Saturday 16 February 2013

Nice day for a parkrun

Well let me try to be the first to say it.... I'm guessing we will see a global record parkrun attendance today!

After a few very cold, snowy and wet weekends, today, in Coventry at least and I'm guessing elsewhere around the UK, the weather has turned for the better. Still a little chilly, but great parkrun weather.

The current global attendance record is a little below 28,000 I think. I'm going to guess that we will get very close to 29,000 today. We may even push 30,000 for the first time.

We shall have to wait and see as all the results roll in.

Anyone else want to make a prediction?

Friday 15 February 2013

parkrun registration stats this week...15th February 2013

There is still a little time for new registrations this week, but at the time of writing and compared to the figures in my post this time last week....

Totalling up new registrations across parkrun globally, shows that parkrun has attracted a further 4,770 registrations in a week, 514 less than at the same time last week.

This takes the total number of global parkrun registrations (according to my official source page on the parkrun website) up to 444,291, (up from 439,521). That is a growth in total registrations of over 1% in a week.

As far as I am aware, there 2 new parkruns starting this weekend:
Cheltenham and Telford parkruns
Malahide parkrun remains at the top of the charts in the number of new registrations category this week  with 124 new registrations in the week. But the two new events, Cheltenham parkrun and Telford parkrun were not too far behind, so they may be challenging in weeks to come.
8 different parkrun events have added 50 or more new registrants this weekand they are:
Event   Total   This week   
Malahide parkrun2841124
Cheltenham parkrun369117
Telford parkrun29397
Newy parkrun280693
South Bank parkrun100266
New Farm parkrun464561
St Peters parkrun256059
Lake Mac parkrun18552


No great surprises in the "largest parkrun in the world" category this week, where it is still the same top 5:
Event   Total   
Bushy parkrun21572
Glasgow parkrun12827
Leeds parkrun11609
Brighton & Hove parkrun10401
Wimbledon Common parkrun10057

And at the other end of the spectrum, but just as worthy of a mention we have:
Event   Total   
Marlay parkrun3
Wallace parkrun, Lisburn4
Llyn Llech Owain parkrun12
Parramatta parkrun24
Delamere parkrun27


Two new parkrun events with newly registered runners for the first time (Marlay and Parramatta parkruns).
There are also 4 other parkrun events listed but with no registered runners at present:
Brandon Country Park parkrun
Cross Flatts parkrun
Hackworth parkrun
Newent parkrun, Forest of Dean

Danny Norman holds the UK parkrun record!

It's true, Danny Norman the Communications Manager for parkrun UK  and the host of "The parkrun Show" podcast holds a parkrun record. I'm sure he knows and that he is very proud.

Danny holds the male course record at Harrow Lodge parkrun, set on the 12th January 2013. That course record is an impressive (for most of us) 18:48.

The reason that it is a parkrun record is that it is the slowest parkrun course record in the UK!

To repair his ego slightly, Danny does also hold another course record, at Walthamstow parkrun, exactly one minute quicker in 17:48. That suggests that either Harrow Lodge parkrun is tough or the conditions weren't quite ideal on 12th January (snow maybe?).

The Harrow Lodge parkrun was the inaugural event on the 12th January. Danny has run 27 inaugural events (only 1 person has run more) and has a total of 54 first finishes (wins) to his name, so I wouldn't mind betting that he also probably holds the record for the most different parkrun course records held at one time or another.

Well done Danny.

Tuesday 12 February 2013

parkrun stats of the week...9th February 2013

The parkrun statistics of note for this week are:

199 parkrun events run (up 3 on last week). This is a new record number of events on a single parkrunday!
26,914 runners (up 618 on last week), pretty consistent numbers!

The average number of runners per parkrun event run was: 135.2 (up 1 on last week!).

10 events recorded a new record attendance this week, as follows:
Event  Record Attendance  
Carlisle124
Edinburgh424
Huddersfield357
Kawana88
Lake Mac222
Launceston98
Nahoon Point436
Poole436
Sandgate147
South Bank275


The longest standing parkrun attendance record is:
Amager Faelled  146 28/08/2010

And in the UK it's:
Gorleston    156    19/03/2011

The highest attendance this week was 885 at Bushy Park.

The lowest attendance this week was 8 shared by Livonia and Vejen parkrun.

12 new male course records set this week (4 less than last week!). The men managed to beat the women again this week!:
Event  
Athlete  Time  
BarnstapleScott BRAUNTON17:17
Bedfont LakesJack Piran ROWE16:06
Camp BastionLee ATHERSMITH16:39
Chelmsford CentralPaul MOLYNEUX15:52
DewsburyKevin OGDEN16:52
HillsboroughJoseph LANCASTER16:56
Lake MacScott LLEWELLYN16:39
Nahoon PointCraig ALERS21:13
South BankLiam WOOLLETT15:42
SouthendAdam HICKEY15:34
Wimpole EstateKye LIDDLE17:43
WolverhamptonPhil NICHOLLS15:06


8 new female course records set this week (1 more than last week):
Event  Athlete  Time  
Lake MacJenni ASHTON21:26
CongletonOlivia WALWYN16:58
WalthamstowClaire WAGH22:52
Sunrise-on-SeaKaren Louise DAVIS24:30
Harrow LodgeLydia HALLAM20:53
WaterworksTeresa MCGLOIN17:40
CamperdownMorgan MURPHY19:38
SunderlandAly DIXON16:46



71 runners (down 1 on last week) ran times under 17 minutes this week.

8 of these runners (down 1 on last week) ran under 16 minutes!
The fastest parkrunner in the World was Phil Nicholls running 15:06 at Wolverhampton parkrun.

The fastest 8 were as follows:
Event  Athlete  Time  
WolverhamptonPhil NICHOLLS15:06
SouthendAdam HICKEY15:34
AlbertWondiye Fikre INDELBU15:35
South BankLiam WOOLLETT15:42
HuddersfieldRichard ANDERSON15:49
South BankAdam FITZAKERLEY15:51
Chelmsford CentralPaul MOLYNEUX15:52
GinninderraRowan WALKER15:57

The top age grade performance this week was:
Event  Athlete  Time  Age Group  Age Grade  
Finsbury ParkTom WAGSTAFFE21:20             JM1492.66%         


The fastest (valid) freedom run on the "most recent 100" list at the moment is
Runner  Date  Location  Run Time  
Daniel BARBER09/02/2013Wimbledon Common20:30     

Most parkrun course records

Wouldn't it be nice to hold a parkrun course record. Well some greed blighters hold more than one! parkrun tourism has a lot to answer for!

Here are a list of male parkrunners with multiple course records:
Kevin Quinn, 6 course records: Banstead Woods, Brockwell, Kingston, Nonsuch, Riddlesdown and Roundshaw Downs
Paul Martelletti, 4 course records: Finsbury Park, Hackney Marcshes, Mile End and Richmond Park
Steve Vernon, 3 course records: Bramhall Park, Bromley and Woodbank
Jason David Cherriman, 3 course records: Gdynia, Harrogate and Orpington (quite a geographical spread!)
Ian Kimpton, 3 course records, Abingdon, Barnsley and Hull


Here is the list of female parkrunners with multiple course records:
Clare Elms, 7 course records(!): Bexly, Greenwich, Hilly Fields, Lloyd, Orpington, Riddlesdown and Roundshaw Downs
Justina Heslop, 4 course records: Bushy Park, Crystal Palace, Newcastle and Wimbledon Common
Elaine Sherwin, 3 course records: Conkers, Leamington and Northampton
Joasia Zakrzewski, 3 course records: Carlisle, Kingston and Gateshead
Olivia Walwyn, 3 course records: Congleton, Norwich and Southwick Country Park
Sandra Bowers, 3 course records: Andover, Eastleigh and Newbury
Vicky Gill, 3 course records: Bedfont Lakes, Gunpowder and Wanstead Flats

Can you imagine holding 7 parkrun course records? That is pretty incredible.

parkrun course records

The longest standing male course record is at Cardiff parkrun where Michael E Johnson (I doubt it's the "real" Michael Johnson of 200m and 400m Olympic fame!) ran 14:40 way back on 3rd May 2008. In 3 months time that record will have stood for 5 years!

I'm not going to set a challenge (well, yes I am actually), but I wonder if there is anyone out there that can break this longest standing course record before it reaches the 5 year mark?!


The longest standing female course record is at Rolf Valley parkrun where Ashley Finaughty ran 17:59 on 18th June 2008. Now I think this is a bit of a special case as I think that Rolf Valley parkrun no longer exists (I may be wrong). A little research (and I mean a little), suggests that Rolf Valley parkrun was in Harare in Zimbabwe. I certainly haven't heard of it previously so I would suggest that it no longer exists.

So, the longest standing female course record at an active parkrun event is at Basingstoke parkrun, where Sophie Morris ran 16:56 (a very impressive time) on 29th November 2008. It must be time for someone to go and beat that time.

I'm sure there are some of us out there that would love the thought of finishing first (sometimes reffered to as "winning") at parkrun. But for 99% of us that is out of the question as there are so many fast parkrunners. But there are a significant number of us, who can't break our own parkrun course record, but at other events may just be able to do so.

So here are a list of some of the slower parkrubn course records. This doesn't mean they are achieveable just because you have a faster PB, as the course may be tricky (or at altitude), but it might be worth considering a parkrun tourist trip for a moment or two:

Slower Male Course Records:
Event  
Athlete  Time  
Sunrise-on-SeaSimon KUMM21:47
Nahoon PointCraig ALERS21:13
Modderfontein ReserveAnrich ZIMMERMANN20:10
Harrow LodgeDanny NORMAN18:48
Amager StrandparkNicholas BRYDE18:17
LivoniaThomas PREISS18:10


Slower Female Course Records:
Event  Athlete  Time  
SummerfieldsIlse FRITZ26:16
Sunrise-on-SeaKaren Louise DAVIS24:30
Nahoon PointJessica POLLOCK24:11
Morden HallRowena HORNSHAW23:09
WalthamstowClaire WAGH22:52
Modderfontein ReserveMarilise VERMAAK22:30
LivoniaJulia KENNEY22:19
HillerødKatrine Louise SVANE21:59
VejenJane SKYTTE21:55
BarkingAmanda Jane HESLEGRAVE21:38
Lake MacJenni ASHTON21:26
RoodepoortAnn BONIWELL21:06


Admittedly, there aren't many there that look too attractive. And travelling half-way round the world to maybe set a new parkrun course record is not looking too attractive to me right now. But each to his own if you fancy it!