Run Report By: Michelle Large
Photos By: Richard Mason & Mike Dawes can be found here.
Published By: Emily Mason

We survived storm Ciara, and went ahead with or with out Dennis, and this week as I sat drinking my tea first thing Saturday morning, I thought to myself surely not storm Eric, Edna or even Ellen could be on the way…

The wind was howling, and it seemed to be blowing a gale as I sat inside my warm house, but that didn’t stop 483 of us turning up for our usual Saturday morning fix, and we had 14 first timers trying out parkrun for the very first time, and they chose Woodley to try it out first.

A 3 lap course that’s all it is, I say this to myself every week. Although this week it seemed to be a bit drier up on the top field, still a bit sticky, but nowhere near the squidgy mud that we had the week before, and the lake water was still in the lake and not lapping at our feet as we went around. No footballs to dodge, no smell of bacon and sausages being cooked, and no clapping or cheering from parents as the goals were scored.

But what we did have today was the lady on the bench for the duration, that clapped and cheered as we all went round giving us encouragement to keep on going, (she probably thought it was safer than trying to navigate the path with 400 people going around it in circles!!) We do need to remember we share the park, we don’t have exclusive rights, and we should always try to keep to the left. I am a vocal one that will give the “soft” keep left shout as we have the faster runners coming through, as its much for their safety as it is ours, but please we do request only one earphone should be in if you prefer to listen to your tunes as you go round.

When you’ve finished your little morning trip round the park, as you walk back to your car, bike, or have enough in the legs to run home, it doesn’t hurt to give a little “well done”, “keep going”, as a slower runner myself we might not always acknowledge it, but it is most certainly welcome, and where we have all these new people joining us every week, what a great way to make everyone feel welcome.

Now if you were a faster runner, then you would have missed the rain shower, so it does have its benefits, but it wont make the queue in the coffee shop go any quicker just because you got there first, or it any cheaper, you wish !!

But the quicker you go does it get you to a milestone any sooner? Nope, every parkrun you complete is an achievement, be it running, jogging, or walking, and once you’ve done it, I know you're waiting for next Saturday to come around. Having just completed my 50th parkrun last week, I feel the need to share that I was very surprised to learn that my milestone T – Shirt was only going to cost me £3.99 for the postage and packing. I received an email link on the Tuesday evening, completed it on the Weds night and my T – Shirt had arrived by Royal Mail, shoved through the letter box whilst I was running around on Saturday. I shall be wearing this with pride next Saturday, and I am only a couple more volunteer roles from reaching my 25 Volunteer milestone T- Shirt, and on that note……

parkrun is brought to you week in week out by a team of volunteers, with out these it cant go ahead, nobody gets paid, everybody gives up their own time, but they do it because they want to give something back. You can register on the Woodley volunteer page, and its as simple as just sending an email in to woodleyhelpers@parkrun.com with your name, ID no and the role you would like to do. You could even be writing this report, set up before running, close down after, or the first timers brief before we start. Next week we need extra volunteers as we are doing something that has only been done once in our 8 year history.

We’re running backwards…………

Are you injured, have a family member that would normally come to watch, or meets you after for a coffee, it’s a great way to get out and meet new friends, but more importantly –

In a world where you can be anything…… Be Kind.

Now for the stats...

This week 483 people ran, jogged and walked the course, of whom 64 were first timers and 48 recorded new Personal Bests. Representatives of 27 different clubs took part. We had visitors from Arrow Valley, Towcester and Oxford.

The event was made possible by 25 volunteers:

David SAYER • Juliet FENWICK • Andy BEST • Sara Jane BEST • Richard MASON • Emily MASON • Amanda TIPLADY • Vicki KENT • Rob WIDDIS • Giorgio CAVACIUTI • Suzanne BYRNE • Francis WASHINGTON • Mike DAWES • Katie PERKINS • Geoff WHITE • Elizabeth SARJENT • Martyn ALLEN • Peter GLASS • Don BIGLEY • Linda JANE • Finley MOFFATT • Bill HELLINGS • Michelle LARGE • Toby SPLAIN • Harrison BYRNE

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

The male record is held by Robert CORNEY who recorded a time of 15:17 on 6th April 2019 (event number 341).
The female record is held by Naomi MITCHELL who recorded a time of 17:22 on 11th May 2019 (event number 346).
The Age Grade course record is held by Caroline HOSKINS who recorded 91.55% (18:32) on 30th March 2019 (event number 340).

Woodley parkrun started on 13th October 2012. Since then 10,741 participants have completed 102,288 parkruns covering a total distance of 511,440 km, including 16,455 new Personal Bests. A total of 893 individuals have volunteered 8,237 times.

Run Report by Sophie Falkiner
Published by Gia Middleton

After scrolling through the list of local cancellations on Friday evening (there were  many!), myself and my husband were delighted to see that Woodley parkrun was still going ahead. I have done Woodley a few times, but for my husband it would be his first visit and he was very excited to complete his NENYD - nearest event not yet done.

As we arrived, we were both impressed to see the number of people who had braved the windy conditions to claim another parkrun, with 421 parkrunners choosing to walk, jog, run and chat their way around the course! 27 people were first-timers at Woodley, my husband included, plus 5 people who were attending their first ever parkrun. Well done and we hope you enjoyed yourselves - welcome to the parkrun family.

As well as being a great course (with PB potential), one of the reasons I love returning to Woodley is that the volunteers are always welcoming, friendly and enthusiastic. Saturday was no exception, in spite of the weather - running in poor weather is one thing, but standing around in the cold trying to stay warm is another thing entirely! Thank you to the 28 smiling hi-vis heroes who did just that to make the event possible and us all feel so welcome.

The local cancellations contributed to lots of visitors, and representatives of 36 different clubs attended.The energy of the Run Director during the briefing helped us all to forget about the threat of Storm Dennis looming overhead, and we headed over towards the start. Given the weather of the previous week, I was a little conscious as we set off across the field that I was wearing my new (clean!) road shoes... would they survive the mud-fest? This was all soon a distant thought as we counted down... 3, 2, 1, GO! We dodged the worst of the mud, skirted around the bench and up towards the war memorial where the encouraging face of a volunteer awaited us. As we approached the lake I remembered how much fun this course can be, the joy of running down towards the lake to build momentum and then the push up the hill towards the pitches. As usual, there were lots of cute dogs (on short leads, of course) to distract me from the initial sting of the wind and ache in my legs.

I had forgotten how tough the football pitches could be when the ground is softer, but the promise of firmer ground on the other side and two more friendly volunteers meant lap 1 was over before I knew it. The tougher conditions didn't stop 25 people recording brand new course PBs, however. Impressive! As I ran down towards the lake again, I enjoyed seeing those speedier runners heading around on another lap so I shouted out some encouragement to spur them on.

As I headed out for the final lap, I definitely appreciated the smiling face at the top of 'that' hill - and the encouraging cheers as I made my way up it for the third and final time! Once more around the pitches and I knew it would all be over soon. I had just enough energy to pull out a sprint finish and achieve my fastest time this year. I met up with my husband (who always leaves me for dust!) and as we headed over to the cafe for a warm drink and some breakfast, he announced that he had had a brilliant run and could not wait to visit again, with his aim for next time to avoid being lapped - I can only dream!

Congratulations to Mark WORRINGHAM who was first finisher in 17.20 and Hayleigh WOOD who was first female in 20.49.

Milestones were also celebrated by Sandra SHEPPARD, Michelle LARGE and Daisy CARPENTER who all completed their 50th parkruns, and Pam BENNETT who completed her 250th - thank you very much for the cakes!

Thank you for having us, we are sure we will see you all again soon!

And now for the stats:

This week 421 people ran, jogged and walked the course, of whom 27 were first timers and 25 recorded new Personal Bests. Representatives of 36 different clubs took part.

The event was made possible by 28 volunteers:

David SAYER • Nicholette SAYER • Kerri FRENCH • Eoin Stuart MCLEOD • Lorna MCLEOD • Andy LORING • Les BENNETT • Amanda TIPLADY • Michael MOORE • Rob WIDDIS • Giorgio CAVACIUTI • Owen LLOYD • Sarah HILLING • Suzanne BYRNE • Francis WASHINGTON • Elizabeth SARJENT • Gia MIDDLETON • James AUDLEY • Sally RICHARDS • William SUTER • Jack SMITH • Don BIGLEY • Finley MOFFATT • Bill HELLINGS • Tracy RICHARDSON • Michelle LARGE • Toby SPLAIN • Harrison BYRNE

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

The male record is held by Robert CORNEY who recorded a time of 15:17 on 6th April 2019 (event number 341).
The female record is held by Naomi MITCHELL who recorded a time of 17:22 on 11th May 2019 (event number 346).
The Age Grade course record is held by Caroline HOSKINS who recorded 91.55% (18:32) on 30th March 2019 (event number 340).

Woodley parkrun started on 13th October 2012. Since then 10,677 participants have completed 101,805 parkruns covering a total distance of 509,025 km, including 16,407 new Personal Bests. A total of 893 individuals have volunteered 8,212 times.