Lauren McNeil and Ollie Garrod ran the fastest parkrun times in the UK this week (3rd September).

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No chaps under 15 minutes this week, but the women’s rankings has possibly the most under 17 minutes we’ve seen in one week. Four were under 17 and one just over in 17:02, which many weeks would be right near the top of the parkrun pile.

Lauren McNeil, of Hallamshire Harriers Sheffield AC, was the quickest of the bunch this week beating a three times that would have won most weeks this year. 16:17 at Burgess parkrun is exactly the same time as McNeil ran at Doncaster Town Centre 5K in July and is a new parkrun PB, but also not far from her overall 5k mark of 16:13.

Ollie Garrod, fresh from running at the World 100k Championships last weekend for Great Britain, was the fastest male. The Team Hour 7 runner wasn’t even “racing” for the first time since the champs as he ran a 10k event midweek too. A serial racer, Garrod clocked another notch for his ever growing list of parkrun first finishes with 15:01 at Nonsuch parkrun in Surrey.

The virtual podium

At Oxford parkrun it was Georgie Grgec, off Auckland City Athletic Club who was quickest. The New Zealand athlete has run PBs for mile, 3000, 5000m, 5k and 10,000 so a parkrun PB was always going to happen. 16:26 was enough to get to second on this week’s rankings and take 1:04 seconds off the last mark from 2018. Sub 16 for 5000m and 5k is pretty swift going.

Up at Strathclyde Daryl Reid was two seconds slower than Garrod, but still flying in 15:03. Not quite as quick as the 14:53 at the same event in July, but the East Kilbride athlete is in flying form with a 14:48 last month for 5k and a whole year of quick times on the road and track.

The other two females who broke 17 minutes were Jessica Gibbon (16:37)  and Kate Drew (16:54) at Prospect and Longrun Meadow parkrun. Gibbon, two weeks earlier, ran a fantastic new PB of 16:02 at the recent Home Countries International 5K.

At the fast Cardiff parkrun in South Wales Ciaran Lewis was first home in 15:10 and made the third spot in the top 10. It will be the first Power of 10 event for the year so hopefully just the start of some enjoyable running for Lewis.

Fastest course?

It was looking like no one course saw more than two top 10 runs, but then Swansea Bay parkrun nipped in with two ninth placed runs. Bravo Swansea Bay!

Female Rankings

Men’s Rankings

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