Right put the kettle on and settle comfortably because with not many races being attended this weekend I thought I would do a bit of research into the parkrun venues that our members featured in and I came up with some surprising facts.
Ask any Ashfordian what their home town is famous for and some might tell you that Kate Bush was a pupil at Ashford School. Others might tell you that Patsy Byrne who played Nursie in Blackadder attended Highworth School or some might say that Bob Holness the TV presenter gained his knowledge from the Norton Knatchbull school. The majority though will tell you that Ashford is most famous for its railway links and is one of the best connected towns in the UK. People alighting a train at Ashford International have in fact a short ten minute walk to Victoria Park, home of Ashford Parkrun and on Saturday they would have seen enough runners in red to fill the 07.40 to St Pancras.
Keith Haynes appears to be fully recharged and fuelled up after his recent injury problems as he went off like the Eurostar and completed the 5K track in 20:16 to claim the Strider top spot. Andrew Maund also put in a great performance to record a 20:33 finish and Mark Niles completed a superb sub 21 Strider trio with 20:52. Hazel Turner cruised round like the Orient Express to claim the first Strider lady spot with 24:40 and Terry Sellen just didn’t have enough steam in his engine to catch her and had to settle for 24:41. Richard Randle proved that age is no barrier. His first Parkrun in his 7th decade and like a pristine locomotive whistled round to a fantastic new PB of 25:27. Two younger models followed in Richards tracks but were unable to catch him but still recorded shiny new PBs they were Graham Troman and Jason Brice and they screeched to a halt in 25:57 and 26:30 respectively. Remember Stephenson’s Rocket ? Well google it if you don’t. It was the first steam engine to reach a speed of 30mph and was built by George Stephenson. Over the years name spellings change so i’m assuming that Vicky Stevenson is a distant relative and tried to emulate Great Great Great Uncle in-law twice removed George for speed and managed to pull it off with a superb 26:40 finish. Dermott Carr must have been representing Larnrod Eireann (Irish Rail before you get on google again) and he was just a second behind Vicky but still set a new PB for himself with 26:41. Strider newcomer Claire Green was next through with 26:48 and then Siobhan Hagan who as we know is no stranger to the railway came through with yet another PB of 27:33. Scott Hawkins, Amanda James and Michelle Bryant completed the Sub 30 timetable with finishes of 29:05, 29:17 and 29:38 respectively.
Adam Thomas was the next red through in 30:04 which incidentally is the exact time it takes to get from Ashford to Margate by rail (what a small world we live in !!) and he was followed by David Gadsby with 30:54 and Martin Whittingham with 31:14. Rita Cooke was the next runner from the Strider Stock over the line and she completed the round journey in 31:55 and then followed Rachel Forrester in 32:18 and Sonette Schwartz in 32:28. Rachel Theobold and Kevin York came through in 32:31 and 32:32 and then we had Victoria Shrubsole through in 32.59 (I bet you are really glad that you share your name with a famous London train station eh Victoria ?). 33:01 was the finish time for Sally Davidson-Daniel and she just about pipped Rachel Tomsett with 33:07. Brian Forrester finished in 33:22 and then a brilliant new PB for Dee Millen with 34:07 which no doubt sparked huge celebrations in the Randle/Millen household as it capped off a PB double for the couple. (Richard will probably be in his 8th decade by the time you finish reading this ). New member Ash Robinson kept up the PB theme with a shiny new one for his time of 35:06 and Kevan Strand continued his rehab with 35:11 followed by Jennifer Watts with 36:28. Another Strider coming back from injury was Sara Dewar and she completed in 36:58 (great to see you back Sara) and last but by no means least were Julie Foster and Michelle Brice with 45:53 and 48:29 respectively.
Of course special thanks to all the volunteers. Striders amongst them were the two station masters Simon Jackson and Jason Caldwell along with Sharni Copham, Don Dewar and Dave Warner.
Ask any Deal-onion (A person from Deal, not an item of local produce) what is Deal most famous for and they will instantly tell you whilst puffing their chests out with pride that Deal was the birthplace of Signor Blitz. Who is that ? I hear you ask. Well Signor was a famous magician born in 1810 and who done his final disappearing act in 1877. Well in a world full of small coincidences Saturday marked the exact 146th year and 8th day that Signor passed away and Dealonions were obviously out in force to celebrate this momentous occasion but little did they know that they were in for a special treat. At Deal Parkrun on Saturday our very own Membership Secretary the magical Peter Broom arrived with his pretty young assistants and stole the show from poor Signor as he was celebrating his 100th Parkrun. Like a true wizard Peter pulled out his wand and stunned the crowd with a fantastic 31:06 finish. Hazel Forrester followed on with 35:49 and Danielle Moss 43:09. Dealonions were so impressed with this double celebration that from now on Feb 4th will be known in the town as Signor Broom day.
Ask any resident of Shorne what their hometown is famous for and you will probably get met with silence because nobody of note hails from the area and it has had a very quiet time in the history books. But….If you dig a bit deeper you will find a certain someone called Trevor who hailed from Shorne but was actually born on a local farm which was owned by the Crackling brothers Clive and Crispin. Trevors claim to fame was that he was the oldest pig in the UK until he passed (wrapped in a blanket) in the seventies at the grand old age of 22. The legend that is Trevor remains in the heart of Shorneadites to this day and locals will tell you that writer John Sullivan was so touched by the story of Trev evading the market for all those years that he gave Del Boy and Rodney their surname as a tribute to him.
Shorne Woods Parkrun obviously hold Trevor close to their hearts with Strava Segments ‘Apple Sauce Ascent’ and ‘This little piggy didn’t go to the market’ named in his honour. Well after paying their respects to Trevor, Nicola Crawley and Justin Burden got down to the business of running and Justin Streaked round in 26:16 and Nicola not far behind in 27:52. One word of advice if you visit this venue is that there is no first aid tent so remember to take your own oinkment.
Ask any Smoggy (a person from Middlesborough) about the history of their hometown and most will mention ship building but those more in the know will tell you that the safety match was also invented here and with this obviously in mind Tamsin Ritchie and Paul Bacon Baker made the long journey up there for a double visit to the Stewart Parkrun and the local Swan Vesta factory. (Im so glad that Paul didn’t go to Shorne Woods or the locals would have given him a knighthood) Tamsin struck first with a 26:33 finish and Paul couldn’t quite match her but still managed an impressive 30:31.
Ask any Bracknellite what Bracknell is famous for and everyone bar none will tell you that it was indeed the setting for Harry Potters house as Pickett Close was transformed into Privet Drive for the world famous films. Local residents at Bracknell parkrun got very excited on Saturday as word spread that two celebrity runners were in town so they braced themselves for the arrival of Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley. Little did they know that the two guest runners were actually Jason and Justine Wearn who had stopped off on their way to Oxford. Never mind Bracknellites, Jason and Justine are celebrities in our eyes if not yours and they still stole your show with great times of 32:22 and 32:23 respectively before going off for a game of Quidditch.
Southwark in London is known as the Borough and has been a market area since Saxon times. Its close proximity to London Bridge made it a haven for criminals and ladies of the night but nowadays its probably more famous for its popular Parkrun which was why Lee Standen paid it a visit on Saturday. Keeping a close eye on his car wheels, wallet and phone Lee stole the show with a great time of 32:34.
Have you ever wondered who William Harvey was ? Well I can tell you. Bill was a 17th Century physician who discovered the circulation of blood. With the hospital in Ashford being named after him many people would summise that he came from the town but he was actually born in Folkestone in 1578. Obviously this interesting fact was the main reason for Aimee Donohue to choose Bills local Parkrun or maybe she just wanted to run with her family who were in the area…Who knows ? Either way the reason obviously inspired Aimee as she flew round the course and that never-ending slope certainly got her blood pumping as she recorded a great time and PB of 25:02
Ask any Mallingian an interesting fact about Malling and they will undoubtedly tell you that West Malling is built upon the site where the first ever cricket match was played in Kent back in 1705. Well Lisa Fulcher bowled up on Saturday and stumped the locals with a fine innings at Malling Parkrun finishing in a creditable time of 33:46 not out !!
Anyone Still Awake ?? You will be pleased to know that Minster was the final tourist destination this week. Other than the parkrun the only place of note for Minsterians to gloat about is Minster Abbey which is the oldest inhabited building in the UK. Dating back to 1027 it is still a place where a community of Nuns call home. Lisa Gribbin and Rachel Misson are running sisters so this was always going to be destination of choice for them to feed there tourism habit (had to get that one in somehow). Both ladies recorded sub 30s with Lisa finishing in 28:47 and Rachel in 29:14.
Well done to all you parkrunners and volunteers this weekend and we now move on to the races where I will spare you the history lessons.
Bedgebury Forest held its annual 5 mile and 10mile races on Sunday and we had representation in both. Jason Kennedy took on the longer event and recorded a great time of 1:22:25 whilst Cathy Wall opted for the 5 miles and was equally impressive with a time of 53:06. Well done to you both. Five hardy Striders took on the London Winter 10K race and first over the line with a 10K PB of 54:16 was Chloe Darling and she was narrowly ahead of Kate Stroud who also recorded a new PB with 54:44. Great running right there ladies !! Third Strider place was shared between Adam Thomas and Kay Hunt who finished neck and neck in 56:20. Vicky Shrubsole completed the Strider line-up in the capital with another great performance finishing in 1:06:57.
Well Done to you all and I hope everyone has a great week.
Report by Andy Found.
