It would seem that the perfect storm of a double header cross country weekend and sub zero temperatures persuaded several MAC parkrun regulars that it was better to stay in bed this morning and brave the chill later at Shipley Park or in the morning at Ilkeston. Leading out the hardcore 5k specialists this morning Simon Fisher grabbed another first finish at Ashbourne parkrun in 19.06 but just missed out on the 70% age grading by decimal points. Not to be outdone, fellow hardcore 5k racer Luke Beresford also added another first finisher to his tally but this time at Chasewater parkrun. Possibly helped by his advanced years, Luke did achieve a 74.05% age grading with his 18.26 finish time. Matlock AC had 6 runners plus Andy funnel managing again at Monsal Trail, although the original plans of Roy and Chris were a run at Graves so the late cancellation meant they started at Monsal with a slight handicap to everyone else having to catch up the tailwalker! Gav Elliott was yet again North of the border at Erskine Waterfront, whilst Dennis and Lisa made the relatively carbon friendly trip down the A38 to Aston Hall, Birmingham, for a scenic jog around a lovely park in the shadow of Aston Villa Football Ground. Post event breakfast was taken at the Arthur Roberston Wetherspoons pub, Perry Barr, which has athletic connections, Arthur having been a 3 mile runner in 1907!
