What a morning! And where but parkrun can you experience the joy of running in brilliant Autumn sunshine with a field of runners aged anywhere from 4-84 (including representatives from seven different athletics clubs running cheek-by-jowl with unattached and new runners) and a community spirit that warms the very soul?
On Saturday we even had young James (3) playing his harmonica to the runners as he helped with marshalling and cheered his Mum on, and his lovely Mum was also responsible for supplying some scrumptious homemade cakes at the end!
The gorgeous, if nippy, weather brought out our best attendance so far of 91 finishers (we counted more at the start line), including 15 first-timers, and conditions were yet again ripe for some excellent runs and PBs galore; clear, cool and still, with beautiful blue skies that made everyone glad to be up and about. All this and cake?! Non-parkrunners simply don’t know what they are missing!
Personal bests achieved
Yet again our fastest three men and women all achieved PBs! Our winner for the second time was Will Ambrosini (VM40-44) of the Ryde Harriers, in his best time so far of 18:51. After his excellent PB last week, IW Road Runner and previous winner – Alan Rowe (VM45-49) – did it again with his second place time of 19:14, whilst Nick Kenney (VM40-44) ran his best ever, out of 6 parkruns to date, to gain third place with his new PB time of 19:55.
Running her first parkrun since last week’s gruelling IW marathon, Mary Norman (VW45-49) of the Ryde Harriers stormed home in her best parkrun to date, to be the winning lady for the second time (and 11th overall) with a time of 21:12.
Not far behind was fellow Ryde Harrier and previous parkrun champion, Karen Lewis (VW45-49), in her own new PB time of 21:56. Our third lady across the line was previous 11-time winner Eden Crumplin (JW14) of the IWAC, with her best ever time of 22:21, and with 21 runs under her belt Eden has still run more IW parkruns than everyone else except Jay Tuck!
PBs were the order of the day today, with a massive 40 being achieved, and all I can say is WELL DONE everyone! Jay Tuck, under the guidance of his experienced runner Dad, achieved yet another PB; the Lewis family excelled; young Ben Holdsworth was stunning to watch as he raced around the final corner to achieve his new PB; and parkrun regular Kaya Simpson – and her Mum! – also did better than ever. I wish I could mention you all as you all deserve it, but just know that you are all stars.
Eden still tops the ladies table
12 year old Eden still leads the ladies points table with 2,184, whilst Elsie (who volunteered this week) and her Mum, Katie (who got a PB today!), still hold second and third places with 1,701 and 1,540 points respectively.
In the men’s points table, Michael David Morris – who was only seconds off a PB – is the first man to reach 2,000 points at the IW parkrun with his leading score of 2,002 points. Jay Tuck still holds a well-deserved second place with 1,905 after his PB and 21st parkrun, and young Jacob Lewis is still third – after his excellent PB – with 1,571 points.
The best age-graded performance scores were higher than last week, and our winning female Mary Norman takes the top billing with a well-earned 78.85%. Graham Maitland – having achieved a PB for the second week – earned 76.78% and was the highest graded male. Graham Tuck remains top of the overall table with his excellent score of 85.21% achieved on 14th May, with Mary holding 5th position overall and highest ladies placing after Saturday’s scoring.
322 different runners
Since the Isle of Wight parkrun started we have had 322 different runners, representing 38 different athletics or running clubs, running the equivalent of 1,221 parkruns and covering a total distance of 6,105km. In effect this would be like running around the circumference of the Isle of Wight 62 and a bit times!
Our overall female course record holder is local girl, and IWAC member, Carla Plowden-Roberts for her time of 20:46 achieved on 27th August, whilst Eastleigh parkrunner – John Collier – achieved the latest men’s record of 16:30 on 1st October.
Thanks to volunteers
We would like to say a massive thank you to all the volunteers who helped this week, including poor Kirsty – who was left single-handed at the scanning table on our busiest parkrun to date whilst I got carried away with the photography (sorry and well done, Kirsty!) – and the Cannings who are always so willing to help and vociferous in their support of the runners. Ray Scovell was our excellent, inspiring, megaphone-wielding Race Director, and the event simply wouldn’t exist if it were not for him.
Volunteers needed
We always have a “white-board” at our runs for if you would like to volunteer at any future events, or you can send Ray an email or facebook message if preferred.
Don’t forget it is only two weeks until the Hallowe’en parkrun, so come along in a bit of spooky fancy-dress to add to the fun!
Also, it is not too late to ask Ray to secure a Santa Suit for the much anticipated Christmas Eve parkrun – they are available in adult or child sizes and are all less than £5.
A reminder to runners; please laminate your bar-codes or put them in a protective sleeve if you can, as we do still have problems with damp and wrinkled barcodes that won’t scan. As the numbers increase it will just help to keep things running smoothly for the volunteers at the finishing line!
Saturday felt like the best and happiest parkrun so far. Join us again next Saturday (8.45am assembly for a 9am start) for our 25th IW parkrun, and let’s see if we can make it even bigger and better!
