Morag Millar and Jacob Allen ran the fastest parkrun times in the UK this week (2nd April).

Our weekly parkrun top ten is sponsored by 1001 Running Tips by our editor Robbie Britton. Order your copy today.

Please excuse the brevity this week, tomorrow is race day and an early night is always a good idea. But we also can’t go without our weekly top 10 so I’ll get on with it now.

Morag Millar was flying around North Inch Park this morning, which is actually the location for the Anglo-Celtic Plate 50k race tomorrow (although we’ll likely be going a bit slower over 50-100k on the Sunday). 16:49 isn’t a parkrun PB for Millar, but it is fine running and a sign that 2022 could be another exciting year for the Scot.

Jacob Allen, of Highgate Harriers, was our fastest male runner with 14:58 at Barnstaple parkrun. From the club that brings us the Night of the 10,000m PBs you expect fast runners and Allen did not disappoint. Having already set a new parkrun PB of 14:50 at Highbury Fields in February, the 3:44.02 1500m man might have his sights on some faster road 5ks in 2022, given a 5000m best of 13:43.75 set at the Cardinal Classic a few years back.

Steel in the game

GB distance runner Gemma Steel was another female under 17 minutes and her 16:54 at Watermead County Park beats her own course record there by 13 seconds. Just a week back the Charnwood AC runner was fastest on leg 6 at the Midland Counties Women’s 6-Stage Relays and looks to be set for a strong 2022.

Also up in Scotland was Daryl Reid at StrathClyde parkrun. The East Kilbride AC runner clocked 15:07 after a breakthrough year in 2021 with some cracking results, which included a 30:21 PB at the City of Stirling 10k and a 14:35 at the Fast 5k in Wigan.

Nick Bester (15:10) and Innes Fitzgerald (17:11)were the third quickest male and female athletes this week at Dulwich and Seaton parkruns respectively. Bester keeps featuring on the Sweat Elite Instagram stories, popping up on some exciting sessions around the parks of London with Matt Fox (who is trying to break 2:20), so I’m guessing he’s in marathon training too?

Fitzgerald, an U17 Devonshire Schools athlete, ran a big 14 second parkrun PB of 17:11 at Seaton parkrun. It’s been a great year so far with wins at County and Regional XC Champs, then second at ESAA English Schools Championships.

Fastest Course?

It was almost looking as if it might be the 20 separate events until Annie Birch nipped in at number 10 in the women’s rankings at Dulwich Park. Together with Bester in third, that’s the only parkrun that features twice this week!

Men’s top 10

1) parkrun: Barnstaple 
Jacob Allen, 14:58, Highgate Harriers
2) parkrun: Strathclyde 
Daryl Reid, 15;07, East Kilbride AC
3) parkrun: Dulwich
Nick Bester, 15;10, Best Athletics
4) parkrun: Penrith
Andrew Douglas, 15:19, Inverclyde AC
5) parkrun: Tooting Common
Jack Millar, 15:23, Bristol and West AC
6) parkrun: Whiteley 
Rikki James, 15:24, Plymouth Harriers
7=) parkrun: Ashford 
Wegahta Zerom, 15:28
7=) parkrun: Worthing
Nick Dawson, 15:28, Worthing & District Harriers
9) parkrun: Arrow Valley
Max Price, 15:29, Birchfield Harriers
10) parkrun: Bideford
Dan Mapp, 15:33, Bideford AAC

Women’s top 10

1) parkrun: Perth
Morag Millar, 16:49, Central AC
2) parkrun: Watermead County Park
Gemma Steel, 16:54, Charnwood AC
3) parkrun: Seaton
Innes Fitzgerald, 17:11
4) parkrun: Reigate Priory
Niamh Brown, 17:32, Reigate Priory AC
5) parkrun: Pontypridd
Olivia Tsim, 17:33, Pontypridd Roadents AC
6) parkrun: Rickmansworth
Maddie Hughes, 17:34, Chiltern Harriers AC
7) parkrun: Edgbaston Reservoir
Ellen Weir, 17:35, Hercules Wimbledon AC
8) parkrun: Raphael
Gemma Kersey, 17:39
9) parkrun: The Wammy
Louise Hackett, 17:42, Wolverhampton & Bilston AC
10) parkrun: Dulwich
Annie Birch, 17:47, London City AC

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