Winds, mud and puddles made Saturday touch going, says Charlotte Le Rougetel

Parkrun 188 - January 10, 2015

We were met with very blustery winds at Wormwood Scrubs on Saturday. The only blessing being they were reasonably mild. With mud three to four inches deep and puddles up to mid-shin, conditions were still incredibly tough going for the 38 runners on the start line. 16 of the field were first-timers and one recorded a personal best - congratulations Darren Pearce. Saturday was his second parkrun and he knocked over a minute off his time, running the course in a very respectable 23:38.

Post-run in a very busy clubhouse, we were treated to James Malcolm's famous home made millionaire's shortbread - THANK YOU James. Real treat.

First across the line this week was Andrew MITCHELL of Thames Valley Harriers in 19:11, his 4th time in 4 appearances. Andrew was followed by Chris HORTON in 20:40 and James SPENDER in 21:21. Junior Rosie Vallance took first in the women's placing this week in 23:22, her 6th time in 16 appearances. Kate O'DONOGHUE of Thames Valley Harriers was second in 28:33 and Charlotte LE ROUGETEL third in 28:45. A big shout out to Aidan Ferrand this week who ran a fantastic 24:24. Your post run Haribo was well deserved.

Leading the men's table is Riz RAUF with 2292 pts, just 103 points ahead of TVH's Nick MICHAEL on 2189 pts who, in turn, is just over 100 points ahead of fellow club runner Peter JORDAN with 2056 pts.

Heading the women's table is me, Charlotte Le Rougetel, with 2144 pts. Marion BRYDSON of TVH is close behind with 1887 pts and within a hair's breadth is Kirstie TEW on 1818 pts. Still a long way to go to the end of our parkrun year in June, however, so who knows how things will end.

Big thank you of course to all of our volunteers this week: Charlotte LE ROUGETEL, James MALCOLM, Kate O'DONOGHUE, Marion BRYDSON, Martin GILLIES, Peter JORDAN, Rizwan RAUF and Robert FERGUSON. Nice to see Marion back behind the clubhouse bar! Next week's volunteer roster is looking very bare, so if you can help please do - you can check the roster at http://www.parkrun.org.uk/wormwoodscrubs/futureroster/ and volunteer by emailing wormwoodscrubshelpers@parkrun.com. We're looking for a timekeeper, someone to hand out finish tokens and someone to do post-race close down.

Finally, everyone at Wormwood Scrubs parkrun would like to send their best wishes to regular runner Fraser Brydson who very sadly lost his dad last week. We look forward to seeing you back with us again very soon.

Happy running.

Parkrun 187 - January 3, 2015

First off, HAPPY PARKRUN BIRTHDAY TO RIZ! 150 today; an amazing achievement and second only to James Malcolm. Wormwood Scrubs parkrun owes a lot to Riz, over and above a round of applause for achieving 150 runs (147 of them at the Scrubs). Riz has volunteered 139 times since 2012, often setting the course up for all of us, which means he arrives well before everyone else. He’s a total star and the Scrubs wouldn’t be the same without him.

Riz was one of 30 runners at the Scrubs this week, ten of whom were first timers, including four – The Ark Runners - who are running 52 parkruns in 52 different locations throughout the south east during 2015. The team – Jamie Bettell, Stephen Pankhurst, Robert Kent and Nick Mackley – is running in aid of Noah’s Ark, the children’s hospice, and you can donate to the cause here: https://www.justgiving.com/TheArkRunners

With enough mud to power an entire series of Total Wipeout, funnily enough there were no recorded new personal bests this week. In fact, we were all quite happy to simply cross the finish line and remain injury free.

First across the line was Martin GILLIES in 20:49. Despite being full of the cold, he shot off like a greyhound as he was also on the roster as timekeeper! In second was James MALCOLM in 22:31, who has promised to make his world famous millionaire shortbread for next week’s parkrun in aid of Riz’s 150th and my 50th – THANK YOU JAMES. Third across the line was Scott BREWER just seven seconds later.

First female across the line was Charlotte LE ROUGETEL in 28:22 - second time in 43 appearances (you’ll notice this only happens in deepest winter and when many people are on holiday!) Kirstie TEW was second in 29:54 and her friend Jamie Lynne BOUTILIER third in 32:24.

Current standing in the men's annual points competition:

- Rizwan RAUF (Unattached) 2213 pts.

- Nick MICHAEL (Thames Valley Harriers) 2107 pts.

- Peter JORDAN (Thames Valley Harriers) 1972 pts.

Current standing in the women's annual points competition:

- Charlotte LE ROUGETEL (Unattached) 2046 pts.

- Marion BRYDSON (Thames Valley Harriers) 1792 pts.

- Kirstie TEW (Unattached) 1721 pts.

It has been an exciting week for parkrun with TribeSports being announced as our new tee shirt partner. In addition to providing 10, 50 and 100 milestone tee shirts, Tribesports will also be providing a brand new 500 tee and volunteer tee shirts, which will be presented to everyone who has volunteered 25 times. What’s more YOU can have a say in the design of the tees – both in terms of colour and the logo on them. Simply visit here: https://shop.tribesports.co.uk/parkrun-volunteer-tshirt-vote

Big thank you: Charlotte LE ROUGETEL, Fraser BRYDSON, James SPENDER, Louise BROWNE, Martin GILLIES, Peter JORDAN, Rizwan RAUF and Suresh BASRA who was returning to his roots as he used to be a member of Thames Valley Harriers in the 1980s.

The roster is full for the 10th and 24th January, but we still have spaces on the 17th and 31st, so if you’d like to take part, please check the roster here http://www.parkrun.org.uk/wormwoodscrubs/futureroster/ and drop us an email at wormwoodscrubshelpers@parkrun.com.

Have a great week running. And see you next week for (allegedly) snow and (definitely) millionaire’s shortbread!

January 5, 2015