Mark moves up!
There are so many photos this week that I was spoiled for choice as to what to upload, so thanks for sending them.
Mark picked up most of the points over the last couple of weeks starting on the 4th July, when he got the three points by going just 36 seconds over at Brueton Park. Unusually he was one of only two parkrunners out in Solihull, the other being Ann, who managed to pick up one point despite very hot weather. The only other course runner out that week was G, who took the two points at the Sheep River Parkrun in Canada. Himself and Edd have been on what looks like a really lovely tour of Canada, which on the second half of the trip took in the West of the country including Vancouver and the Rocky Mountain area.
All the other courses on the 4th were virtual. Bern was out in Spain and Marg in Bromyard. Tomo and Angie took a walk as part of their Jon’o’Groats to Land’s End walk, this week walking from Bath to Taunton. This included a stop at Wells, which has a magnificent Cathedral that really can rival Notre Dame or York and took us a bit by surprise. So surprised in fact that we didn’t take any photos so you will have to settle for one of me. There is no point taking more than one, as in an attempt to minimise weight I wore the same tee-shirt all week. We also stayed in Glastonbury which is a bit of an odd place, filled with shops selling witches brews, incense, voodoo dolls and tarot cards. Not something that interests me too much. Our BB was a TV free zone, and the majority of the pubs had signs up saying ‘Football Free Zone.’ Nowt queerer than folk is there?
There was a lot more action this week, not least over in Spain, where the Comptons, Bonelli’s, Belchers and Lyngs have descended on Bern’s place. Claire, Liz and Bern all ran virtually with Liz managing to knock a huge one minute and 36 seconds off her target to pick up the three bonus points. Great stuff from Liz and looks like they are having great fun!
On the course runs Ann, Mark, Tomo and Angie were all out at Brueton in very intense heat, although Mark seemed to be not too much affected as he picked up two bonus points by going just 34 seconds over. That was only two seconds slower than the week before, so well done to him. His points tally over the last two weeks has moved him up the table into fourth place. Kelly was also out in Leamington and young Evelyn was out in Junior parkrun on Sunday accompanied by Ann.
The remaining bonus point went to G for his run over in Canada in the familiar sounding Ambleside parkrun. He put in an excellent time of 22.46 and it’s good to see him coming back to form. He also walked to the parkrun and back again and if my calculations are correct he did about 13 miles. I’m am pleased to report that he and Eddie are safely back from their trip and I’ll leave you with some of their amazing photos.
And one that I forgot last week was a very athletic photo of myself and Marg tackling the hills of Bromyard.
| Name | Target | 11-Jul | Diff | Run Pts | Bonus | Total |
| Angie | 0:31:36 | 0:33:32 | 01:56 | 28 | 19 | 47 |
| Ann | 0:32:52 | 0:39:28 | 06:36 | 28 | 18 | 46 |
| Tomo | 0:27:44 | 0:29:14 | 01:30 | 28 | 13 | 41 |
| Mark | 0:30:27 | 0:31:01 | 00:34 | 19 | 20 | 39 |
| George | 0:21:52 | 0:22:46 | 00:54 | 27 | 10 | 37 |
| Dillon – J | 0:10:09 | 11 | 21 | 32 | ||
| Claire | 0:28:49 | 0:32:37 | 03:48 | 18 | 12 | 30 |
| Mag | 0:35:12 | 19 | 8 | 27 | ||
| Evelyn – J | 0:15:45 | 0:24:03 | 08:18 | 19 | 7 | 26 |
| Kelly | 0:31:00 | 0:33:47 | 02:47 | 16 | 9 | 25 |
| Liz | 0:30:25 | 0:28:49 | -01:36 | 7 | 14 | 21 |
| Bee | 0:36:21 | 0:41:57 | 05:36 | 8 | 6 | 14 |
| Seth | 0:14:08 | 4 | 6 | 10 | ||
| Lucy | 0:55:00 | 8 | 8 | |||
| Cass | 0:40:05 | 2 | 5 | |||
| Cara | 0:35:20 | 1 | 3 | 4 | ||
| Neil | 0:27:54 | 1 | 2 | 3 | ||
| Isaac | 0:26:00 | | | 0 | ||
| G&E | 0:28:00 | 0 | ||||
| Catilin | 0:50:00 | | 0 | |||
| Anne C | 0:55:00 | | | 0 | ||
| Laurent | 0:55:00 | | | 0 | ||
G Doubles up in Canada
G scored another first this week by managing to double in on his trip to Canada with brother Ed. Last Saturday he was in Budapest (which is in Canada) where he put in his best time for a while at 23.13, which was enough to get him one bonus point by going just 1 minute and 21 seconds over target. Today is Canada Day and over there it is chosen as the extra parkrun which G did in the follow up time of 23.17. Remarkably consistent but also it’s great to see him coming back into form after a few niggles. So well done G.
While G and Ed are enjoying Canada the rest of us in Europe were sweltering in the heat. The worst was over by Saturday but nonetheless Kelly was feeling the heat over at Leamington. She put in a great time of 32.44 which includes a very big climb at the end of the course so great stuff from Kelly.
Once again Brueton saw most of the action and there were four of us out with Mark getting the three bonus points by going 22 seconds under to edge closer to that 30 minute barrier. Himself and Tomo were battling it out but he managed to hold him off, so it seems like his new watch is doing its magic. Tomo also put in a good run as did Ann, while Angie took a walk.
And the two points? They went to young Dillon over in France who put in the excellent time of 10.24 on his virtual junior course. That was just 25 seconds over his target, which in the summer heat was a great run. So well done to Dillon. Claire was also out virtually.
There was no Marg his week as she was saving herself for the Bromyard Round the Downs Race. She was joined by Angie and they both completed the 10k course in 1.21 which given the hills and rough terrain it was not bad indeed. It’s a lovely race, so perhaps we can make it a family outing next year.
I forgot to give Evelyn her point for junior parkrun last week as the result is late, so that has been added in now.
| Name | Target | 27-Jun | Diff | Run Pts | Bonus | Total |
| Angie | 0:31:36 | 0:44:37 | 13:01 | 26 | 19 | 45 |
| Ann | 0:32:52 | 0:36:33 | 03:41 | 26 | 17 | 43 |
| Tomo | 0:27:44 | 0:30:46 | 03:02 | 26 | 13 | 39 |
| George | 0:21:52 | 0:23:13 | 01:21 | 26 | 7 | 33 |
| Dillon – J | 0:10:09 | 0:10:34 | 00:25 | 11 | 21 | 32 |
| Mark | 0:30:49 | 0:30:27 | -00:22 | 17 | 15 | 32 |
| Claire | 0:28:49 | 0:53:00 | 24:11 | 17 | 12 | 29 |
| Mag | 0:35:12 | 18 | 8 | 26 | ||
| Evelyn – J | 0:15:45 | 18 | 7 | 25 | ||
| Kelly | 0:31:00 | 0:32:44 | 01:44 | 15 | 9 | 24 |
| Liz | 0:30:25 | 6 | 11 | 17 | ||
| Bee | 0:36:21 | 6 | 6 | 12 | ||
| Seth | 0:14:08 | 4 | 6 | 10 | ||
| Lucy | 0:55:00 | 8 | 8 | |||
| Cass | 0:40:05 | 2 | 5 | |||
| Cara | 0:35:20 | 1 | 3 | 4 | ||
| Neil | 0:27:54 | 1 | 2 | 3 | ||
| Isaac | 0:26:00 | | | 0 | ||
| G&E | 0:28:00 | 0 | ||||
| Catilin | 0:50:00 | | 0 | |||
| Anne C | 0:55:00 | | | 0 | ||
| Laurent | 0:55:00 | | | 0 | ||
I will leave you with some pictures of G and Ed who so far have visited Saskatoon, Toronto, Edmond and Elk Island taking in the sights, which included a memorial to the great Joni Mitchell. I am now just about to watch the second half of the match, which I sense might be bringing clouds from both sides……
Margaret on Form!
There was no update last week as myself and Tomo were doing the latest leg of our Jon O’ Groats to Land’s End walk which took us along the Cotswolds Way from Chipping Campden to Bath Abbey. It’s a really lovely walk and we had perfect weather for it. We were also joined on a couple of days by Mark. On the Saturday, it was too much to combine it with a parkrun proper, so we settled for a virtual walk over the hills. Kelly and Lucy also opted for virtual walks as did Marg over in Bromyard.
George was further afield in Penrith but the Saturday parkrun was not enough for him and he completed the Windermere marathon on the following day. He has been struggling with a niggly knee recently but that was not enough to stop him and he opted to walk the whole way – and managed to get under 6 hours! Anyone who has run a marathon knows that cracking six hours with a fair bit of running is not that easy, so well done to G on clocking up one more.
Over at Brueton and it was just Ann and Mark who were out, with Mark putting in his fastest run for a while by going 12 seconds under his target to record 30.49 and so pick up two bonus points. Good stuff from Mark. Ann also had a decent run at 33.34.
The rest of the points were won over in France, with Claire having a fantastic run and knocking 41 seconds off her target to record an excellent 28.49. She is clearly on a fitness drive so well done Claire on cracking that 29 minute barrier. The remaining one point was picked up by Dillon in junior parkrun by doing just 38 seconds over his target and to keep under 11 minutes. Well done Dillon.
This week and Brueton was back as the main field of action with five of us out. Tomo, Mark, Kelly, Ann and Ang all put in decent runs with Ann picking up two bonus points for just eleven seconds over target and Mark one point at 24 seconds over. Mark was spurred on by his new watch, which he managed to purchase for the bargain price of £40. It is remarkable how far the technology has come since the brick like Garmin forerunners that did little other than record time and distance. Mark’s model gives a huge range of data, including customised watch faces that he adjusted to read Up the Villa. Hours of fun.
It was good to see that following his efforts in the Windermere Marathon, G managed to run this week in Gadebridge near London, where he put in a very respectable sub 30 minutes. Claire opted for a walk as the heat rages in France and slowly moves to the UK.
No doubts on run of the week though and that went to Margaret, who knocked a whopping 1 minute and 25 seconds off her target over at the Hereford Parkrun, which she completed in 35.12. Great running from Marg.
| Name | Target | 27-Jun | Diff | Run Pts | Bonus | Total |
| Angie | 0:31:36 | 0:36:06 | 04:30 | 25 | 19 | 44 |
| Ann | 0:32:52 | 0:33:03 | 00:11 | 25 | 17 | 42 |
| Tomo | 0:27:44 | 0:29:23 | 01:39 | 25 | 13 | 38 |
| George | 0:21:52 | 0:29:24 | 07:32 | 25 | 6 | 31 |
| Dillon – J | 0:10:09 | 10 | 19 | 29 | ||
| Mark | 0:30:49 | 0:31:13 | 00:24 | 16 | 12 | 28 |
| Claire | 0:28:49 | 1:00:00 | 31:11 | 16 | 12 | 28 |
| Mag | 0:36:37 | 0:35:12 | -01:25 | 18 | 8 | 26 |
| Evelyn – J | 0:15:45 | 17 | 7 | 24 | ||
| Kelly | 0:31:00 | 0:32:13 | 01:13 | 14 | 9 | 23 |
| Liz | 0:30:25 | 6 | 11 | 17 | ||
| Bee | 0:36:21 | 6 | 6 | 12 | ||
| Seth | 0:14:08 | 4 | 6 | 10 | ||
| Lucy | 0:55:00 | 8 | 8 | |||
| Cass | 0:40:05 | 2 | 5 | |||
| Cara | 0:35:20 | 1 | 3 | 4 | ||
| Neil | 0:27:54 | 1 | 2 | 3 | ||
| Isaac | 0:26:00 | | | 0 | ||
| G&E | 0:28:00 | 0 | ||||
| Catilin | 0:50:00 | | 0 | |||
| Anne C | 0:55:00 | | | 0 | ||
| Laurent | 0:55:00 | | | 0 | ||