Georgie Grgec and Joe Moores ran the fastest parkrun times in the UK this weekend (11th March).
Our weekly parkrun top ten is sponsored by 1001 Running Tips by our editor Robbie Britton. Want to run faster at parkrun in 2023 or your next marathon then order your copy today.(PBs not guaranteed, but very likely).
Dulwich parkrun saw some super fast running this week and we see our first “rankings sandwich” with 1st, 2nd, 8th, 9th and 10th all at the same event. The fast pace at the front of the field, with Georgie Grgec and Hannah Irwin a mere 10 seconds apart, was part of a wave of fast times in south London today.
Grgec, who has featured in these rankings a few times, with a 16:15 parkrun PB at Dulwich in February this year and a 15:54 over 5k on the road in 2022 to shout about as well. The Herne Hill Harrier was also an excellent 9th at the Saucony English National Cross Country Championships earlier this year too.
Joe Moores, of Rossendale Harriers & AC, was the quickest chap with 15:08 at Cardiff parkrun in South Wales, another of our fastest events. It’s the same as his parkrun PB from last year and it probably won’t be long before the 14:24 5k runner drops his parkrun times under 15 minutes too.
The best of the rest
It’s great to see Hannah Irwin in action at Dulwich parkrun today with a 16:39. Irwin, who was a Fast Running weekend round-up writer for some time, is returning to action with a bang and comes off a 2022 season that saw plenty of PBs and a 15:45 5000m at the BMC Grand Prix in June. Go Hannah!
Luke Minns went his own way at Fleetwood Promenade parkrun and there was rumours he described the event as a series of Dreams. After 4k he told himself “Don’t Stop”. On Monday Morning he might say he’s Never Going Back, but a 15:26 parkrun was good enough for an 11 second parkrun PB and he’ll Keep on Going all season.
Also at Cardiff it was Millie Gold of Cardiff AAC who was third on the women’s podium with an excellent 17:15, whereas at Chalkwell Beach parkrun, past my Uncle Mark’s house for our regular readers, it was David Smale who clocked 15:32 as third fastest male runner.
Fastest event?
You guessed it, Dulwich was the one this weekend. The park is popular with London distance runners for training and parkrun due to it’s wide paths, flat surface and, probably, fancy coffee places nearby. There’s even a hill to train on next to it up towards Crystal Palace and Ernest Shackleton’s lifeboat is nearby in Dulwich College, so that must give off some Endurance boost.