Dennis Holmes reports on MACs in action at parkrun
17 Runners at 11 venues in 3 Countries braved very mixed conditions today.
In alphabetical order of venue we start with Lisa Walton at Ashbourne where pouring rain made the ground soggy and the bridge treacherous resulting in a steady 34.05 for 62nd place.
At Beeston parkrun Luke Beresford must have experienced something like a hurricane if he was trying at all or he missed the start by 15 minutes? as he recorded a 32.31 for 137th.
Possibly experiencing the best of the UK weather at 9am, Megan Elliott ran a super 23.55 at Bolberry Down, Devon for 19th place and 3rd lady.
Back in the Midlands at Forest Rec, Notts, Kate Ruffell ran an even swifter 23.42 for 34th and First Lady despite some precipitation having rendered part of the course quite slippery!
Having taken meteorological advice and headed South, Jay and Dennis experienced perfect running conditions at Leavesden Country parkrun where in a lovely undulating woodland and park setting, Mr Bird ran a fine 25.29 for 27th whilst Dennis was very pleased with 28.49 for 56th.
At Markeaton parkrun Simon Fisher must have experienced similar conditions to Luke, finishing in 27.52 for 167th position. Sole MAC at the local Monsal Trail parkrun this week was Andrew Watson with a nice 24.95 for 45th.
Heading over to Wales seeking to improve his time from a previous visit to Nova Prestatyn, Roy Austin succeeded with a pretty rapid 22.48 for 12th place!
On to the most popular choice for MAC parkrunners this morning, Poolsbrook, Captain Greg took the honours as first finisher in 17.34! Sarah Witham was next in with a cracking 22.47 for 33rd and 3rd lady with Rob being the gent finishing 1 second and 1 place behind.
Our second MAC couple also observed the ladies first principle with Beccy finishing in 24.53 /56th and Rob Curtis 25.49 / 71st. Regular runner at the Republic of Poolsbrook, Sarah Walton completed the MAC sextet in a consistently improving 32.13 for 136th.
At the penultimate venue of the day for MAC athletes, Shipley Country Park, Christine Howard continued her fine run of results on a challenging course in challenging conditions with a great time of 23.06 for 13th overall and First Lady.
And finally, continuing his tour of Scotland, this week Gav Elliott completed Victoria parkrun in Glasgow in a rapid 22.10 for 64th position.
Ok, I’m sure that we have all noticed no mention of this weeks tourist award so far. Jay and Dennis being inside the M25 and Roy in North Wales probably thought that they were in with a shout before seeing that Gav Elliott was still North of the border in Glasgow which I have had to check on AA routemaster as being 264.1 miles from Matlock. However, a bit of a shocker is that Megan Elliott’s journey to Bolberry Down, Devon from Matlock checks out as 267.2 miles from Matlock so giving her this weeks tourist award ironically by 3.1 miles or 5k!!
Some great runs in mixed conditions.
