Tuesday 15 October 2013

parkrun stats of the week...12th October 2013

The parkrun statistics of note for last weekend are:
- 315 parkrun events run (NEW RECORD - I believe that is now 7 record breaking weeks in a row)
- 45,515 runners 

The average number of runners per parkrun event run was: 144.5

14 parkrun events recorded new record attendances last weekend, as follows:

Event   Record Attendance  
Aberdeen 240
Armagh 87
Berwick Springs 126
Kalgoorlie-Boulder 91
Leszno 94
Nahoon Point 611
Parramatta 129
Pennington Flash 208
Pontefract 213
Pontypridd 168
Sewerby 188
South Manchester 347
Southend 271
Victoria 200

Record Attendance  Record Week  
Amager Faelled14628/08/2010
The longest standing parkrun attendance record is:

And in the UK it's:

Hackney Marshes7521/05/2011

The highest attendance this week was exactly 850 at Bushy parkrun.
And outside the UK it was 550 at Newy parkrun in Australia.

The lowest attendance this week was just 4 at Durham NC parkrun. 

89 runners ran under 17 minutes around the world of parkrun last weekend. 6 of them under 16 minutes. 

The fastest parkrunner in the world last weekend was Jacek Sobas, running 15:41 at Wroclaw parkrun in Poland.

The top age grade performance last weekend was 92.82%, by Ros Tabor, running 21:50 in the VM60-64 category at Southwark parkrun.

And a quick look at a superb junior performance:
Ben Clarke set a new category record at St Albans pakrun, running 17:16 in the JM14 category - very impressive.

Paul Freyne still tops the table of most different parkrun events attended, with 156 different event locations in his 200 parkrun outings. And a special mention for Leon Foster who has run 51 of his 52 parkruns at different parkrun events - amazing parkrun tourism!

Tuesday 8 October 2013

parkrun stats of the week...5th October 2013

The parkrun statistics of note for last weekend are:
- 309 parkrun events run (just 1 short of the record from the previous week)
- 48,228 runners (NEW RECORD - Breaking the previous record by nearly 3,000 runners! Amazing!)

The average number of runners per parkrun event run was: 156 (10 more runners per event than last week).

An incredible total of 37 parkrun events recorded new record attendances last weekend, as follows:

Event   Record Attendance  
Alice Holt 157
Augustine Heights 79
Burgess 95
Cairns 86
Camperdown 133
Catton 183
Citypark 110
Cornwall Park 118
Curl Curl 141
Delta 365
Dusi 198
Ebotse 208
Guildford 256
Gunnersbury 310
Kawana 210
Krakow 64
Lake Mac 307
Launceston 159
Leszno 85
Longrun Meadow 201
Medina I.O.W. 160
Mitchelton 162
Nahoon Point 521
North Beach 366
Parramatta 124
Poznan 395
Roodepoort 165
Root 44 176
Rushcliffe 232
Sandgate 270
South Bank 408
Southsea 277
St Peters 299
Szczecinek 97
Tuggeranong 138
Warwick 142
Wroclaw 61

Record Attendance  Record Week  
Amager Faelled14628/08/2010
The longest standing parkrun attendance record is:

And in the UK it's:

Hackney Marshes7521/05/2011

The highest attendance this week was exactly 1011 at Bushy parkrun.
And outside the UK it was 564 at Newy parkrun in Australia.

The lowest attendance this week was just 7 at Durham NC parkrun. 

119 runners (2 more than last week) ran under 17 minutes around the world of parkrun last weekend. 15 of them under 16 minutes. And 2 runners ran under 15 minutes.

The fastest parkrunner in the world this week was Scott Westcott, running 14:23 at Newy parkrun in Australia. Interestingly, this is the new all-time parkrun record for Australia.

The all-time Australian female record was also set on the same day, with Bridey Delaney running 16:35 at Parramatta parkrun.

My favourite stat of the week was from Viv Naylor who ran 22:10 at Mansfield parkrun in the VW70-74 category, achieving an unbelievable 100.45% age grading in the process. Not too many 20 and 30 year olds can run that kind of time, so she is one very impressive lady!

Friday 4 October 2013

parkrun stats of the week...28th September 2013

The parkrun statistics of note for last weekend are:
- 310 parkrun events run (NEW RECORD - Breaking the previous record by 7 events!)
- 45,495 runners ((NEW RECORD - Breaking the previous record by over 1000 runners!)

The average number of runners per parkrun event run was: 146.7.

25 parkrun events recorded new record attendances last weekend, as follows:

Record Attendance  
Ally Pally 92
Antrim 176
Barnsley 150
Canning River 123
Darley 129
Doncaster 165
Fingal Bay 134
Frimley Lodge 466
Great Lines 144
Guildford 215
Hanley 104
Lake Mac 264
Leszno 77
Merimbula 59
Plymvalley 151
Roodepoort 149
Root 44 168
Sandon Point 61
Shrewsbury 265
St Annes 233
St Peters 292
Toowoomba 219
Tuggeranong 137
Voortrekker Monument 216
York 239

Record Attendance  Record Week  
Amager Faelled14628/08/2010
The longest standing parkrun attendance record is:

And in the UK it's:

Hackney Marshes7521/05/2011

The highest attendance this week was exactly 963 at Bushy parkrun.
And outside the UK it was 487 at Newy parkrun in Australia.

The lowest attendance this week was just 5 at Durham NC parkrun. 

117 runners ran under 17 minutes around the world of parkrun last weekend. 19 of them under 16 minutes. And 2 Unknown ATHLETEs ran under 15 minutes at Brighton & Hove parkrun.

Wednesday 2 October 2013

9 years of parkrun (birthday) growth

Happy Birthday parkrun, 9 years old today. And to use the line we normally use with nine year olds...."Wow, haven't you grown!".

parkrun birthday weekends over the last 9 years have had the following turnouts:

Sat 2nd October 2004, Bushy parkrun, 13 runners
Sat 8th October 2005, Bushy parkrun, 56 runners
Sat 7th October 2006, Bushy parkrun, 378 runners
Sat 6th October 2007, 4 events, 681 runners
Sat 4th October 2008, 10 events, 1315 runners
Sat 3rd October 2009, 20 events, 2913 runners
Sat 2nd October 2010, 46 events, 5718 runners
Sat 8th October 2011, 95 events, 10179 runners
Sat 6th October 2012, 176 events, 23676 runners

Yet another example of parkrun very roughly doubling in size each and every year, both in number of events and the number of runners (since 2006 at least anyway).

And you can almost be sure that this weekend, 2013 will add a new parkrun birthday edition boasting roughly:
310 events and 45000 runners

Happy Birthday parkrun.

#loveparkrun

Tuesday 24 September 2013

parkrun stats of the week...21st September 2013

The parkrun statistics of note for last weekend are:
- 299 parkrun events run (breaking the previous record by 2 events!)
- 43,457 runners

The average number of runners per parkrun event run was: 145.3.

15 parkrun events recorded new record attendances last weekend, as follows:

Event   Record Attendance  
Aveley 55
Canning River 119
Cheltenham 247
Corby 126
Hanley 99
Lake Mac 245
Launceston 156
Leszno 70
Little Stoke 239
Logan River 188
Szczecinek 71
Tuggeranong 134
Warszawa-Praga 217
Warwick 121
WhitleyBay 227

The longest standing parkrun attendance record is:
Record Attendance  Record Week  
Amager Faelled14628/08/2010

And in the UK it's:

Hackney Marshes7521/05/2011

The highest attendance this week was exactly 899 at Bushy parkrun.
And outside the UK it was 589 at Newy parkrun in Australia.

The lowest attendance this week was just 6 at Vejen parkrun. 

94 runners ran under 17 minutes around the world of parkrun last weekend. 12 of them under 16 minutes.

The fastest parkrun time in the world this week was 15:11 by Thomas Do Canto at Bushy parkrun.

Saturday 21 September 2013

Cuerden Valley parkrun

A few weeks ago I had the distinct pleasure of running the relatively new Cuerden Valley parkrun, situated a little south-west of Preston, Lancashire and very close to the M6 / M65 junction.

It had the feeling of another recent addition to the parkrun family, Kingsbury Water parkrun, in that it's in a rural setting, not too far from civilisation! Kingsbury Water parkrun is relatively flat, but Cuerden Valley does not make that mistake, opting for a tough, hilly and really enjoyable route on mixed terrain. It'll definitely be one for trail shoes as the weather gets wetter. Garmin Connect reckoned on a total ascent of 89m over the 5km but I wouldn't be surprised if this is a conservative estimate, with this elevation profile (from 49m to 80m):

Lowest elevation 49m, highest 80m, total ascent 89m.

You can see my run at Garmin Connect and read Cuerden Valley parkrun's route description at their site - essentially, there's a run in, followed by two figure of eights and an uphill struggle to the finish line, which isn't quite where the start line was.

However, I wanted to show you the route as it's a really pretty one! A few days after the I ran it therefore, I went back, camera in hand. Without the excellent marshals around, it was harder to find my way around, but I got it right in the end.

Come with me, then, on a journey through time and space. Or around Cuerden Valley's beautiful parkrun. The distances I've given are very approximate and please note you can see larger versions of all the images by clicking on them.

You can skip between each section following the nav links you'll see every so often:

Part 1 - The Bit Where You Don't Run Uphill (~200m)

The route starts on an excellent path and soon snakes down a steep hill to a junction where you'll be turning left.

The route begins vaguely on the straight, but not too narrow

It's only a hundred metres or so before you snake down a fairly steep hill,
coming to cross in the path where you'll want to turn left.

Part 2 - The First Loop (~1km)

You have now entered the first loop which begins in earnest with a steep climb, soon flattening off somewhat, but continuing upward more gently for a little way.

There's a short flat section before you attack the first uphill stretch

The hill bears left and flattens off a little as it carries on to the right

With the toughest part of that climb out of the way, the path opens up...

and it's well worth glancing round you as you run,
you're surrounded by beautiful, Lancashire countryside!

Take a left fork in the path and follow it as it bears further left

Take a right turn and almost immediately follow the path to the left

You'll be passing a pond to your right...

so don't miss another opportunity for some fleeting sight seeing

With heavy duty climbing out of the way for now, you'll head into the woods
with a distinct change in terrain. This is where your trail shoes will come in handy!

I hope you get as good a day as I had when I walked the route
to take these photos, the sunshine really highlights the beauty of
the place and there's something special about dappled sunlight
on the woodland floor.

As you take a right out of the woods, you'll head back towards the fork
(where you took a left a little way back). You'll be turning left, possibly
into the path of oncoming parkrunners, so do take care here.

On parkrun days this little junction is well marked and on
the second half of this loop you'll need to take this left turn.

You'll head back into the woods...

following the path which takes you generally rightwards,...

emerging near the top of the first hill you climbed,
taking the left fork when you get to the bottom.

Cross the bridge into the uncharted territory that is the Second Loop.

Part 3 - The Second Loop (~1.3km)

The second loop is a little longer than the first but has a similar mix of terrain and elevation with a nice flat section, towards the end of the loop, where the route follows the river.


The second loop begins on the flat, but just as the first loop did, it soon
diverges from flatness! You need to keep left, heading up into the trees.


Another stiff climb reaches a plateau with a another sight seeing opportunity
to your left. After the little picnic area on your left, you'll need to turn right.


As I've said before, do take opportuinities to have a look round,
as Cuerden Valley is really pretty!

After the right turn, you're into the woods again. Just keep to the path


You'll soon drop down to a bridge that you'll cross, probably in single file!

I do like a nice bridge!

Keep on the path for a spell of ascent and then descent


You'll come to a T in the path where you'll be heading right.
Have a glance to the left though. Scenery awaits.




Soon enough, you'll be out in the open again and enjoying the
gentlest part of the route as the path follows the river for 500m or so.


Keep to the path, you can't miss it!

Keep to the left at the fork as you approach the bridge..

and cross it once more. You're back on charted territory.

Part 4 - or Part 1, The Return of the Hill

Part 4 repeats the first loop in full but with more dread as you face the hills before you. Just remember you've been up them before and all will be well. Is that helpful? If not, remember the view you might get from the top!


Part 5 (~1km)

Part 5 repeats most of the second loop, up until the 4.5km mark, approximately, where it's all change!

Part 6 (~500m)

Part 6 starts part way round your second lap of loop 2. You'll be presented with an escape route with about 500m to the finish line. Remember though that most of the last section is uphill and I think this is the longest climb of the run, so keep something back for the finish!

You may have spotted this junction part way round the second loop
when you ran round it for the first time. On your second run round,
take this left, over a different bridge.

I do like a nice bridge :-)


You're really on the home straight now
with just the small matter of a hill to climb!


The path takes you through this gulley...

which gradually opens out...

and the path widens, just in time for the...

...wait for it...


The finish line, straight ahead of you!
Your work here is done.
You've done it.
You're there.
More or less.
You're assured of a great welcome at the finish line.

Well done!!

So, that's that. I hope you enjoyed a tour around Cuerden Valley parkrun. I urge you to get there if you can.

Copyright and licensing note

I've licensed all of these images under a Creative Commons license, details below. Essentially, you're welcome to use any of these images, unaltered, for non-commercial purposes if you credit me. Contact me on facebook if you have any questions.
Creative Commons Licence
'Photos of Cuerden Valley parkrun' by Matthew Shepherd is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.