Cardiff parkrun celebrated reaching the 10-year landmark with both male and female runners featuring in this week’s top 10. Here are the fastest times on Saturday (February 17).
With over 1000 runners out in force, Samuel Blake was the first to finish in the Welsh capital with a quick 15:40, while Mel Newbery and Vicky Jackson both feature in the women’s top 10 list.
Cardiff was the first parkrun in Wales and with the support of Welsh Athletics’ social running programme – Run Wales – parkrun, and junior parkrun, have spread across Wales with 28 senior events and 9 junior events now taking place every weekend.
Phil Norman’s 15:00 at Barnstaple parkrun in Devon was the quickest on Saturday. The North Devon runner, who finished second in the 3000m steeplechase at the England Championships last year, was taking part in his 10th parkrun.
Llanelli Coast parkrun in Wales saw the second quickest with Christian Lovatt running 15:16, while elsewhere as rising star in British running 17-year-old Zakariya Mahamed ran 15:34 at the Southampton parkrun. Mahamed’s older brother finished 10th at the Armagh 5k in Northern Ireland midweek.
In her 93rd parkrun, Elizabeth Davies was the fastest woman this week running 17:31 at the Chelmsford Central event in Essex. Davies, who has a 17:02 parkrun best, is only seven away from the magic milestone of 100 parkruns.
Mel Newbery in Cardiff and Mari Smith at the Cannon Hill parkrun in Birmingham both ran 17:36 to record the second the fastest time this weekend.
Top 10 men
1) parkrun: Barnstaple
Phil Norman, 15:00, North Devon AC
2) parkrun: Llanelli Coast
Christian Lovatt, 15:16, Swansea Harriers
3) parkrun: Raphael
Ben Davis, 15:31
4) parkrun: Edinburgh
Dougie Selman, 15:33, Corstorphine AAC
5) parkrun: Southampton
Zakariya Mahamed, 15:34, Southampton AC
6) parkrun: Albert, Middlesbrough
Joshua Cowperthwaite, 15:36, Middlesbrough AC
7) parkrun: Cannon Hill, Birmingham
Ed Banks, 15:36, Birchfield Harriers
8) parkrun: Folkestone
Charlie Brisley, 15:36, Deal Triathlon & RR
9) parkrun: Cardiff
Samuel Blake, 15:40, Cardiff AAC
10) parkrun: Cannon Hill, Birmingham
Mark Pearce, 15:41
Top 10 women
1) parkrun: Chelmsford Central
Elizabeth Davies, 17:31, Springfield Striders RC
2) parkrun: Cardiff
Mel Newbery, 17:36, Bristol and West AC
3) parkrun: Cannon Hill, Birmingham
Mari Smith, 17:36
4) parkrun: Falkirk
Jo Williams, 17:38, Lothian RC
5) parkrun: Pegwell Bay
Alexandra Millard, 17:43, Invicta East Kent AC
6) parkrun: Cardiff
Vicky Jackson, 17:47, Swansea Harriers AC
7) parkrun: Heaton
Heather Sellars, 17:50, Leeds City AC
8) parkrun: Wolverhampton
Claire Martin, 17:55, Telford AC
9) parkrun: Moors Valley
Sharon Louise Singer, 18:01
10) parkrun: Edinburgh
Ella Revitt, 18:02