Parkrunners Face Stiff Breezes on Blossoming Scrubs
Runners joined by guests from Fulham on April Fools Day
Parkrun 304 - 1 April
A blossoming Wormwood Scrubs welcomed 90 runners on April Fools Day for event number 304 as boat race preparation closed Fulham Palace parkrun. There was around 42% dark cloud trying to muster some rain but it was fooling nobody. We had 10 degrees at 9am with 8mph wind gusting 17 from the usual direction. As I arrived Nick Michael was trying to force some pegs into the ground. Craig Gunn returned from pre-event setup and after some discussion we agreed there was no mud and so no need for spikes.
Ben Le Rougetel acted as Run Director stood on the starting bench to give the briefing for our 90 runners with Harry howling at the back to get a move on. We set off down the slope behind Charles Craven and his dog towards photographer Louise on the first corner. We had 3 waves, 2 pom-poms, 1 dog and one fall. I had clearly forgotten my spikes when I waved for the camera! There were over 500 pictures taken – so far 10 people have seen me playing the fool…
There were 26 first timers to the Scrubs on Boat Race weekend. Maurice O’Neill visiting from Gladstone was our Veteran 75-79.
We had no less than 25 runners record new Personal Bests! On her 126th run Kirstie Tew was pretty in pink in new PB 24:46! Lukas Saulich from Willesden Triathlon Club ran a strong PB of 19:13. Daniel Kaplan and Andrew Shields set 19:41 and 19:45. Rob Calder ran 21:44 on his 52nd run. Lovely Lucy Pollock ran 23:37. Chaya Kelly on her 105th run improved by 14 minutes on her second visit to the Scrubs!
Full results for run 304 and a complete event history can be found on the Wormwood Scrubs parkrun Results Page. The top 3 mens placings:
- Matthew DOUTHWAITE of Imperial College Cross Country & AC, was first over the line in 18:03, for the first time in 3 appearances.
- First Timer Chris PAYNE followed in 18:30.
- Cosmo CRAVEN (JM15-17) of Fulham RC, was First Junior and third over the line in 19:03.
The Ladies placings:
- Leading Lady Rosie VALLANCE (JW15-17) of Thames Valley Harriers, was first over the line in 21:09 - 9th time in 22 appearances.
- Hannah JENKINS followed in 21:46 on her first visit to the Scrubs.
- Julia MITCHELMORE (SW20-24) of Derek Zoolander Centre for Kids Who Can't Run Good, was third over the line in 23:10.
The three highest age grades were recorded by:
- Fulham RC’s man and dog team, Charles CRAVEN (VM50-54) – 78.12% for the personal best time of 19:30 (5th overall).
- Rosie VALLANCE (JW15-17) – 72.34% for the time 21:09 (14th overall).
- Matthew DOUTHWAITE (SM25-29) – 71.47% for the time 18:03 (first overall).
We are very grateful to the 11 volunteers who made this event happen: Photographer Louise BROWNE, Bar Lady Marion BRYDSON, Barman Fraser BRYDSON, Bradley CAHOON, Pre-Event Setup by Craig GUNN, Stephen HUTCHINSON, Amy INGRAM, Timing by Peter JORDAN, Run Director Ben LE ROUGETEL, Tokeniser Fran SANTOS, Run Report by James SPENDER
If you'd like to get involved in volunteering at the Wormwood Scrubs parkrun, please email wormwoodscrubshelpers@parkrun.com and check the futureroster.
Have a very Happy Easter and indulge in a few chocolates knowing you’ve earned them!
Foolish Faller James
Parkun 303 - 25 March
There was definitely a hint of spring in the air as 79 parkrunners lined up on a sunny but breezy day at the start for the 303rd event at Wormwood scrubs. The ground is firming up, and your correspondent’s trainers actually finished the event cleaner than they were at the beginning. Thus starts the season of the personal best, and many congratulations to Lucy POLLOCK, Sacha KEMP-POTTER, Edward BURDETT-COUTTS, Jonny BROADLEY, Katy WHELAN, Cathy SCOTT-CLARK, Max WARRACK, and Milo CULL, who all improved on their own best course times on Saturday.
Times were good all over, despite the headwind. Your correspondent deployed some drafting techniques to get over the line (also known as wheelsucking in cycling parlance) but the winners needed no such assistance. Lukas SAULICH was the first man through the finishing tunnel with a time of 19:26, followed by Scrub regular and THV member James SPENDER (20:00). Tourist Jamie WOOD rounded out the top three with a time of 20:08. Melina DUER not only was the quickest girl in a time of 21:39, but she was also making her parkrun debut, and as a member of THV, she’ll probably be back. Sacha KEMP-POTTER was the next woman across the line in 24:19, followed by Lucy POLLOCK (24:37). The best age grades were set by Melina DUER 73.75%, William MCAVOCK 71.46%, and James SPENDER 69.25%.
Speaking of new parkrunners, we welcomed seven to the Scrubs on Saturday. Melina DUER, Luke SEARLE, Alex BRADWELL, Noah HARLAND, Robert DYRGA, Somi KIM, and Adeline MITCHELL, we hope you enjoyed yourself and will be back. We also had a good number of tourists, with Kyle ROSENTHAL visiting all the way from Australia. Ray MCGROARTY, Kyle ROSENTHAL, Christopher CONVEY, Jillian CONVEY, Sam PRITCHARD, Jamie WOOD, Roland STROBL, Harriet SIMPSON, Ceridwen Ana EVANS, and Sally BENT. If you didn’t take advantage of tea and flapjacks in the THV clubhouse after the run, you missed out on the best bit!
Last, but not least, thank you to the volunteers who made this event happen: Louise BROWNE, James DOE, Robert FERGUSON, Craig GUNN, Peter JORDAN, Nick MICHAEL, Debbie PETERS-MILL, Fran SANTOS, Lan-Lan SMITH, Kirstie TEW. Don’t forget a lovely purple running shirt is available for those who have volunteered 25 times or more, and there are plenty of jobs you can help out with even if you want to get your run in as well (like writing the run report).
The future roster is looking a little sparse for April and now that our numbers are going up, we really do need some additional help to keep the event going. Find out more here.
Until next time, happy running!
Lan-Lan
