Many people have waxed lyrical about the beauty of Cornwall, and quite rightly so. For Steph living in Plymouth it is only a hop and a skip over the River Tamar. For Claire living in Taunton it is more of a trek, but nothing fills our hearts more with joy, than seeing the ‘Welcome to Cornwall’ sign as we cross the border from Devon.
06:30 marked the start of our voyage from Plymouth to Penrose parkrun this morning, arriving at the beautiful picturesque lake next to Penrose estate. The Penrose Estate, which is owned by the National Trust, features woodland tracks, stretches of coastline and open parkland all centred around Loe Pool which is Cornwall’s largest natural freshwater lake. Loe Pool is cut off from the sea by a broad shingle bar, heaped up by heavy atlantic seas. Loe Bar is the site of many historical shipwrecks, and reportedly is where King Arthur was mortally wounded and died. The National Trust ‘Stables Cafe’ is open every day from Easter til October, and luckily for us parkrunners, weekends over winter. We chose to visit the Lakeside Cafe afterwards however, which boasts lovely views of the lake. Toilets and a large free car park nearby make this an attractive choice for parkrun tourists and you can even feed the ducks!
We were given a friendly welcome from the RD, and we chatted in the meadow whilst waiting for the run briefing. There were lots of people of all ages, dogs and buggies, all raring to go! After a slightly congested start, we were off, bounding through the woods and along the scenic estate. The path was mostly flat and smooth in surface, making it ideal settings for a PB. Road shoes are suitable for this course, and although it is a tarmac path, it feels like a trail parkrun. The views throughout were beautiful, and well worth the early start for us!
At event #210 today, 232 people walked, jogged or ran their way around the course. Samuel Goodchild was first male back with his time of 17:21 and Ruby Lily Orchard was first female with her respective time of 18:56. The female record is currently held by Grace BROCK, who recorded a time of 16:32 on 29th December 2018 and the male record is currently held by Peter LE GRICE, who recorded a time of 14:38 on 1st January 2019.
The large contingent of walkers at the back was so encouraging to see, we think Mr Sinton Hewitt would be proud of how inclusive parkrun has become for everybody, regardless of speed. Claire was walking today due to injury (apparently 26 marathons isn’t a good idea - who knew?!) but she definitely deserved her coffee and cake afterwards. One thing worth mentioning is it’s important to remember that parkrun is for everyone, whether they want to walk, run, jog or dance their way around the course. We are all participating for the same or similar purpose; therefore everyone should be treated equally and fairly. Respect your fellow parkrunner!
Since Penrose parkrun started on 28th March 2015, 8,066 participants have completed 36,233 parkruns covering a total distance of 181,165 km, including 7,602 new Personal Bests. A total of 324 individuals have volunteered 2,698 times. Penrose will be celebrating its 4th Birthday next Saturday March 30th, and the theme will be superheroes. So dust off your capes and work on your superhero powers ready for next week. Please also note that tomorrow, Sunday March 24th there will be a National Trust organised free 10k trail run.This is part of a series of runs held on the 4th Sunday of every month, which allows you to explore the Godolphin’s wider estate. Registration is at 08:30 with the run starting at 09:00. The Piggery will be open for tea, coffee and cake from 10:00. If that isn’t enough to tempt you, we don’t know what is! See https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/events/4fd801ad-87b1-419b-bb1a-1f6a37ce1cfd/pages/details for details.
A big thank you to this week’s volunteers: Alan JONES • Claire ALLISON • Diane PHILLIPS • Timothea CARDELL • Diane WARREN • Clare HUGHES • Chris HUGHES • Mick RANDALL • Helen WEBB • Hayley ORCHARD • Andrea HUNT • Stephanie BENNETT • John GORTON • Tabitha WHITEHOUSE-BANKS • Evie RALPH • Kelly GVALDA • Lylah GVALDA
Volunteering is a fun and rewarding way to be part of the parkrun family so if you haven’t already tried it, please do! There are so many roles to choose from that you are bound to find something that you feel comfortable with.
Today's full results and a complete event history can be found on http://www.parkrun.org.uk/penrose/results/latestresults/
And now for the #neatnumbers awards...
Jack Newcombe 21:12
Tracey Nicholls 23:45
Bob Shepherd 25:25
Jade Wallin and Mark Dorrell 26:00
Neil Trott 26:20 (Claire’s personal favourite as a marathon runner!)
Lyla Powell 27:27
Jo Hill 28:28
Lewis Orchard 29:29
Thomas Evans 32:00
Lyn Jones 33:00
Loki Curtis-Cullen 33:33
Lavender Leishman 36:00
Helen Siseman 36:36
Sarah Wilson 50:05
This week’s #hatsoff awards go to:
The 38 people who got PBs today
The 36 people who visited for the first time today, 14 of whom did their first ever parkrun today! Welcome to the parkrun family.
Poppy Leishman who earned her 10 milestone tee today
No 50 tee’s earned today but Rachael Hilliard will get hers on her next parkrun!
Congrats to Tim Hayden who did his 100 milestone parkrun today!
Special mention to Sally Woodward Gentle who has done a whopping 456 parkruns!! Her 11th parkrun Birthday will be on April 12th.
All that is left for us to say is a big thank you to you all for having us, and if you ever feel like touring a little further away, you will receive a very warm welcome at either Plymvalley or Longrun Meadow parkruns.
Stephanie Bennett A1878622 Plymvalley parkrun
Claire Allison A686050 Longrun Meadow parkrun
