In preparation for the upcoming Commonwealth Half Marathon Champs at Cardiff half this weekend Clara Evans, who features for Wales, had a great run out at Cardiff parkrun as part of training. The Welsh international ran 16:50 at the fast Welsh event.

Evans was not the only female athlete under 17 minutes as Ruth Barnes also dipped under with 16:57. The Avon Valley Runner was at Poole parkrun on the south coast, another quick parkrun course.

Nick Earl, of the City of Norwich AC, took it upon himself to help the UK males get back to the top of the global rankings by running under 15 minutes at Kingston parkrun in London. But Australian 1500m runner James Hansen was having none of it and posted 14:46 at Launceston parkrun in Tasmania.

Ironically Earl is based out in Australia and is deep in preparation for the Melbourne marathon in a few weeks and broke 30 minutes at the Launceston 10k earlier this year.

James Hansen broke the Tasmanian 1500m record holder with a 3:39.56 mark at Hunter Track Classic this January and went on to lower that record to 3:38.90 at the Sydney Athletics grand prix in March this year.

Emmett Dunleavy of Sligo AC was the fastest park runner in Ireland this weekend with 15:20 at Shanganagh parkrun. The time was good enough for fifth in the global rankings for the 37 year old who has run 14:46 for 5000m in 2018.

Michael Oleynik is the first Polish runner to feature in the top ten list with a 15:27 at Pabianice parkrun. Pabianice [pabʲaˈɲit͡sɛ] is a town in central Poland with 66,265 inhabitants. And a fast parkrun it seems.

Both Cardiff and Bushy parkrun feature in the top ten twice so share the honours for the fastest global parkrun event this week.

Men’s top 10

1) parkrun: Launceston, Australia 
James Hansen, 14:46, UTAS Athletics club
2) parkrun: Kingston, UK
Nick Earl, 14:52, City of Norwich AC
3) parkrun: Bakewell, UK
Andy Coley-Maud, 15:06, Clapham Chasers RC
4) parkrun: Bushy, UK
Allan Stewart, 15:16, Chiltern Harriers
5) parkrun: Shanganagh, Ireland
Emmett Dunleavy, 15:20, Sligo AC
6) parkrun: Hampstead Heath, UK
Richard Goodman, 15:23, Shaftesbury Barnet Harriers
7) parkrun: Belfast Victoria, UK
Neil McCartan, 15:26, East Down AC
8) parkrun: Pabianice, Poland
Michael Olejnik, 15:27, Olej Running Team
9) parkrun: Gardiners Creek, Australia
Jacob Cocks, 15:28, Team Tempo
10) parkrun: Cardiff, UK
Stephen Mitchell, 15:33, Bristol and West AC

Women’s top 10

1) parkrun: Cardiff, UK
Clara Evans, 16:50, Pontypridd Roadents
2) parkrun: Poole, UK
Ruth Barnes, 16:57, Avon Valley Runners
3) parkrun: Bath Skyline, UK
Jessica Gibbon, 17:09, Reading AC
4) parkrun: Rhodes, Australia
Belinda, Martin, 17:06
5) parkrun: Salisbury, UK
Beatrice Wood, 17:13, City of Salisbury A & RC
6) parkrun: Darlington South Park, UK
Holly Archer, 17:22, Cambridge and Coleridge AC
7) parkrun: Ormskirk, UK
Tiffany Penfold, 17:27, Copeland AC
8) parkrun: St. Andrews, UK
Anna Hedley, 17:29, Fife AC
9) parkrun: Bushy, UK
Isabel Brinsden, 17:31, Epsom & Ewell Harriers
10) parkrun: Heslington, UK
Emma Waudby, 17:33, Pocklington Runners

Would you like to run faster at parkrun? Top tips to help runners of all abilities hit a parkrun best can be found here.

RELATED: 7 ways to run faster at parkrun 

RELATED: Top 10 global parkruns from last week

Are you a fan of Fast Running? Then please support us and become a patreon. For as little as the price of a monthly magazine you can support Fast Running – and it only takes a minute. Thank you.

The post 10 fastest global parkrun times on Saturday 29th September (2018) appeared first on Fast Running.

Thando Hlatshwayo now holds the parkrun course record of 16:56 for Winterton parkrun in South Africa.

Searching for results for Hlatshwayo has proved difficult with only one run of 38:02 this year attached to the name at the Umtshezi Wembezi 10k, but this is for a junior male.

If anyone has any information on the athlete than please do get in touch. With the pedigree of distance running in South Africa it is no surprise that someone might just rock up at their local parkrun and run such a quick time.

Michael Pienaar of Boksburg AC has featured in the global top 10 previously on the first of September this month. That week we said that “Michael Pienaar has a 5000m personal best of 14:17.48 so could well feature atop the list in future weeks.”

The prophecy has been fulfilled by the University of Pretoria student, although his time was 10 seconds slower than at the beginning of the month, Adam Hickey was not around to keep him from the top spot.

Allan Stewart and Isabel Clark, the two fastest British parkrunners both ran quickly enough to secure the second spot in the global rankings. This also means that the Bushy park event is the fastest parkrun in the world this week by featuring twice.

Another South African in the mix was Aswell Clooco of Worcester AC. The South African athlete actually has a nice video talking about his motivations for running and his aspirations for the future. We might also see Aswell climb the rankings in future weeks too.

Catherina McKiernan, running at Shanganagh in Ireland, was the only other runner outside of UK parkruns to feature in the top 10 this week. The Irish international competed at the 10,000m and marathon for her country but enjoyed most of hersuccess as a cross country runner.

Evan Cooper and Michael Daly, of New Zealand and Australia respectively, both featured in the top 10 males this week. Just one second apart with 15:39 and 15:40 they were eighth and ninth. Four runners globally ran 15:40 this week so all made the ninth spot.

Men’s top 10

1) parkrun: Boksburg, South Africa
Michael Pienaar, 15:11, Boksburg AC
2) parkrun: Bushy, UK
Allan Stewart, 15:24, Chiltern Harriers
3) parkrun: MUSA Cookstown, UK
Eoin Hughes, 15:29, Acorns AC
4) parkrun: Breede Valley, South Africa
Ashwell Clooco, 15:34, Worcester AC
5) parkrun: Greenock, UK
Ryan Thomson, 15:34, Cambuslang Harriers
6) parkrun: Raphael, UK
Grant Twist, 15:35, Chelmsford AC
7) parkrun: Hackney Marshes, UK
Euan Brown, 15:37, East London Runners
8) parkrun: Lower Hutt, New Zealand
Evan Cooper, 15:39, Wellington Scottish Athletics Club Inc
9=) parkrun: Nonsuch
Ollie Garrod, 15:40, Epsom & Ewell Harriers
9=) parkrun: Dalby Forest
James Kraft, 15:40, Scarborough AC
9=) parkrun: Braidwood Showgrounds, Australia
Michael Daly, 15:40, Bankstown Sports Senior Athletic Club
9=) parkrun: Stretford
Callum Rawlinson, 15:40, Sale Harriers Manchester

Women’s top 10

1) parkrun: Winterton, South Africa
Thando Hlatshwayo, 16:56
2) parkrun: Bushy, UK
Isabel Clark, 17:04, Serpentine AC
3) parkrun: St. Andrews, UK
Anna Hedley, 17:10, Fife AC
4) parkrun: Belfast Victoria, UK
Rachel Gibson, 17:27, North Down AC
5) parkrun: Houghton Hall, UK
Rosie McNabola, 17:39, Luton AC
6=) parkrun: Armlet, UK
Hannah Oldroyd, 17:43, Airedale Dodgers
6=) parkrun: MUSA Cooktown, UK
Grace Carson, 17:43
8) parkrun: Shanganagh, Ireland
Catherina McKiernan, 17:47
9) parkrun: Forest of Dean, UK
Ashleigh Bailey, 17:49
10) parkrun: Longrun Meadow, UK
Hannah Taunton, 17:50, Taunton AC

Would you like to run faster at parkrun? Top tips to help runners of all abilities hit a parkrun best can be found here.

RELATED: 7 ways to run faster at parkrun 

RELATED: Top 10 global parkruns from last week

Are you a fan of Fast Running? Then please support us and become a patreon. For as little as the price of a monthly magazine you can support Fast Running – and it only takes a minute. Thank you.

The post 10 fastest times at global parkruns on Saturday 22nd September (2018) appeared first on Fast Running.