Sometimes we love them, other times we hate them, but we all know we need them every now and then. Rest days are a tricky one, especially for distance runners.

We all feel we need to be doing more to become a better runner, and somehow sitting on the sofa doesn’t feel productive, but it does a lot more than we realise.

Photo: Natalie White

They can be referred to as ‘recovery days’ or ‘adaptation days’ as this is essentially what they are for but often we think of them more as ‘lost days’, which they definitely aren’t. 

The frequency of rest days varies from athlete to athlete. One runner may benefit from consistently having the same day each week reserved for their rest day, another may work in a 10-day cycle, or someone else may take their rest day as and when they feel their body needs it and others may have none at all. 

Why do we need rest days?

Factoring rest days into your training schedule is just as, if not more important than the hard work you put in. Having a regular day off helps to keep you mentally and physically strong. 

Physical benefits. 

Carfagno and Hendrix (2014) say ‘athletes are pushed routinely to the limits of their physical abilities. When tempered with periods of rest and recovery, a highly demanding training schedule can have tremendous benefits’.

Therefore, when our bodies have the opportunity to recover from the intense training we put them through, the outcome can be significantly better than training alone without any time to recover. 

When we push our bodies to their limits, our muscles tear, and need to repair in order to regain their strength. However, this process struggles to occur without proper time allotted for rest.

Rest days allow the repairing process to take place, thus helping our muscles to repair and get stronger, allowing us to ultimately run faster. Rest days allow our bodies to go harder in sessions as you will feel stronger, less fatigued, and raring to go again. 

Sometimes your body just tells you when to rest. Photo: Natalie White

Mental benefits.

Rest days aren’t only to be cherished for the physical effects they have, but also for the mental.

However, as much as you love running, no matter who you are, you have days when you find your motivation and energy is low, and this is ok. If you find yourself itching to go out for a run on rest day, you don’t have to. Staying strong and allowing that hunger to build up, just for one day, will make your training to come much better in quality and enjoyment. 

Time with loved ones.

With a busy training schedule, whether you are up early in the morning to run, or conscious of being in bed at a decent time to recover properly, it can be difficult to spend a lot of quality time with your family.

Whilst lockdown has made this juggling act easier for some, it isn’t in times of normality, especially if you are at work during the day.

It is important to embrace the extra time you have available on a rest day and use it to catch up with your friends and family, even if that is over Facetime or Zoom at the moment. It also allows you to enjoy other activities whole heartedly without being time constrained.

Personally, over lockdown, I have discovered a newfound enjoyment for playing volleyball in the garden or hitting a beach ball as hard as I can with a cricket bat and seeing who can get it the furthest. 

Melissa using Laura Muir to make sure her rest starts straight after the race in Glasgow 2019. Photo: European Athletics via Getty Images

What the elites do.

Rest days are taken by everyone, even some of our countries most elite runners’ factor in much needed ‘adaptation days’. Here is how they spend them:

A lot of elites truly embrace the importance of rest days. Melissa Courtney-Bryant, European indoor 3000m bronze medallist (2019) and 1500m Commonwealth bronze medallist (2018), is just one of those who recognises the importance of taking it easy on your rest day.

“So, I don’t have a rest day every week, so when I do have one I really like to relax and just rest!

I tend to sleep in even if it’s just not setting an alarm that day to let my body recover and wake up naturally. Instead of having my usual pre run porridge I make pancakes or have eggs for breakfast as I have more time to spend in the kitchen. In “normal times” I’d get physio or a massage now we are in lockdown I’m relying on my husband to be my physio with the help of my actual physio on video call, so I spend some time having treatment.

In “normal time’s” I might go out for coffee or lunch on a rest day but right now I’m spending a lot of time chilling either watching Netflix’s, sat in my garden or like everyone else in lockdown I’ve got into puzzles! I really like to make the most of actually resting on my rest days to make sure I’m fully recovered for my next session.

Part of a coaching philosophy

Also coached by Rob Denmark, alike Courtney-Bryant, Amy Griffiths has the same approach to her rest days. She too believes you should make the most of the being able to relax and refresh.

I love my rest days and I take full advantage of them. During lockdown the basic structure of my rest days hasn’t changed much. Some rest days I’m more active walking my dog or doing activations/drills in my garden. Others I lounge around doing my final year uni work – the recent sunny weather has been amazing for this! 

I don’t have a set rest day each week like some athletes. My coach will slot them in throughout my training block when he feels they are needed. They typically fall on a Monday or Friday. 

I think rest days are really important at certain points within a hard training block both physically and mentally. 

Physically it’s a chance for my body to relax and recover before cracking on with training again. But ultimately it’s a day where I can switch off mentally and refocus.

There was only one sofa to rest on at the finish so it was a bit of a rush. Photo: Andy Peat

Middle distance runners love rest days too

800m runner, Lynsey Sharp, makes sure she incorporates a regular rest day off every Sunday to allow your body to reap the weekly gains she makes. 

‘I have every Sunday off! Usually a fairly quiet day- Saturdays are a big training day so I’m usually knackered by Sunday!! I try to get up later, make a nice breakfast such as pancakes, go for a dog walk, etc. I’ve lived in England for 7 years and I’m still not used to the everything closing at 4pm law (not a thing in Scotland) so usually a mad rush to the supermarket so I can start the next week stocked up! I then usually take ages making dinner because I have nothing else to do!

Mixing rest with busy work days

Isle of Man’s half marathon record holder and Fast10 athlete, Ollie Lockley, told us how he usually spends his rest days, and how he feels better for still getting in a bit of movement. 

‘Well normally I would take a rest day when I am fairly busy at work, just so I don’t have to worry about fitting in a run and I can concentrate on work.

However, at the moment I haven’t got much going on, and if I’m honest I can’t remember the last day I took a full on rest day. For example, last week I took a day off running, but I still did an easy 45min cycle, and a walk in the afternoon. I will always do something light even if it is just an easy walk (I just can’t sit on my ass all day!! Haha). 

But to fill my free time I enjoy watching documentaries, reading or listening to podcasts. When the weather is nice, I love to sit outside with a nice coffee doing this!’

Rest days as part of injury rehabilitation

Experienced GB runner Louise Small has been absolutely amazing with her patience and determination to recover from her achilles injury. She is truly appreciating the importance of allowing her body to absorb the rest. Now on her way back into training, Small told us how she spends her rest days in lockdown.  

‘I’m currently running about 25 miles a week. No particular structure I just wake up in the morning and decide what I want to do which is very empowering and also refreshing. Currently, I’m having at least one rest day a week and my other days off are filled with a long walk or cardio on the ski machine…

On my rest days currently: I tend to work on my dissertation, I’ve just started getting back into playing the piano after a 12-year hiatus! Catch up with friends (over FaceTime at the moment).

Most importantly I use rest days as an opportunity for my body to absorb all the training to reap the benefits in the future. After this injury I’ve also come to realise that it’s ok to have more than one rest day in the week if you need it. As elite athletes we often get very fixated on only have one day off a week and normally it’s Friday. You should do what’s right for you and your body. Be confident in your training and ability.’

Like Melissa Courtney, Hayley Carruthers knows the importance of resting after a hard effort. Photo: Ian Walton for Virgin Money London Marathon

Some find it difficult to take rest

Even though we know we should take rest days, and enjoy them, it isn’t always as easy as it sounds! Recent World half qualifier (postponed due to Covid-19), Hayley Carruthers has enjoyed slowing down a bit after initially finding it a challenge. 

‘I have started doing 30 mins of yoga on my rest day and reading a lot! I’m really enjoying the slower pace of life. I’m working from home so that keeps me busy during the day. It was difficult at first to ‘rest’ because training is reduced but now, I’m really getting the hang of taking time for myself and feeling grateful to be healthy.’

Whether you enjoy your rest days or not, there is so much you can gain from implementing them into your regular training schedule. There is no frequency that works for everyone, so learn what works for you and keeps you feeling fresh physically and mentally. 

References 

Carfagno, D. and Hendrix, J., 2014. Overtraining Syndrome in the Athlete. Current Sports Medicine Reports, [online] 13(1), pp.45-51. Available here.

The post How some of the best rest appeared first on Fast Running.

Thompson was a shade outside his personal best as he took the British title at Sunday’s Vitality Big Half in 61:07, finishing second to Kenenisa Bekele (ETH) having disputed the lead for the first five miles, and the 38-year-old Briton earns his first British vest on the road, 22 years after making his track debut at the World Junior Championships.

Fresh from lowering the British Under-23 record for the half marathon to 62:00 in London, Jake Smith will also represent Great Britain & Northern Ireland on the roads for the first time, having made his British track debut at last year’s European Under-23 Championships in Gävle, Sweden.

Having finished as the third and fourth British athletes home at the trial, both Ross Millington and Mohamud Aadan declined selection for the championship.

Progressive selection policy

With the selection policy stating that automatic selection can be offered to the next eligible athlete if declined by auto-qualifiers (in part due to hard work by members of the Athlete’s Commission), 2017 British Marathon gold medallist Josh Griffiths earns his first British vest in almost three years courtesy of his eighth-place showing at the trials.

Doha team member Ben Connor, who has already clocked 61:34 for the distance in 2020, will look to improve on his individual 64^th place finish at the 2018 instalment of the championships in Valencia, while Matt Leach, who has twice run for Britain in the European 10,000m cup, completes the senior men’s team.

On the women’s side, Partridge earns her first British vest since the 2018 European Championships in Berlin and will look to better her 70:31 personal best clocking, set in 2015, when she takes to the start line in Poland. Sarah Inglis, who moved 13^th on the all-time British list with a strong run in Houston in January, also gains selection.

British debuts are handed to Samantha Harrison and Stephanie Davis, who clocked respective personal bests of 71:01 and 71:15 for second and third-place finishes at the Big Half, with fourth place finisher, Hayley Carruthers, also earning her first British vest.

Good to see a full squad going

Ahead of the championship, team leader Chris Jones said: “The full squad of 10 for the World Athletics Half Marathon Championships in Gdynia showcases some of Great Britain’s most in-form athletes over the distance, exemplified by the performances at the trials and the form we have seen already this season.

“The team we have selected shows a good range of previous British international experience and features new names to the international scene and I hope this strength will be reflected in the overall outcome.

“The championships will serve as an excellent opportunity for athletes to continue their upward trajectory on the roads and I hope that we can achieve a strong team position overall.”

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Kenyan Cherono will represent Kenya at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and won both Boston and Chicago marathon’s in 2019 and has a fantastic winning record over the 26.2 distance.

Ethiopian Bekele needs no introduction and is widely considered the greatest distance runner of all time. Whilst that can be argued he is certainly a favourite amongst running purists, a three time Olympic gold medalist and multiple World XC Champion. He narrowly missed out on a marathon world record last year running 2:01:41 at Berlin Marathon.

Kenenisa Bekele faces Eluid Kipchoge in the London Marathon and Cherono will be back to defend his Boston title earlier in April.

Brits battle for World Half vests

British Athletics will be looking to pick a team of five men and five women to race in the World Half Marathon Championships in Gdynia, Poland on 29th March.

The selection policy states that the first three eligible athletes at the Big Half will be offered automatic selection provided they have the required standard (they will have if they finish within the first three Brits!).

Head to head in women’s race before VLM

Many of the contenders pushing for Tokyo 2020 marathon vests will line up on Sunday. Despite the likes of Steph Twell, Jess Piasecki, Charlotte Arter and Charlotte Purdue being absent from the published line up we will get the see the current form of Lily Partridge, Steph Davis and Hayley Carruthers.

Partridge is the fastest athlete in the field on paper and has returned to some strong form after a 2019 hit by injury. Having recently moved to Birchfield Harriers Partridge finished 3rd at the recent EDP Medio Maratón de Sevilla in 71:31.

Hayley Carruthers is always a name to watch over the half marathon distance the Birchfield Harrier set a best of 71:03 at the Great North Run in September. We are excited to see the rapidly improving Samantha Harrison race. Having set a PB of 71:43 at the recently Barcelona Half Marathon she will be a strong contender for one of the automatic spots on the team.

Steph Davis will also attract a lot of attention after her stunning 2:27:40 marathon in Valencia. She will be looking to make a serious revision to her half marathon best of 72:57 and will so be amongst the overall favourites.

Eleanor Whyman-Davis is another of our ones to watch for the race with a best of 72:34 we feel she could be considered a real contender for the team. In a strong field of British women the likes of Clara Evans, Rebecca Murray, Jenny Spink and Dani Nimmock will ensure it will be a highly competitive team on the plane to Poland.

 

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Strong British men’s field

Both the men’s and women’s competition will be tight. For the men Ross Millington, Mo Aadan and Jake Smith will line up amongst the favourites and they can expect strong challenges from the experience of Chris Thompson, Derek Hawkins and Andy Vernon. Millington will be running his first half since the 2017 NYC Half and many will be interest to see what shape the talent Stockport man is in.

We expect that Fast10 members Ollie Lockley and Jack Gray will be in the mix after both had excellent half marathon performances at Valencia Half in October. Another athlete who has been in fine form over shorter distances is Adam Clarke, with a 10km best of 28:38 set in December his speed will make him a contender.

Sub 2:15 marathon men Josh Griffiths, Robbie Simpson and Charlie Hulson will be looking to capitalise on their endurance and excellent 2019 performances and it is great to see Dewi Griffiths returning to regular racing.

Paulos Surafel is gradually building experience over long distances and is an exciting talent for the future, and another athlete who will look t make a serious revision to his current PB.

Jake Smith on his way to a PB in Paris

Editors note: Elite fields as publicised on race website – there may be additions or withdrawals.

Full elite men’s field

Kenenisa Bekele Ethiopia – 60.09
Lawrence Cherono Kenya – 60.46
Chris Thompson Great Britain – 61.00
Dewi Griffiths Great Britain – 61.33
Jake Smith Great Britain – 62.02
Marius Kipserem Kenya – 62.20
Mohamud Aadan Great Britain – 62.30
Ross Millington Great Britain – 62.40
Andy Vernon Great Britain – 62.46
Ollie Lockley Great Britain – 63.01
Jack Gray Great Britain – 63.15
Josh Griffiths Great Britain – 64.33
Daniel Studley Great Britain – 63.58
Derek Hawkins Great Britain – 63.53
Robbie Simpson Great Britain – 64.27
Derek Rae (T46) Great Britain – 68.22
Adam Clarke Great Britain – 68.35
Paulos Surafel Great Britain – 64.12
Charlie Hulson Great Britain – 64.28

Full elite women’s field

Lily Partridge Great Britain – 70:31
Hayley Carruthers Great Britain – 71.03
Samantha Harrison Great Britain – 71.43
Eleanor Davis Great Britain – 72.34
Clara Evans Great Britain – 72.49
Stephanie Davis Great Britain – 72.57
Rebecca Murray Great Britain – 72.59
Jenny Spink Great Britain – 73.01
Dani Nimmock Great Britain – 74.13

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The post Cherono & Bekele race as Brits battle for World Half qualification appeared first on Fast Running.

To start this week we’d like to post a quick reminder about the ethos of parkrun as it’s not just about running so fast you feature in our top ten. It’s about everyone enjoying the great outdoors on a Saturday morning and includes people just out for a walk. If there’s not a smile on your face then you’ll probably going too hard.

Now let’s get to it. We hope Tom Marshall checked in with the local aviation authority before running at Bryn Bach this morning as the Saucony athlete got some serious air in the finishing straight (as seen in the fine picture taken by Robert Gale above).

Marshall is no stranger to fast times and has a 14:19 best on the track for 5000m. This week the Welsh international ran 14:36 and set a new course record.

The quickest lady this week was Lincoln Wellington’s Abbie Donnelly and it took a 16:29 at Doddington Hall parkrun to nab the number one spot. It’s a parkrun PB for the Loughborough student, but still a wee bit off her 5k road best of 16:11, set in 2019.

Second placed female was Hayley Carruthers and we wonder if Hayley was down at Cardiff parkrun in South Wales having a crack at Charlotte Arter’s parkrun world record from last week?

It wasn’t to be, but still a super quick 16:51 in south Wales and probably part of bigger training in the build up to spring half and marathon racing.

It was another middle distance runner in second place for the men with Ed Shepherd, a 3:47.51 1500m man, who ran 15:11 at Penrose parkrun. The Woodford Green and Essex Ladies athlete hasn’t been at the XC as usual this year so good to see him starting the year with a solid run.

Third lady was another runner who often features, Hannah Taunton of Taunton AC with 17:07 at Exmouth parkrun. The GB athlete has already started the year with a 10k PB at the Stoke Stampede, winning in an excellent 35:32 so 2020 looks to be another exciting year with this being a new parkrun best by four seconds as well.

Also running at Doddington Hall was Joseph Green, who stopped the clock at 15:17 and takes the final spot on the virtual podium for this week. Green, we’e assuming, is the Lincoln Wellington athlete on Power of Ten as the only unattached Joseph Green is a V75.

Its a new parkrun best for the U20 and actually quicker than his 5k best on the road by some margin as well, so this could be a break through year. We’ve already seen a fine 13th at the Northern XC Champs from the youngster.

Men’s top 10

1) parkrun: Bryn Bach
Tom Marshall, 14:36, Brecon AC
2) parkrun: Penrose
Ed Shepherd, 15:11, Woodford Green AC with Essex Ladies
3) parkrun: Doddington Hall
Jospeh Green, 15:17
4=) parkrun: Worthing
Maxwell Dumbrell, 15:26
4) parkrun: Rother Valley
Nathan Lawson, 15:26, Dark Peak Fell Runners Club
6) parkrun: Sizewell
Sam Stabler, 15:29, Wreake and Soar Valley AC
7=) parkrun: Heslington
Jordan Howe, 15:30
7=) parkrun: Dulwich
Jack Foster, 15:30
9) parkrun: Cardiff
Karl Welborn, 15:31, Birmingham Running Athletics and Triathlon Club
10) parkrun: Alvaston
Richard Weir, 15:37, Derby AC

Women’s top 10

1) parkrun: Doddington Hall
Abbie Donnelly, 16:29, Lincoln Wellington AC
2) parkrun: Cardiff 
Hayley Carruthers, 16:51, Birchfield Harriers
3) parkrun: Exmouth
Hannah Taunton, 17:07, Taunton AC
4) parkrun: Burgess
Daisy Rawlings, 17:08
5) parkrun: Raphael
Alexa Joel, 17:23, Billericay Striders RC
6) parkrun: Bushy
Isabel Clark, 17:29, Serpentine RC
7) parkrun: Hackney Marshes
Rosa Prideaux, 17:39, Chelmsford AC
8) parkrun: Southampton 
Ellie Marie Monks, 17:40, Southampton AC
9) parkrun: Wollaton Hall
Lauren McNeil, 17:42, Buxton AC
10) parkrun: Dulwich
Jess Saunders, 17:46, Fulham AC

If you would like to run faster at parkrun, top tips to help runners of all abilities can be found here.

Are you a fan of Fast Running? Then please support us and become a patron. 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 UK parkrun times on 8th February (2020) appeared first on Fast Running.

There’s a really exciting race coming up in April, a race within a race, but it’s got nothing to do with Eliud Kipchoge and Kenenisa Bekele. Gill Bland, and all of us at Fast Running, are getting really excited. 

A race gantry stands in the mist, the sun rising behind it. Figures can be seen dimly in the distance, getting closer, running. Fast.

Speeding towards us, silhouetted against the glow of a new dawn until out of the shadows a herd of women runners emerge, striding forward shoulder to shoulder arms pumping and heads held high, charging forward into the new decade.

That. That is what the women’s marathon scene feels like in the Great Britain as 2020 begins.

Role models for the masses

Gone are the days when there was one female marathoner we could look up to. Gone are the days when there were a couple, maybe three whose names we would recognise on the elite start list at London Marathon.

To those of us who love running 26.2, last year left us with score of fast ladies to look up to.

It was Charlotte Purdue, an established name, who first grabbed our attention in 2019 and gave a hint of what was to come when she threw down the gauntlet at London Marathon in April. Her 2:25:38 put her 3rd on the all-time list and bumped the profile of women’s marathoning up beyond that of superfans like me.

In the same race Tish Jones ran a 2:31:00 (3 min PB), Hayley Carruthers rinsed herself to get a 2:33:59 (near 3 min PB), getting global coverage in the process for THAT finish and Steph Davis of Clapham Chasers burst onto the scene running a 2:32:38 off the mass start. Not only were there some fun stories to cover, but the times were looking great too.

2019 continued apace with various European marathons bringing new runners to the fore. By the end of the year the top 50 was littered with names of women who seemed like they had popped up out of nowhere fully formed and running a storm.

However, a little bit of cyber stalking revealed that these were all women who had worked hard, put the hours in alongside jobs and families and injury rehab and all sorts of challenges to run breakthrough times that the rest of us dream of.

Photo: Leigh Quinnel

A controlled 2:30 from Twell

As well as the newbies, names that had been threatening to rise up for some time finally had their year. Steph Twell had said that her debut at Valenica 2018 (2:30) was ‘controlled’ – she backed up that claim by smashing the Olympic Qualifying time in Frankfurt in Sept.

It had looked like Purdue had her Olympic spot sewn up, with Twell being the main other contender until Jess Piasecki finally put those injury demons behind her and showed us what she had at Florence, bettering Charlotte’s time by 10s and throwing everything up in the air.

Right up until the last days of December the ladies were duking it out. In the end only a time north of 2:47:39 was enough to make the 2019 Top 50.

There was Rebecca Gentry, who kept us on the edge of our seats during her gutsy 2:37 New York performance, Jenny Spink who ran a 5min PB (2:31:14) with the most amazing grin on her face in Frankfurt, Ali Lavender (2:41:18 in Berlin) and duathlete Georgina Schwiening (2:35:22, Valencia) all piqued our interest as seeming new comers.

Elsey Davies had been waiting to show us her form for a while and finally knocked it out of the park with a 2:33:24 (Valencia) and Natasha Cockram shrugged off a nasty kick from a horse in race-week to smash out a 2:30:49 in Dublin. Oh, and then Steph Davis came back for another bash and only went and ran the Olympic standard. I could go on.

THAT finish from Hayley Carruthers Photo: Ian Walton for Virgin Money London Marathon

Not just fancy shoes

The post Is British women’s marathoning at it’s most competitive ever? appeared first on Fast Running.

Starting the year out at a quick pace, Jenny Nesbitt runs the third fastest UK parkrun ever with a 15:54 at Cardiff parkrun this Saturday. The Cardiff AC athlete might have been running with someone else or partied a little too hard on New Year’s Eve after running 20:51 in Worcester on the 1st, but got very close to her club mate Charlotte Arter’s parkrun best of 15:50 at the same venue.

Alex Teuten was the fastest male this week with a 14:42 performance at Southsea parkrun. The Southampton AC cross country specialist is starting the 2020 season in good form and hopefully we see more of the long-legged distance runner as the year continues.

Not happy with Seyfu Jamaal getting credit for doubling up in the Christmas rankings, Hayley Carruthers chose to go one step further. The Birchfield Harrier features not once or twice, but three times in this week’s rankings. A double on New Year’s Day, coupled with a course record run this weekend sees the marathoner take 2nd, 3rd and 4th position.

It would have been a full podium for Carruthers had Hoka One One athlete Nesbitt not sped around Cardiff Park to spoil the party.

Right up in the Cairngorm mountains Tom Martyn bared the cold weather to break 15 minutes at the Aviemore parkrun with a 14:57. The Hunter’s Bog Trotter (one of the best named clubs in the UK) ended 2019 with a rocket up his arse when he ran 29:57 at the Ribble Valley 10k and 2020 he’s still flying.

New Year’s Day seems to have been a sprint finish at the Portobello Promathon 4 with both Martyn and Grant Sheldon finishing in 18:46, but Sheldon took the win. It’ll be exciting to see how the Scot goes in 2020 on the back of these fine results.

The third fastest female (although in fifth place due to Carruther’s triple) was young Grace Copeland. Grace and her brother Piers are two starlets to watch and Tom Craggs had a wonderful interview with the pair in 2019. Catch it here. Copeland starts 2020 with a 17:02 at Poole parkrun on the south coast, which is a new parkrun best for the U23.

It seems there was race at Derry City parkrun for the third spot this week with Conor Bradley besting his club mate Fintan Stewart by just 13 seconds. Both runners for City of Derry AC, Bradley ran 14:59, whilst Stewart was just behind in 15:12.

We normally remove unknown and canicross runners from our results, as well as possible short courses or mistakes, but sometimes it is really difficult to tell. After searching Powerof10 and Google we decided to remove Daisy Rawlings, who ran 16:54 at Dulwich Park on New Year’s Day. If this is a mistake then please do let us know!

Men’s top 10

1) parkrun: Southsea
Alex Teuten, 14:42, Southampton AC
2) parkrun: Aviemore
Tom Martyn, 14:57, Hunters Bog Trotters
3) parkrun: Derry City
Conor Bradley, 14:59, City of Derry AC
4) parkrun: Derry City
Fintan Stewart, 15:12, City of Derry AC
5) parkrun: Rutland Water
James McCrae, 15:17, Hallamshire Harriers Sheffield AC
6) parkrun: Hereford
Rhys Park, 15:19, Cheltenham & County Harriers
7) parkrun: Felixstowe
Jonathan Hiley, 15:20
8=) parkrun: Long Eaton
Richard Weir, 15:24, Derby AC
8=) parkrun: The Wammy
Jamie Arnold, 15:24, City of Stoke AC
10) parkrun: Kirkcaldy 
Ben Potrykus, 15:25, Pitreavie AAC

Women’s top 10

1) parkrun: Cardiff
Janny Nesbitt, 15:54, Worcester AC
2) parkrun: Lytham Hall
Hayley Carruthers, 16:38, Birchfield Harriers
3) parkrun: Brueton
Hayley Carruthers, 16:39, Birchfield Harriers
4) parkrun: Perry Hall
Hayley Carruthers, 16:59, Birchfield Harriers
5) parkrun: Poole
Grace Copeland, 17:02, Wimbourne AC
6) parkrun: Alexandra Park, Moss Side
Sophie Wood, 17:17, Sale Harriers, Manchester
7) parkrun: Cardiff
Hannah Taunton, 17:27, Taunton AC
8) parkrun: Sheffield Hallam
Philippa Williams, 17:30, Sheffield Running Club
9) parkrun: Bushy
Sarah Astin, 17:32, City of Norwich AC
10) parkrun: Hackney Marshes
Emma Prideaux, 17:35, Billericay Striders RC

If you would like to run faster at parkrun, top tips to help runners of all abilities can be found here.

Are you a fan of Fast Running? Then please support us and become a patron. 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 UK parkrun times on 1st and 4th January (2020) appeared first on Fast Running.

Adam Clarke smashes it out of the park, Dulwich Park to be exact, with a 14:00 parkrun this Saturday morning. Not far from Andy Baddely’s all time parkrun best of 13:48 and third fastest UK run all time. Funnily enough though it isn’t a course record for the super quick Dulwich course as Alex Yee ran 13:57 there last year.

Worth noting that the Aldershot, Farnham & District’s athlete is a 13:39 5000m runner and ran a fine PB of 3:38.07 for 1500m this August in Switzerland. Just a few weeks ago Clarke was fifth at Leeds Abbey Dash 10k in 28:51. He ran a course record 14:31 at Richmond parkrun earlier this year, but all for a good cause.

The women’s winner is no stranger to fast times either, with parkrun regular Hayley Carruthers returning to some Saturday morning action with a new course record at the gravel pathed Pont y Bala parkrun in Wales. Birchfield Harrier Carruthers ran 17:25 to finish quickest this week by only one second from Emily Thompson.

Thompson was running at one of Carruthers usual haunts of Cannon Hill, Birmingham and clocked a rather large parkrun PB of 17:26 as the U20 hasn’t been at the free Saturday morning event for a while. It brings her parkrun best in line with some of her other strong marks like her 4:24.66 1500m. The middle distance athlete had great success indoors at the start of 2019 and won the BUCS 1500m indoor title.

Supporting the cross country

We are wondering if Daniel Jarvis (14:52 for second) and Josh Lunn (15:27 for ninth) travelled up from Bedford to the wrong park in Liverpool this weekend. Not far from Sefton Park where an almighty cross country battle for European XC places unfolded, both Jarvis and Lunn had strong runs at the Princes Park event, with Jarvis taking a Jonny Mellor course record by a big margin.

It may well have just been a good morning workout for those supporting at Sefton park as a quick glimpse sees names like James Thie and Callum Gillett running the speedy Merseyside event as well.

There were only four women under 18 minutes this week with Charlotte Penfold (17:57) and Hannah Taunton (17:58) the only others. As we normally see with a weekend with big club or cross country races there is a drop in parkrun top ten times for the female athletes, but not so much in the men’s times.

Three men ran under 15 minutes with Ben Branagh posting 14:54 at Waterworks parkrun in Belfast as well.

Courtesy of three runs in the top ten, Walsall Arboretum is the quickest event this weekend but several events feature twice, probably a nod to the benefit of a bit of healthy competition on your Saturday morning shakeout at parkrun.

Men’s top 10

1) parkrun: Dulwich
Adam Clarke, 14:00, Aldershot, Farnham & District AC
2) parkrun: Princes Park, Liverpool
Daniel Jarvis, 14:52, Bedford & County AC
3) parkrun: Waterworks, Belfast
Ben Branagh, 14:54
4) parkrun: Alexandra Park, Moss Side
Thomas Beasley, 15:07, Birchfield Harriers
5) parkrun: South Manchester
Tom Lancashire, 15:18, Bolton United Harriers & AC
6) parkrun: Albert Park, Middlesbrough
Dominic Shaw, 15:20, New Marske Harriers AC
7) parkrun: South Manchester
Karl Darcy, 15:23, Salford Harriers & AC
8) parkrun: Walsall Arboretum
Karl Welborn, 15:24, B.R.A.T. Club
9) parkrun: Princes Park, Liverpool
Josh Lunn, 15:27, Bedford & County AC
10) parkrun: Maesteg
Tom Marshall, 15:29, Brecon AC

Women’s top 10

1) parkrun: Pont y Bala
Hayley Carruthers, 17:25, Birchfield Harriers
2) parkrun: Cannon Hill, Birmingham
Emily Thompson, 17:26, Banbury Harriers AC
3) parkrun: Newcastle
Charlotte Penfold, 17:57, North Shields Polytechnic AC
4) parkrun: Burnham and Highbridge
Hannah Taunton, 17:58, Taunton AC
5) parkrun: Walsall Arboretum
Becks Timmings, 18:02, Bromsgrove & Redditch AC
6) parkrun: Eastbourne
Harriet Bloor, 18:02, Hailsham Harriers
7) parkrun: Walsall Arboretum
Lucie Tait-Harris, 18:02
8) parkrun: Woodley
Sophie Crumly, 18:05, Reading AC
9) parkrun: Cassiobury
Jo Hickman Dunne, 18:07, Loughborough
10) parkrun: Edinburgh 
Kara Tait, 18:11, Kilmarnock Harriers and AC

If you would like to run faster at parkrun, top tips to help runners of all abilities can be found here.

Are you a fan of Fast Running? Then please support us and become a patron. 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 UK parkrun times on Saturday 23rd November (2019) appeared first on Fast Running.

The Hayley Carruthers parkrun project continues with another excellent run at Walsall Arboretum. The Birchfield Harrier ran 16:01, three seconds slower than her personal best for the course, but on a day when it seems everyone else in the country ran a little slower due to windy conditions.

It was a Birchfield Harriers double as William Richardson was the fastest male at Cannon Hill parkrun, also in the Midlands. The U23 athlete ran 14:37.46 last weekend to win the B race at the B.A.L Premiership match in Birmingham and posted 15:04 today to continue a fine 2019 for the youngster.

Beth Hawling ran exactly the same time as last weekend, 17:29, but shot up the UK parkrun rankings this weekend. Windy running in the UK seems to have affected the average times for our top ten, but tough times are when tough athletes shine through. Howling is fresh from a 16:48 road 5k PB at the Self Transcendence 5k in Battersea Park a few weeks ago and followed that up with a string of parkrun first finisher efforts at Hackney Marshes, Southwark and Mile End.

Easing forward up the rankings

Peter Avent took it a bit easier this week (maybe) but jumped up from fifth in the rankings to joint second. All about picking the right week it seems Peter. The Shettleston Harrier ran exactly the same time as Eoin Hughes at MUSA Cookstown parkrun. The Acorns AC man has PB’d at nearly every distance in 2019.

There has been a 69:14 half marathon, 31:32 10k, 53:24 10 miler and a 9:02.7 3000m for Hughes, although Power of 10 has him running 32:43.1 for 1000m in July, which seems a bit slow.

Julia Bijl is another athlete who has been running some cracking PBs in 2019. The London Heathside U23 must have taken some inspiration from seeing her club mate Seyfu Jamaal in the top ten rankings and decided to join him with a 17:39 at Hackney Marshes, good enough for third this week. Bijl ran an excellent 2:56:19 at London Marathon this year as well, alongside an 82:08 at Surrey Half Marathon.

It seems it was a battle of the clubs this weekend, but only one could come out on top. Birchfield Harriers took both top spots and had a third runner in the rankings too with Carli Baldwin also at Walsall Arboretum.

Kudos is due to Dan Robinson, better known as “Hayley’s coach” in this article usually. Clearly frustrated with being second fiddle, Robinson won the sprint to the line with his athlete this week and ran 15:53 to tie for 10th spot in the rankings. We know you can go faster than that Dan, let’s see you in the top five next time!

Men’s top 10

1) parkrun: Cannon Hill, Birmingham 
William Richardson, 15:04, Birchfield Harriers
2=) parkrun: MUSA Cookstown
Eoin Hughes, 15:26, Acorns AC
2=) parkrun:Edinburgh
Peter Avent, 15:26, Shettleston Harriers
4) parkrun:Mile End
Alex Carter, 15:28, Team Bath AC
5) parkrun: Tooting Common
Seyfu Jamaal, 15:29, London Heathside
6) parkrun: Edinburgh
Ewan Cameron, 15:34, Victoria Park Harriers & Tower Hamlets AC
7) parkrun: Swindon
Jack Bancroft, 15:35, Wells City Harriers
8) parkrun: Bury St Edmunds
Sebastian Anthony, 15:37, West Suffolk AC
9) parkrun: Dishley, Loughborough
Matthew Willis, 15:49, Wrexham AAC
10=) parkrun: Swindon
Gary Laybourne, 15:53, South London Harriers
10=) parkrun: Walsall Arboretum 
Daniel Robinson, 15:53, B.R.A.T Club

Women’s top 10

1) parkrun: Walsall Arboretum 
Hayley Carruthers, 16:01, Birchfield Harriers
2) parkrun: Burgess
Beth Hawling, 17:29, Cheltenham & County Harriers
3) parkrun: Hackney Marshes
Julia Bijl, 17:39, London Heathside
4) parkrun: Westmill
Annabel Gummow, 17:53, Winchester & District AC
5) parkrun: Eden Project
Nicola Squires, 18:00, Hallamshire Harriers Sheffield AC
6) parkrun: Walsall Arboretum
Carlo Baldwin, 18:04, Birchfield Harriers
7) parkrun: Conkers
Hannah Stroud, 18:08, University of Manchester Cross Country Club
8) parkrun: Edinburgh
Isla Calvert, 18:09, Livingston AC
9) parkrun: Drumpellier Country
Jennifer Wetton, 18:10, Central AC
10=) parkrun: Chelmsford Central
Nikki Woodyard, 18:11, Springfield Strides RC

If you would like to run faster at parkrun, top tips to help runners of all abilities can be found here.

RELATED: 7 ways to run faster at parkrun

Are you a fan of Fast Running? Then please support us and become a patron. 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 UK parkrun times on Saturday 10th August (2019) appeared first on Fast Running.

Hayley Carruthers runs under 16 minutes for parkrun again, taking a second off her best for the event. Once again at Walsall Arboretum the Birchfield Harrier followed the excellent pacing of coach Dan Robinson to equal the fourth fastest parkrun ever run.

Carruther’s 15:58 was almost a minute quicker than second place time and wasn’t far off making the men’s top ten.

Another parkrun regular, Paul Martelletti, went on holiday to Hove Prom to break 15 minutes on the fast south coast course. Not quite as speedy as Jake Wightman’s recent course record for the event, Martelletti is one of the most frequent names on the parkrun fastest times section.

Elizabeth Davies of Springfield Striders was second placed female with an excellent 16:49. Quicker than the athlete’s parkrun, 5000m and 5k best, it’s another 2019 mark set by Davies, who is having a fine year.

Kurt Taylor of Bristol & West AC ran 15:00 flat at Southsea parkrun in the same year as new personal bests in 1500m and 3000m of 3:54.52 and 8:26.47.

New tables at Eden parkrun could mean that faster times are due there in the future, but this weekend Emma Stepto chose Penrose parkrun 25 miles down the road to run a solid 17:58.

Once again Birchfield Harriers were out in force at parkrun with Carruthers leading three club mates to being the fastest club in our rankings. If that were a thing, I think they’d probably win it every week.

Men’s top 10

1) parkrun: Hove Prom
Paul Martelletti, 14:57, Victoria Park Harriers & Tower Hamlets AC
2) parkrun: Southsea
Kurt Taylor, 15:00, Bristol & West AC
3) parkrun: Porthcrawl
James Hunt, 15:08, Cardiff AAC
4) parkrun: Mansfield
Sam Johnson, 15:18, Birchfield Harriers
5) parkrun: Walsall Arboretum 
Ed Banks, 15:24, Birchfield
6) parkrun: Woodley
Robert Corney, 15:24, Reading Roadrunners
7) parkrun: Cardiff
Daniel Hamilton, 15:27, Abingdon AC
8) parkrun: Rushcliffe
William Strangeway, 15:31, Lincoln Wellington AC
9=) parkrun: Milton Keynes 
George Wheeler, 15:33
9=) parkrun: Wyre Forest
William Richardson, 15:33, Birchfield Harriers

Women’s top 10

1) parkrun: Walsall Arboretum 
Hayley Carruthers, 15:58, Birchfield Harriers
2) parkrun: Chelmsfords Central
Elizabeth Davies, 16:49, Springfield Striders RC
3) parkrun: Morecambe Prom
Rebecca Robinson, 17:03, Kendal AAC
4) parkrun: Sheffield Hallam
Philippa Williams, 17:17, Elswick Harriers
5) parkrun: Cannon Hill, Birmingham
Bryony Haines, 17:33, Birchfield Harriers
6) parkrun: Exmouth
Hannah Taunton, 17:41, Taunton AC
7) parkrun: Strathclyde
Alison Rowatt, 17:44
8) parkrun: Penrose
Emma Stepto, 17:58, Cornwall AC
9) parkrun: Braunstone
Hannah Stroud, 18:01, University of Manchester Cross Country Club
10) parkrun: Dishley, Loughborough
Kate Drew, 18:03, Taunton AC

If you would like to run faster at parkrun, top tips to help runners of all abilities can be found here.

RELATED: 7 ways to run faster at parkrun

Are you a fan of Fast Running? Then please support us and become a patron. 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 UK parkrun times on Saturday 13th July (2019) appeared first on Fast Running.

In possibly one of the highest quality parkrun weekends we’ve seen for fast times, three men were under 15 minutes and five women under 17 minutes. It’s always great to see.

It was a Birchfield Harriers double for Ahmed and Carruthers, as well as fifth placed Bryony Haines (16:54), and they are one of the clubs that we see repeatedly feature in our rankings.

At Brueton parkrun, Omer Ahmed ran 14:26, just two seconds off his 5k best of 14:24 which was at Mid Cheshire 5k this year. The U23 has PB’d over 10k too with his 29:17 win at Speedway 10k back in January.

Teammate Hayley Carruthers is no stranger to these rankings and it was an easy job of a copy and paste, just changing a couple of numbers, with her 16:05 at Walsall Arboretum this weekend being a few seconds quicker than her run at the same event last week.

Stephanie Davis ran an excellent parkrun PB of 16:08, which is also a chunk quicker than her 5k PB of 16:50. It brings that mark closer in line with her fantastic 2:32:38 London Marathon performance earlier this year.

Nicolas Torry has been in fine forming 2019, getting an England selection for the Autumn marathons and featuring twice in June in our rankings with a 14:48 at Dulwich parkrun.

Not much slower than Torry was young George King. The Winchester and District AC athlete nipped under 15 minutes with a 14:57 at Hackney Marshes parkrun to continue the excellent 2019 the Tom Craggs coached speedster is having.

It seems there was a Welsh international party at Cardiff parkrun with parkrun record holder Charlotte Arter leading home international teammates Jenny Nesbitt and Clara Evans.

Arter ran a strong 16:14, with Nesbitt not far back in 16:30 and Evans just over the 17 minute mark in 17:02. A great sign that not only is Welsh distance running in good form, but they’re working together to get better too.

Men’s top 10

1) parkrun: Brueton
Omer Ahmed, 14:26, Birchfield Harriers
2) parkrun: Dulwich
Nicholas Torry, 14:48, Serpentine RC
3) parkrun: Hackney Marshes
George King, 14:57, Winchester and District AC
4) parkrun: Edinburgh
Peter Avent, 15:18, Shettleston Harriers
5) parkrun: Bushy
Paul Pollock, 15:20, Abbey AC
6) parkrun: Dulwich
Dominic Nolan, 15:23, Oxted School
7) parkrun: Worthing
Simon Heath, 15:26, Brighton Phoenix
8) parkrun: Panshanger
John Eves, 15:27, Bedford & County AC
9) parkrun: Norwich
Logan Smith, 15:28, Dereham Runners AC
10) parkrun: St Albans
Thomas Crouch, 15:32, Melbourne Midday Milers

Women’s top 10

1) parkrun: Walsall Arboretum 
Hayley Carruthers, 16:05, Birchfield Harriers
2) parkrun: Dulwich
Stephanie Davis, 16:08, Clapham Chasers RC
3) parkrun: Cardiff
Charlotte Arter, 16:14, University of Wales Institute Cardiff AC
4) parkrun: Cardiff 
Jenny Nesbitt, 16:30, Worcester
5) parkrun: Greenock
Bryony Haines, 16:54, Birchfield Harriers
6) parkrun: Cardiff 
Clara Evans, 17:02, Pontypridd Rodents
6) parkrun: Sheffield Hallam
Rebecca Robinson, 17:11, Kendal AAC
8) parkrun: Bushy
Lauren Hall, 17:17, Aldershot, Farnham & District AC
9) parkrun: Morecambe Prom
Carla Davies, 17:24, Salford Harriers and AC
10) parkrun: Sheffield Hallam
Philippa Williams, 17:35, Elswick Harriers

If you would like to run faster at parkrun, top tips to help runners of all abilities can be found here.

RELATED: 7 ways to run faster at parkrun

Are you a fan of Fast Running? Then please support us and become a patron. 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 UK parkrun times on Saturday 29th June (2019) appeared first on Fast Running.