Sophie Wood and Joe Armstrong ran the fastest parkrun times in the UK this week (18th September).

Fastest female this week was Sophie Wood, with 16:34 at Peel parkrun. With PBs at 5k (16:03), half marathon (75:15) and even a 15th position at the Great North Run last weekend in 76:18, Wood is having a binder of a year and new parkrun best is always a nice addition.

Joe Armstrong obviously saw the bright lights of third in our list last week and knew he could go better. At the slightly different venue of Darlington South Park the Morpeth Harrier took 15 seconds off last week’s time to run 14:55. Given that last week was a new parkrun PB, so is this one. Imagine what Joe’s going to do next week?

Young and old(er) impressing at parkrun

Youngster Emer McKee continues to wow with her excellent endurance performances. Another sub 17 parkrun at Stormont parkrun this weekend with 16:44 for the Willowfield Harrier.

James Connor of Havering AC was the second quickest male with just a nip over 15 minutes (15:01). It’s a parkrun best for the the V35, although his 5000m times are somewhat speedier with a 14:36 from 2014. The 2:18 marathoner also clocked 67:52 for half this year at the Big Half so maybe this is a sign of another marathon tilt this Autumn?

Fastest event?

It was one of the fastest parks in the land that featured most this week, Dulwich Park in south-east London. Edward Chuck was 4th fastest male, whilst Isabel Taylor, Annie Birch and April James-Welsh all featured in the top 10, in what must have been some good racing in the women’s field.

parkrun is good for your training and racing

Scout Adkin, who was seventh last week, showed her true talent lays in running up very steep hills when finishing second in the British uphill mountain running trial this week, whilst Lucy Charles-Barclay, who has featured numerous times in this top ten, today won the 70.3 Ironman World Champs in St. George, Utah.

We know parkrun isn’t a race, but it sure is a great place for a workout if you’re training for the bigger stages elsewhere. Plenty of those inspiring fast times we see in these rankings are part of a training block leading to something special.

Men’s top 10

1) parkrun: Darlington South Park
Joe Armstrong, 14:55, Morpeth Harriers & AC
2) parkrun: Barking
James Connor, 15:01, Havering A.C
3) parkrun: MUSA Cookstown
Eoin Hughes, 15:05, Acorns AC
4) parkrun: Dulwich
Edward Chuck, 15:06, Dulwich Runners AC
5) parkrun: Preston 
Joseph Monk, 15:07, Preston Harriers
6) parkrun: Portrush 
Neil Johnston, 15:10, Arndale Striders
7) parkrun: Stevenage 
Ian Kimpton, 15:16, Team Kimpton
8) parkrun: Storey’s Field 
David Hudson, 15:23, Huntingdonshire AC
9) parkrun: Portrush
Steven McAlary, 15:25, City of Derry AC
10) parkrun: Elgin
Stephen MacKay, 15:26, Inverness Harriers AAC

Women’s top 10

1) parkrun: Peel
Sophie Wood, 16:34, Sale Harriers Manchester
2) parkrun: Stormont 
Emer McKee, 16:44, Willowfield Harriers
3) parkrun: Sutcliffe
Holly Dixon, 17:10, Cambridge Harriers
4) parkrun: Dulwich
Isabel Taylor, 17:11
5) parkrun: Storey’s Field 
Ellie Loosley, 17:29, Cambridge and Coleridge AC
6=) parkrun: Dulwich
Annie Birch, 17:34, London City Athletics Club
6=) parkrun: Storey’s Field
Jennifer Laggate, 17:34
8) parkrun: Finsbury 
Beth Hawling, 17:36, Cheltenham & County Harriers
9) parkrun: Dulwich
April James-Welsh, 17:43, South London Harriers
10) parkrun: Hove Promenade
Emma Navesey, 17:46, Lewes AC

If you would like to run faster at parkrun, top tips to help runners of all abilities can be found here.