parkrun organises free, weekly (Saturday 9am), 5km timed runs in the UK and around the world. They are open to everyone, free, and are safe and easy to take part in http://www.parkrun.org.uk/
They are great for all abilities, from those just starting out to families of all ages, for the novice as well as the elite runner. Many Joggers regularly take part and volunteer with local events being hosted in Cambridge, Bury St Edmunds, Clare Castle, Haverhill, Brandon, Thetford and Wimpole Park. Once registered you can enjoy them anywhere around the country, in fact around the world! You are welcome to walk, jog or run these events according to your preference and level of fitness.
Another free weekly timed 5km that has now appeared on the local scene is Great Run Local (GRL), which starts at the bottom of Newmarket Heath’s Warren Hill on a Sunday at 11:15am., see: www.greatrunlocal.org/ There is also the option of a shorter 2.5km run for children and adults.
Newmarket Jogger and keen parkrunner Chris Aylmer has kindly offered to write a weekly report on how the Joggers have got on:-
Newmarket Joggers parkrun Report for 2nd Feb 2019
Both Cambridge parkruns were cancelled due to the icy conditions of the courses, so the number of Joggers parkrunning was a bit down this week.
Henry Hamilton continued in his quest for interesting parkrun experiences. This week he was at Fire Service College parkrun in Moreton-in-Marsh, Gloucestershire. This is a flat, 3-lap course over playing fields, woodland and tarmac path. The parkrun only began on the 8th December last year but attendance is already in the 200 to 300 range with a record of 332 in early January. Henry clocked a very decent 22:29 and came 1st of 5 in his age group.
Also touring was Melanie Tindale (25:27) at Rutland Water parkrun, which she has run on 13 occasions with a course PB of 21:45 last year. It was her best parkrun so far this year and she finished 5th of 18 in her age category.
James Tweed (22:16) was at his local Clare Castle parkrun and finished 6th of 95 overall and 3rd of 11 in his age group, so a good outing for him.
Thetford was more popular this week with 3 Joggers attending: Bobby Jackson (20:25), James Thomson (22:57) and Giles Macrow (32:10). Giles was kindly helping as 32 minute pacemaker and James was pushing the buggy with his daughter inside. It was a Buggy PB for James by 7 seconds, beating his previous best of 23:04 at Haverhill. Amazingly, he was also 2nd of 6 in his age group against all the others who had no buggy to push. That’s certainly an excellent way to train and keep fit when you have a small child to care for. Bobby put in a top effort in his first parkrun this year and was 6th of 243 overall and 1st of 4 in his age group by over 4 minutes, just 1 second outside his course PB.
Iain Perry was on the ball and noticed both Cambridge parkruns were cancelled, so was able to get to Brandon instead, unlike a few Joggers such as….well….me for one! Not that he’s a stranger to Brandon and has done it a good many times. He clocked 28:14, which is his best time of 2019 and his renaissance continues.
At Bury St Edmunds, Belinda Schofield (28:28) returned for her third parkrun and promptly achieved another PB by 3 seconds, 2nd of 7 in her age group. Interestingly, the first in this FV60 age group was Sonia McClintock, a very able runner, who was a club member until a year ago. Ruth Eberhardt (25:58) is staying in very consistent form, with her last 5 parkruns in the 25 minute bracket, and came home 5th of 16 by age group.
Newmarket GRL Sun 3rd Feb 2019
Joggers participating in the 5K GRL were: Richard Wilkinson (21:45, 4th), Richard Jones (22:57, 6th), Hannah Parsons (25:36, 3rd F), Giles Macrow (26:42, 19th), Baz Colley (27:24, 26th), Jan Holmes (29:07, 10th F), Chris Aylmer (29:32, 39th), Sianie Painter (29:43, 11th F). Well done Richard and Jan, who both recorded course PBs. Giles also ran earlier in the new Walsham Le Willows GRL at 9:30am, clocking 26:52 after a late start. He was helping the starter set up the timing phone properly.
In the 2.5K GRL, Junior Jogger Cerys Bithell (12:04) came 1st of 5 females and 2nd of 31 runners overall, gaining a course PB, so a very good effort. Next was mother Ellie Bithell (13:23), 2nd female home, also with a course PB. Youngest daughter Lauren Bithell did well to finish in 23:46.
Numbers at the GRL are definitely climbing steadily with 55 in the 5K and 31 in the 2.5K event. Interestingly, the first home in the 5K was racewalker George Wilkinson (20:45), son of Richard and younger brother of racewalker Callum. On this occasion he ran, rather than walked, but has a PB of 24:24 in the 5K walk, so might have been about 12th walking the course. His brother Callum has an incredible PB of 19:17 in the 5K walk, so could have been first finisher in this GRL keeping one foot on the ground!
Newmarket Joggers parkrun Report for 26th Jan 2019
Jon Brooker (20:35) was a bona fide tourist at the fairly new Swaffham parkrun, between King’s Lynn and Norwich, which launched in May last year. He did well to finish 5th of 101 overall and 1st of 9 in his age category. Numbers have averaged around 75 weekly since the launch but recently there have been several weeks making it over 100. The course is a flat 3-lapper over the playing fields of the Swaffham Junior School nearby.
Not far south of here, Clodie Rolph (31:43) and Kate Warboys (33:29) put in good, steady runs at Thetford parkrun, both first-timers at this venue and running their first parkruns of 2019. In fact, Clodie hadn’t run any parkruns at all since her first one in April 2017, when she clocked 31:46 at Cambridge, so it was a welcome all-time PB for her by 3 seconds.
Close by at Brandon, Adam Maltpress (28:40) and Chris Aylmer (29:55) were in action. Adam, who has a parkrun 2019 PB of 22:43, was probably taking an easier run before his 15K Dirt Run the next day in Irchester, while Chris tripped over a tree root soon after the start and was glad to make it home in just under 30 minutes.
A regular runner at Thetford, Giles Macrow (26:25) decided instead to try out Coldham’s Common in Cambridge for the first time. He put in a good effort over this 2-lapper around playing fields on the Common. The course has been changed so that the start and finish are now in the same place; a much better idea. Melanie Tindale was generously helping as a volunteer at this parkrun.
Cambridge parkrun at Milton was back at over 500 participants for only the second time since Coldham’s Common set up their rival parkrun venue last September. There was a sizeable bunch of Joggers running: James Thomson (20:21), Henry Hamilton (21:11), Richard Jones (21:15), Jan Holmes (27:49), Iain Perry (28:28), Sianie Painter (29:16) and Sarah Kinston (30:10). Sarah put in a good, steady effort, maybe primarily focusing on her half marathon preparation with a long run the next day. Sianie recorded her best parkrun time this year and a new PB at Cambridge, finishing 5th of 24 in her age group, so a very good run. Iain and Jan also achieved their best times of 2019. Iain is definitely on the upgrade, while Jan did well to finish 4th of 23 in her age category. Richard, Henry and James finished 2nd of 18, 4th of 22 and 3rd of 19 by age category respectively, with Henry recording a new Cambridge PB, so all top efforts.
Finally, at Bury St Edmunds, Paul Dockerill (23:25), Clive Purbrook (24:47), Ruth Eberhardt (25:29), Belinda Schofield (28:31) and Stephanie Greenwood (30:43) were on the starting line in Nowton Park. Belinda and Clive both achieved parkrun PBs in their second parkrun, with Belinda 1st of 5 in her age group by over 7 minutes and Clive 5th of 14 in his, so an excellent double act. Stephanie put in her best parkrun time of 2019, as did Ruth, who finished 3rd of 16 in her age category. Paul was first Jogger home but, by his standards, appears to have been taking a slightly easier run this week, possibly helping to pace somebody. Neville Clarke was kindly acting as a marshal before his Freethorpe 10 mile race the next day.
Newmarket GRL Sunday 27th Jan 2019
There were 5 Joggers at the Newmarket GRL, out of a total field of 34 in the 5K: Stuart Sowerby (20:55, 2nd), Richard Jones (21:41, 3rd), James Tweed (22:19, 6th), Chris Aylmer (29:53, 26th) and Giles Macrow (32:53, started late and injured calf). No PBs to note, probably due to the very windy weather which was dead against coming down the hill.
NJ parkrun Report for 19th Jan 2019
There are 4 interesting tourist excursions to report on this week. Melanie Tindale (26:00) took the trip to Oxford parkrun, which was established in 2011, the year after Cambridge parkrun began. The first parkrun here attracted just 50 participants, but fields of around 400-500 are the norm now. Melanie did well to finish 3rd of 18 by age group in her first attempt at this venue. The course is in Cutteslowe and Sunnymead Park (quite a mouthful) in north Oxford, a 2 lap route along footpaths circling wooded parkland. Part of the course is shared with the Peace Mile, founded in 1987 by Sri Chinmoy, an Indian spiritual leader and advocate of world peace, who died in 2007. He invited all people to walk or run the measured mile to find their own inner peace.
Meanwhile Giles Macrow (28:00) was at Brueton parkrun, adjoining Solihull and southeast of Birmingham, where there was a huge field of 749. Giles was probably taking it easy before his 5K and 10K at Snetterton the next day. He was 48th of 68 in his age group, illustrating the huge amount of competition around him. This parkrun is a little over 2 laps, all on tarmac and almost flat with minor undulations. It goes through some lovely wooded parkland owned by Warwickshire Wildlife Trust.
Up at York, Emma Newman (21:40) put in another fine run, not far from her 21:14 course and all-time parkrun PB, finishing 4th of 201 women overall and 1st of 23 by age category. This course is flat and fast, going along service roads on the inside of York Racecourse.
The last of the wanderers was Henry Hamilton (20:51), who was down at Clapham Common in south London. Now this was even huger than Brueton parkrun, with a total of 941 participants….and it only started in March last year! In his first run here, Henry came a very decent 9th of 44 by age group. This is a flat 2 lap course, mainly over hard paths on the Common.
Cambridge was popular with the Joggers. At Milton, Richard Jones (21:25), Neville Clarke (21:45), Sarah Kinston (30:07), Sianie Painter (30:08), Alexia Smithson (30:37) and Carol McIntosh (33:30) were all in action. Carol came up trumps with a new all-time parkrun PB and was also 1st of 3 by age category, while Alexia did well to take 30 secs off her course PB. Sianie and Sarah were possibly taking it a little easier with, respectively, a XC and long run to come next day. Neville and Richard were bang on form, both heading their age groups comfortably, with Neville 1st of 11 by over a minute and Richard 1st of 20. Down at the “other place” on Coldham’s Common, James Thomson (23:39) was ploughing a lonely furrow for the Joggers, with his daughter in the buggy. He did a great job to finish 12th of 23 in his age category, despite the big handicap against him, also considering that the ground is quite bumpy and uneven in parts of the small field.
Bury St Edmunds parkrun was also popular with club members. It was Clive Purbrook’s and Belinda Schofield’s first ever parkrun, so quite an occasion. Clive managed 3rd of 12 by age group, while Belinda came 1st of 6 in her age group by over 9 minutes, so a great start to their parkrun careers. Ruth Eberhardt (25:44) was solid as ever, finishing 4th of 23 in her category. Paul Dockerill (26:20) ran with daughter Chloe (26:19), who is now a junior St Edmund Pacer (cross your fingers and eat garlic to ward off the evil spirits!). She finished 1st in her age group by over 32 minutes; not bad! Stephanie Greenwood (30:55) had a steady run and was 5th of 13 by age category. Jason Bevan (32:12) was no doubt taking it easy before his impressive performance in the Stowmarket XC the next day, when he came home 3rd for the men’s team.
Brandon parkrun attracted James Tweed (22:13), Neil Williamson (24:55) and Adam Maltpress (29:26). It looks like Adam sensibly put in a more relaxed run to save energy for the Snetterton 5K and 10K the next day, while Neil ran at a steady pace, without risking injury. It was James’s first attempt at Brandon and he liked the course, promising to be back again soon (“I’ll be back”). He came 2nd of 16 by age category and should improve even more now he has learnt a bit more about the course.
Alan Thornhill (30:23) was on his own at Wimpole Estate parkrun and put in a good effort to earn a course PB and finish 1st in his age group by over 5 minutes. I (Chris Aylmer, 31:11) was at Haverhill and would like to say I was saving something for the XC next day, but felt unable to up the pace in the freezing, windy conditions, complete with snow flurries.
Newmarket GRL for 20th Jan 2019
Newmarket Joggers Hannah Parsons (25:13) and Jill O’Grady (27:08) both participated in the 5K and came 2nd and 9th of 13 named female runners respectively. This gave them both a well deserved course PB in their second attempts at this run. Well done. In the 2.5K run Junior Jogger Cerys Bithell clocked 24:23, which is a lot slower than her PB of 12:59 last week, so she may have been helping out as a sweeper. She was doing some secret nighttime training on this course last week so expect a PB soon! The 5K course is very accurately measured and nearly always works out exactly 5K on my watch. That’s good. However, the actual distance of the official 2K run is more than 2K and, on my watch, comes to just over 2.5K, if you don’t cut off the corner before the downhill. It could easily be changed from 2K to 2.5K and the course remeasured to the exact distance. Southwold GRL has changed its official course distances from 2K & 5K, to 1 mile & 3 miles, so it can definitely be done. The times and % age grades on the current system give false values, slower in time and lower in % age grade than they should be and there is no point in people getting a course PB over the wrong distance. Let’s change it organisers! I have a measuring wheel if you need it and we can get the course to 2.5K and change the official distance.
NJ parkrun Report for 12th Jan 2019
Newsflash: There is rumour of a Stowmarket parkrun in the planning. If true, that would be good news for mid-Suffolk.
No tourists to report on this week. Daryl Moran (23:26) was at fairly far-flung Wimpole Estate parkrun and set himself a new course PB by over 5 minutes, having previously run once there.
At Cambridge Coldham’s Common, Jamie Sales (18:21) returned to near his best form, 1st of 4 by age group and with 72.66% age grade. Mother Sarah Sales (26:15) and father Mike Sales (25:30) also had very good runs, with Sarah finishing 1st of 10 in her age group and Mike achieving a new course PB.
At sister Cambridge parkrun at Milton, James Thomson (19:28), Richard Jones (21:01), Emma Newman (22:08), Eadie Brooker (24:17), Jon Brooker (24:17) and Jim Withers (27:28) were all in action. James achieved a new course PB and his best parkrun time since July 2017, also finishing 6th of 21 in his very competitive age group. Richard was solid as ever, 2nd of 21 by age group, with an age grade of 73.12%, and Emma was also in top form, 2nd of 34 in her age group. Eadie Brooker, Junior Newmarket Jogger and 11-year-old daughter of Jon Brooker, set a big new parkrun PB and finished 1st of 9 in her JW11-14 age group , so is showing great promise. Jim put in a good run, 4th of 11 by age group, though is still recovering from a nasty chest cold over the New Year.
At Clare Castle there were 3 Joggers: James Tweed (22:03), Chris Aylmer (29:20) and Iain Perry (29:28). James was 1st of 8 by age group, while Iain and Chris ran close together at a very similar, steady pace.
Up at Bury St Edmunds, Paul Dockerill (19:52) set himself a new course PB and was 1st of 8 by age group, so in confident form. Not to be outdone, Neville Clarke (22:21) was 1st of 10 in his age group by over 2 minutes with an age grade of 75.02%, while Ruth Eberhardt (25:46) put in her usual classy but seemingly effortless run, 4th of 22 against her age rivals. Sarah Kinston (31:30) was not overly enthusiastic about the merits of this tough course in her first visit here, no doubt slowed by the soggy and muddy terrain. The course can sometimes look dismal and behave rather abysmally underfoot in the winter months but is a picture in the spring, summer and autumn, which would be a good time to return to get a PB! Sarah ran with Rebecca Hannah (31:30) who managed 3rd of 8 by age group, so may feel a little more positive. Alexia Smithson (31:36) put in a steady effort.
Finally, up at Brandon, Adam Maltpress (22:43) got quite near his PB of 22:18, while Neil Williamson (25:07) was enjoying a more relaxed run, with his PB standing at 20:43, admittedly, some years ago. Stephanie Greenwood (30:07) did well to come 3rd of 11 by age group.
Newmarket GRL Sunday 13th Jan 2019
There was a good crowd at Warren Hill on Sunday, with a total of around 100 running in the 5K and 2.5K events. There were 7 Joggers in the 5K field. Stuart Sowerby (21:16) put in a top run to come home 2nd of 54 overall in his first run here. Hannah Parsons was 1st female to finish in 25:38 and is improving in leaps and bounds since joining the club. She was closely followed by Ellie Bithell (25:56) in second female place. Then came Jill O’Grady (27:27), also on the upgrade, in her first attempt at this course, followed by Giles Macrow (28:29, pulled a hamstring unfortunately), Chris Aylmer (29:35) and Andrew Rice (36:28).
NJ parkrun Report for 5th Jan 2019
A few tourists to report on first. Alan Thornhill (30:14) took himself to Great Dunmow parkrun in Essex for his first attempt at this course. It’s between Bishop’s Stortford and Braintree and only began life in April 2018. The course is an attractive 1.5 lap route, mainly over trails which follow and criss-cross the River Chelmer for some of the way. Alan was the only one in his age group and put in a good steady run. Jason Bevan (20:19) tried out Sizewell parkrun on the Suffolk coast, where Alan (above) is the only other Jogger to have visited so far. Jason put in a good run, coming 2nd in his age group and 6th of 113 overall. He has an impressive parkrun PB of 17:35 at Cambridge back in 2014 but took 2 years off parkrun and then resumed last year, so will no doubt improve a lot if he carries on. The third tourist was Sarah Kinston (28:49) at Conkers parkrun for the 8th time, where there was a huge field of 659. Sarah ran very well to get a course PB, only 9 seconds outside her all-time parkrun PB gained at Littleport in December. She was 9th of 45 in her age group, so really moving up the ranks now!
In the local parkruns, we can first look at the lone parkrunners. Adam Maltpress (23:47) was on his own at Brandon in only his 4th parkrun, having run one in 2015, one in 2017 and his third last week at Brandon. He did well to come 2nd of 5 by age group, without threatening his PB of 22:18 set last week. Giles Macrow (24:34) pushed up his pace a little at Thetford parkrun and finished 5th of 15 in his age group. Chris Aylmer (28:43) put in his 200th parkrun at Gt Cornard, where there was a lot bigger than normal turnout of 233 to say goodbye to the founding race director Lisa Dalton, who was standing down from the role after 4 years, due to illness. A lot of sponsorship money was raised for Parkinson’s UK, for whom Lisa will be running in the London Marathon this year.
At Bury St Edmunds, Alex Swarbrick (20:11), Daryl Moran (23:13), Ruth Eberhardt (25:36), Malcolm Osbourn (27:08) and Jenny Osbourn (35:25) were participating. Alex is a talented Junior Jogger in the 15-17 year age band, who occasionally runs parkruns. This was his first parkrun for nearly a year and he set a new course PB, finishing 5th of 292 runners overall and 1st of 4 in his age group, so in very good form. It was Daryl’s second parkrun and his first time at this course. He did well to come 2nd of 14 in his age group and set a new parkrun PB by over 5 minutes, so showing rapid improvement. Ruth finished 4th of 28 by age group and is managing to maintain a decent speed as she builds up the training mileage for her London Marathon bid in April. Congratulations to Malcolm on his 50th parkrun! He was just pipped by 12 seconds into 2nd position of 5 in his age group and is continuing to run at a very high standard. Jenny was also close to her best time on this course with no other age rivals.
The two Cambridge parkruns had a total of 798 participants between them with 499 at Milton Country Park and 299 at Coldham’s Common.
At Milton, Richard Jones (21:19), James Tweed (21:24), Emma Newman (21:55), Jim Withers (27:14) and Iain Perry (29:23) were in action. It was a very high class field with 10 runners coming home in under 18 minutes, three in the 16s. Emma grabbed a course PB and continues in great form, 2nd of 22 by age group. Jim put in a decent time after being laid fairly low by a chest cold recently, as did Iain who is gradually recovering after injury and a longish lay-off. James put in an excellent effort and came 5th of 34 by age group, while Richard was also in top form and came 2nd of 16 in his age group with age grade 72.09%.
Meanwhile, down at Coldham’s Common, Jon Brooker (20:25), James Thomson (23:58), Mike Sales (25:54) and Sarah Sales (26:20) were all raring to go. Jon nabbed a course PB and finished 1st of 12 in his age group with 74.04% age grade, so very much in form for 2019. James was presumably with baby daughter in buggy and did a very good time, with his all-time buggy PB remaining 23:04 at Haverhill. This buggy pushing seems to be an ideal form of strength training for legs and arms. Amazingly, James still came 12th of 17 in his age group despite this handicap. There was not a lot separating Mike and Sarah, with Mike prevailing by just 26 seconds, in a time which is in fact the same as Sarah’s all-time parkrun PB set last September. Mike himself was just 11 seconds away from his best parkrun time of 2018 which was 25:43. So Sarah appears to be closing the gap and came 2nd of 8 in her age group, though maybe Mike has a little something up his sleeve!
Newmarket GRL 6th Jan 2019
There were 4 Joggers at the GRL on Sunday. Malcolm Osbourn put in a great run and was 8th of 46 runners overall in a PB time of 26:57, taking a precious 2 seconds off his previous best. For months, Malcolm has been patiently whittling his times down on this difficult 5K course, which has around 53 metres or 172 feet of climb. Next came Andrew Rice for the Joggers in 33:33, Giles Macrow in 34:17 and Jenny Osbourn in 35:07. It looks like Giles started his run late or was helping to pace another runner. The overall first finisher of the GRL was veteran Elke Hausler (22:53) of Eastern Veterans AC, who is in the strangely odd GRL 46-55 age group and is also in the reassuringly normal parkrun 55-59 age group, so must be 55 years old. That was a very good run by her at 78% age grade.
NJ New Year’s Day 2019 parkrun Report
After gaining an all-time parkrun PB of 21:14 at York on Christmas Day, Emma Newman (21:29) came back for more on New Year’s Day and put in another top run, finishing 6th of 296 female runners and 2nd of 23 in her age category. Very well done. There was one other tourist spotted at Bath Skyline parkrun on New Year’s Day: Alexia Smithson (30:57) trying out her first run there. The course is a small and large loop of Klondyke Copse on Claverton Down in Bath, mainly over gravel and grass paths. The course is mainly flat but at one point there is an upward flight of 30 woodland steps which adds to the fun.
A good number of Joggers went for a New Year’s Double:
Thetford/Brandon: Neil Williamson (22:23/22:27), Malcolm Osbourn (27:12/28:53), Jan Holmes (29:07/31:49). Clare Castle/Haverhill: James Thomson (20:35/20:59), James Tweed (22:59/23:29), Giles Macrow (27:13/27:04), Ruth Eberhardt (27:23/26:56). Clare Castle/Gt Cornard: Chris Aylmer (29:09/28:49).
Those opting for just one, apart from Emma and Alexia, were all at Brandon: Sara Brown (27:49), Dave Price (29:43), Carol Mcintosh (34:09) and Jenny Osbourn (35:26).
In terms of age group performance, the stand out performer was James Thomson, who finished 1st of 9 in his age group at both Clare Castle and Haverhill. Other good performers were Ruth Eberhardt (4th of 20/2nd of 13), James Tweed (3rd of 15/4th of 14), Jan Holmes (3rd of 9/3rd of 11) and Sara Brown (6th of 26). Malcolm Osbourn was unlucky to have two top class performers at both venues as his only age group rivals.
NJ parkrun Report for 29th Dec 2018
Bobby Jackson (22:01) played tourist for the 6th time at Moors Valley parkrun near Bournemouth in Dorset. He put in a good effort in a very competitive field, coming 53rd of 536 runners overall, without threatening his course PB, which remains at 20:14. This is a fairly level 1-lap course over gravel and tarmac paths, with the final kilometre around a picturesque lake.
Back nearer HQ at Thetford parkrun, James Thomson (19:58) joined regular Giles Macrow (25:14). James was without baby buggy and let rip with a fast run, 7th of 232 overall and 1st of 10 by age category. His PB remains at 19:14. Giles put in a good steady run, with his PB standing at 22:03.
Not far away at Brandon, Alexia Smithson (30:29) set a new course PB and finished 3rd of 9 in her age group. Richard Jones (22:36) was also in good form and came 20th of 163 overall and 1st of 4 in his age group by over 3 minutes.
Jon Brooker (24:51) ran with his daughter Eadie Brooker (24:51) at Clare Castle parkrun. Eadie, a Junior Newmarket Jogger, was 2nd female home of 49 and 1st of 4 in her 11-14 age group, so a very good performance in only her third 5K parkrun.
At Bury St Edmunds there were 3 Joggers in action: Ruth Eberhardt (25:54), Paul Dockerill (26:49) and Stephanie Greenwood (34:08). Ruth came 4th of 23 in her age group, while Stephanie enjoyed a more relaxing run. Paul was running with daughter Chloe (26:48), who was less than a minute from her best time here.
Finally, at Cambridge parkrun (Milton Country Park), Neville Clarke (21:09), Stephen Cousins (23:31), Chris Aylmer (28:16) and Jim Withers (28:29) were taking part. After his total of 139 parkruns, all but two at Bury St Edmunds or Brandon, it was a surprise to see Neville at Cambridge parkrun for the very first time! He put in an excellent run, just 19 seconds from his 2018 best parkrun time, finishing 1st of 9 in his age group with 79.28% age grade. Stephen was also in good form, finishing 4th of 18 by age group. It was nice to see former Newmarket Jogger Adrian Whittle (22:33) running well and in his best form for some years.
NJ Christmas Day parkrun Report 2018
A tourist up at York, Emma Newman set herself an all-time parkrun PB of 21:14, taking 30 seconds off her previous best at Littleport parkrun. She was 9th of 263 female runners and 3rd of 43 in her age group, so a big Christmas present for her!
The biggest draw for Newmarket Joggers on Christmas Day was Brandon Country Park, where 11 Joggers were in action: Jamie Sales (21:28), Mike Sales (26:54), Malcolm Osbourn (27:55), Sarah Sales (28:04), Dave Price (28:51), Chris Aylmer (29:28), Jan Holmes (29:48), Carol Mcintosh (33:56), Jenny Osbourn (35:25), Rebecca Hannah (38:54) and Sarah Kinston (42:11). Sarah ran with her father Ivor and Rebecca with her mother Andrea, both parents doing very well in their first attempts at this course. Jenny was 1st in her age group by over 3 minutes, so a top effort by her and also by Carol, who achieved a new course PB by 5 seconds. Jamie was first Jogger home and also first in his age category so in good form. The others put in decent efforts, not far from their best.
Over at Bury St Edmunds, 5 Joggers took part: Paul Dockerill (19:59), James Thomson (21:08), Neville Clarke (22:14), Ruth Eberhardt (24:23) and Alan Thornhill (29:51). Alan was only 10 seconds outside a course PB and Ruth did well to come 3rd of 16 in her age group. Neville and James were zoned-in as usual, with Neville top of 5 in his age group with age grade 75.41%, while James was 2nd of 11 in his. Paul was just 4 seconds from a course PB, 17th of 309 overall and 3rd of 14 by age group, so very good running by all the Joggers at Nowton Park.
Nearby at Thetford, Richard Jones (20:45) was in ace form, 11th of 194 runners overall and 2nd of 13 by age group, with age grade of 74.06%. Giles Macrow (25:06) enjoyed a good steady run at his favourite course, without threatening his PB.
Christmas Day & New Year’s Day parkruns 2018/19:
Christmas Day: Brandon 10:00am, Bury St Edmunds 9am, Colchester Castle 9am, Gt Cornard 9:30am, Gt Notley 9am, Huntingdon 9am, Ipswich 9am, Kesgrave 9am, Thetford 9am.
New Year’s Day: Brandon 10:30am, Clare Castle 9am, Colchester Castle 9am, Felixstowe 10:30am, Gt Cornard 10:30am, Gt Notley 9am, Haverhill 10:30am, Huntingdon 9am, Ipswich 8:30am, Kesgrave 9am, Littleport 9am, Thetford 9am.
Best New Year’s Day Doubles: Thetford 9am/Brandon 10:30am, Clare Castle 9am with either Haverhill 10:30am or Gt Cornard 10:30am, Ipswich 8:30am /Felixstowe 10:30am.