BAYNES (yours truly) • Roz DOYLE • Luke BENNETT • Verity HILL • David CHANTREY • Jeremy POPE • Amy HARTILL • Antonio ALMEIDA • Eleanor NABNEY • Morgan NABNEY • Portia NABNEY • Satty SINGH • Wilfred EVANS • Arthur GIBLIN • Jill COATES • Judith POLLACCO • Caroline GRAHAM • James MOFFATT • Daniel GRAHAM • Sophie GRAHAM • Esther GRAHAM • Jay MADAN • Krys PIETRECKI • Ayse CROSSLAND • Cade BROADHURST • Colin COHEN • Adrian FARNWORTH • Jamie MINNS.

If you'd like to join the volunteering fun, you can see the future roster here: https://www.parkrun.org.uk/leamington/futureroster. Just email leamington@parkrun.com to claim your spot!

By Ian Baynes (runwithian.com)

 

36 participants this week were first timers and 51 recorded new Personal Bests. Representatives of 29 different running clubs took part.

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

The male record is held by Matthew ARMSTRONG who recorded a time of 15:22 on 6th October 2012 (event number 77).

The female record is held by Charlotte TAYLOR who recorded a time of 17:09 on 23rd February 2013 (event number 97).

The Age Grade course record is held by Monica WILLIAMSON who recorded 98.23% (19:45) on 25th September 2021 (event number 478).

Leamington parkrun started on 23rd April 2011. Since then 20,467 participants have completed 178,519 parkruns covering a total distance of 892,595 km, including 27,257 new Personal Bests. A total of 1,965 individuals have volunteered 13,882 times.