Liam Lloyd and Sophie Wallis ran the fastest parkrun times in the UK this week (16th October).

Given the location was Swansea parkrun we’re going to assume that Liam Lloyd is the Swansea/Llanelli athlete coached by Adrian Webb. If someone knows otherwise then please do let us know.

If this is the case then it’s brilliant to see the young Welsh athlete back in action. The last two races on Power of 10 are from early 2020, with a PB of 15:13 at Armagh International 5k and a half marathon debut of 74:13 at the Vitality Liverpool Half Marathon. Welcome back Liam, just in time for some cross country hopefully.

Sophie Wallis has already topped the parkrun rankings this summer and does so again on a fast weekend, by just two seconds. 16:47 at Lincoln parkrun is a new parkrun best for the Lincoln Wellington Runner by six seconds. It’s also under Wallis’ 5k best, set at Leicestershire Chase the Sun 5K earlier this year.

Just last weekend also saw a fastest time on leg three of the ERRA Women’s National 4-Stage Relays so we think there is more excitement to come this Autumn.

Cross country stars warming up

Fresh off a 2:22:48 at the London Marathon, which involved a 67:28 first half and a slight positive split that suggest a tough second half, it is good to see Jamie Crowe is just getting warmed up for the cross country season.

The 2020 Scottish XC Champion ran 15:05 at Camperdown parkrun in Dundee, so clearly is recovering well from the 26.2 miles in London.

Philippa Stone of Middlesbrough AC has mostly been on the track this season and has the PBs to show for it, including 2:08.05 for 800m and 4:19.44 for 1500m.

Like Crowe, Stone is another who excels on the cross country, with great success at the National and Northern Champs over the years.

Fast marathoners running fast parkruns

Both third place runners, Rose Harvey and Jordan Skelly, have had strong marathons this year, with Harvey’s 2:29:45 at London Marathon a fantastic jump for the Phil Kissi coached athlete.

Skelly’s 15:06 at York parkrun follows on from a sub 15 minute effort at Market Rasen last weekend, whereas Harvey clocked 17:09 at Evesham parkrun, a little slower than the 16:30 Burgess in July, but October has been a bit busier than normal for marathons.

The fastest parkrun of the week

Both Lincoln and Poole parkruns feature twice this week, with Lincoln grabbing fourth male and fastest female, thus winning this week’s fastest course.

Men’s top 10

1) parkrun: Swansea
Liam Lloyd, 15:03, Swansea/Llanelli
2) parkrun: Camperdown, Dundee
Jamie Crowe, 15:05, Central AC
3) parkrun: York
Jordan Skelly, 15:06, Gainsborough & Morton Striders AC
4) parkrun: Lincoln
Matthew Bowser, 15:11
5) parkrun: Poole
Will Brewin, 15:15, Southampton AC
6) parkrun: Watermead Country Park
Sam Stabler, 15:17, Wreake and Soar Valley AC
7) parkrun: Leicester Victoria
Mohammed Hussein, 15:20, Roadhoggs Leicester AC
8) parkrun: Poole
Niall Caley, 15:21, Bristol and West AC
9) parkrun: Cardiff
Iestyn Irvine Williams, 15:29, Carmarthen & District Harriers AC
10) parkrun: Redcar
Lewis Gamble-Thompson, 15:39, New Marske Harriers AC

Women’s top 10

1) parkrun: Lincoln
Sophie Wallis, 16:47
2) parkrun: Albert, Middlesborough
Philippa Stone, 16:49, Middlesborough AC
3) parkrun: Evesham
Rose Harvey, 17:09, Clapham Chasers RC
4) parkrun: Severn Bridge
Olivia Tsim, 17:12, Cardiff AAC
5) parkrun: Bushy
Isabel Clark, 17:23, Serpentine RC
6) parkrun: Telford
Sophie Lloyd, 17:23, White Horse Harriers AAC
7) parkrun: Seaton
Innes Fitzgerald, 17:31
8) parkrun: Durham
Alice Crane, 17:32
9) parkrun: Doddington Hall
India Barwell, 17:33, Lincoln Wellington AC
10) parkrun: Finsbury
Katie Brown, 17:36, Trent Park Running Club

If you would like to run faster at parkrun we highly recommend 1001 Running Tips by Robbie Britton, found here.