It was a fast week for parkrun with three women under 17 minutes and two men under 15. Considering Inter-Counties cross country is on the same day we normally see slower times, but such is the growing depth in British endurance running we’re seeing more and more strong performances.

International Women’s Day was certainly celebrated by fast ladies this week, but well done to all who made it out and ran or volunteered at parkrun this weekend.

Lauren Heyes was the quickest lady with an excellent 16:41 at Warrington parkrun in the north west of England. The Leigh Harrier has been in flying form in 2020 with a fifth place finish in the Northern XC Champs and eighth at the National a couple of weeks ago. After finishing 2019 with a 34:19 for second at the Percy Pud 10k we’re excited to see what the year holds for the Paul Roden coached athlete.

Kieran Clements is another athlete who we love to see running fast. With a 14:38 at Felixstowe parkrun in the south east just a week after just breaking 70 minutes at the Big Half in London, one wonders if that was just a training effort or pacing someone. The sub 14 minute 5k runner has been at the Ipswich Building Society Twilight 5K the last few years so expect another fast time there for the Shaftesbury Barnet man.

Lucy Reid is Tonbridge AC athlete and regularly breaks 17 minutes at parkrun, so no surprise to see a 16:49 run at Dulwich this morning. Reid was also in action at the Vitality Big Half in London last weekend and ran 72:49 for sixth in a really high quality British domestic field, which was also nearly a 60 second PB.

Edgar Sumskis was in action at Ferry Meadows parkrun and normally a 14:44 is quick enough for the top spot in our weekly rankings. The Latvian runner is a 3:55 1500m speedster so has some quick legs underneath him. It seems Sumskis had a tough day out at the National XC a couple of weeks back, finishing 56th after placing 23rd in 2019, but the year is young and the Newham & Essex Beagle had the whole year ahead.

Third placed female was household name Jo Pavey. The 46 year old is targeting her sixth Olympic games in Tokyo and a 16:57 at parkrun  is a parkrun PB for Pavey, who looks to have just jogged any previous morning 5k outings at the popular initiative. It’s worth adding that Pavey’s 5000m PB is actually quicker than 14:39 so around the same time that was top of the men’s rankings this week. It’s great to see a world class athlete like Pavey inspiring others by speeding around parkrun on a Saturday morning too.

After a while searching for which Dominic Jones was most likely to have run a 15:05 parkrun this weekend in Berkeley Green, a second (or maybe about 30th) glance at the results showed it to be Dominic James who had run the quick time. Thankfully we can now report than James, not Jones, is having a monster 2020 already. This parkrun best comes on the back of a 14:30 5k PB in Armagh and a 29:44 at Speedway 10k. Bravo.

Dulwich parkrun is once again our quickest event with three runners making the top ten, with a nice sprint finish for Joe Croft and Nick Torry in 15:15 and 15:16 respectively.

Men’s top 10

1) parkrun: Felixstowe
Kieran Clements, 14:38, Shaftesbury Barnet
2) parkrun: Ferry Meadows
Edgar Sumskis, 14:44, Newham and Essex Beagles
3) parkrun: Berkeley Green
Dominic James, 15:05, Cheltenham & County Harriers
4) parkrun: Alexandra, Moss Side
Arlo Ludewick, 15:08, Herne Hill Harriers
5) parkrun: Morecombe
Chris Richards, 15:14, Helm Hill Harriers
6) parkrun: Dulwich
Joe Croft, 15:15
7) parkrun: Dulwich
Nick Torry, 15:16, Serpentine RC
8) parkrun: Hove Prom
Finn McNally, 15:18, Brighton Phoenix
9) parkrun: Telford
Dylan Gillett, 15:21, Telford AC
10) parkrun: Bushy
Kurtis Gibson, 15:26

Women’s top 10

1) parkrun: Warrington
Lauren Heyes, 16:41, Leigh Harriers & AC
2) parkrun: Dulwich
Lucy Reid, 16:49, Tonbridge AC
3) parkrun: Exmouth 
Jo Pavey, 16:57, Exeter Harriers
4) parkrun: Oxford
Eleanor Bolton, 17:20, Robbie Valley Harriers
5) parkrun: Walsall Arboretum 
Kelly Butler, 17:23, Birchfield Harriers
6) parkrun: Beeston
Lauren McNeil, 17:24, Buxton AC
7) parkrun: Cannon Hill, Birmingham
Bryony Haines, 17:34, Birchfield Harriers
8) parkrun: Burnley
Laura Hesketh, 17:44, Clayton-le-Moors Harriers
9) parkrun: Burnham and Highbridge
Kate Drew, 17:45, Taunton AC
10) parkrun: Southampton 
Ellie Marie Monks, 17:48, Southampton 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 7th March (2020) appeared first on Fast Running.

Speedster Kieran Clements showed up at Kesgrave parkrun this morning to run just three seconds off his own course record. The 13:53 5k runner nipped around in a quick 14:35 to be quickest this weekend by over 30 seconds. After running 14:31.33 for ninth at the British Championships earlier in August, Clements was in winning form at the Tonbridge Twilight Invitational when he ran 8:07.59 for a win in the 3000m.

Kirsty Longley ran a big new parkrun best of 16:46 at Croxteth Park this fine Saturday. The Merseyside V40 pushed the pace and was 30 seconds faster than the course record for the Merseyside event. It is only a few weeks after Longley ran 16:37 at the Ellesmere Port RC 5k for a new personal best. It goes alongside the 10k (34:29) and half marathon (78:07) Pbs from 2019 already.

Dani Nimmock of City of Norwich AC has only just recently been part of the British team that took gold at the World  50km Championships with a 3:30:22 and two weeks later the marathoner is already back in action at parkrun. We hope she’s had a couple easy weeks in between to let those hard working legs recover!

Nicholas Torry of Serpentine may have run his marathon best of 2:15:04 back in 2013, but the V40 athlete is showing no signs of slowing down yet. To add to his fantastic 14:34 5k PB ran in Battersea Park in July, the marathoner now has the honour of being second in our weekly parkrun rankings wth a 15:07 at Dulwich parkrun.

We wonder if it was a family feud at Wolverhampton parkrun with Ian and Martin Williams, both of Tipton Harriers, just two seconds apart at the finish for sixth and seventh place. There was even Peter Harry Brookes three seconds further back in 15:35 and 10th place in our rankings.

Ian ran 15:30 and Martin 15:32, as both Williams, who may not be related, made a good race of the non-race. Bragging rights might still lie with Martin as he has a 2:17:36 marathon best from 2010, whilst Ian is no slouch with his 2:24:49 from the 2015 London Marathon.

The two fastest parkruns this week were both in the Midlands, with three runners at Cannon Hill, Birmingham and three runners at Wolverhampton parkrun all making the weekly rankings.

Men’s top 10

1) parkrun: Kesgrave
Kieran Clements, 14:35, Shaftesbury Barnet
2) parkrun: Dulwich
Nicolas Torry, 15:07, Serpentine RC
3) parkrun: Clapham Common
Seyfu Jamaal, 15:15, London Heathside
4) parkrun: Cannon Hill, Birmingham
William Richardson, 15:19, Birchfield Harriers
5) parkrun: Bushy Park
Ellis Cross, 15:19, Aldershot, Farnham & District AC
6) parkrun: Wolverhampton
Ian Williams, 15:30, Tipton Harriers
7) parkrun: Wolverhampton 
Martin Williams, 15:32, Tipton Harriers
8=) parkrun: Highbury Fields
Tom Aldred, 15:33, London Heathside
8=) parkrun: Cannon Hill, Birmingham
Andrew Peat, 15:33, Birchfield Harriers
10) parkrun: Wolverhampton 
Peter Harry Brookes, 15:35, Tipton Harriers

Women’s top 10

1) parkrun: Croxteth Hall
Kirsty Longley, 16:46, Liverpool Pembroke & Sefton Harriers & AC
2) parkrun: Roding Valley
Dani Nimmock, 17:17, City of Norwich AC
3) parkrun: Tooting Common
Lucie Custance, 17:21, Clapham Chasers RC
4=) parkrun: Cannon Hill, Birmingham 
Bryony Haines, 17:29, Birchfield Harriers
4=) parkrun: Hove Promenade 
Almi Nerurkar, 17:29, Brighton Phoenix
6=) parkrun: Doncaster
Philippa Williams, 17:30, Elswick Harriers
6=) parkrun: Burnley
Laura Hesketh, 17:30, Clayton-le-Moors Harriers
8) parkrun: Belfast Victoria
Jessica Anne Craig, 17:41, North Down AC
9) parkrun: Cannon Hill, Birmingham 
Chloe Richardson, 17:45, Birchfield Harriers
10) parkrun: Cheltenham
Beth Hawling, 17:47, Cheltenham & County 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 14th September (2019) appeared first on Fast Running.

Hayley Carruthers ran 15:59 at the Walsall Arboretum parkrun to record the fastest women’s time across the UK on Saturday (December 22).

It was the first time under 16 minutes for the ever improving Birchfield Harrier, who was just four seconds away from the women’s parkrun best. It was also nearly two minutes quicker than the time Carruthers ran on the same weekend last year.

On the men’s side, there were five runners under 15 minutes as people are coming home for Christmas and invariably hitting their local parkruns.

Christmas Day could be a super fast one as people escape the family mayhem in the morning to get a good run in. Who will be the Christmas number ones on Tuesday?

Kieran Clements was the fastest of the bunch with a 14:32 at Kesgrave parkrun in Suffolk. Taking two seconds from the speedster’s own course record on the Ipswich course.

The 13:53 5000m man posted the run on Strava and described the course as a little “muddy, windy and rough underfoot”. Considering there is a 180 degree turn on the course as well that’s a cracking time.

The other four men under 15 minutes included an Olympian, a Gibraltarian middle distance runner and a British/New Zealand ultra runner on a long run.

Paul Martelletti actually ran faster than his top ranking time from last week, but was knocked down to fourth place by the competitive turn out on Saturday. The marathon and ultra runner was in the middle of a 16 mile training run so hopefully won’t be too dismayed.

Second placed lady was Zoe Wassell, the youngster who ran so well over cross country in Spain earlier this winter. The GB youth international ran 17:01 for the second fastest ladies time of the week, but was over a minute behind Carruthers.

Second placed male was middle distance specialist Jake Wightman, who was training fast around the track at Loughborough earlier this week, but was down at Dulwich parkrun in London by the weekend to fly around the flat and fast course in South East London.

Chloe Richardson was the third place female and thus has family bragging rights on Christmas Day as her brother William was only fifth in the male rankings. Both made the news in 2017 as dual winners of the Birmingham half marathon.

The AB Training group in Sussex made an en mass outing to Worthing parkrun but only times of 15:09 and 15:11 made the top 10, although 10 runners broke 16 minutes at the one event. The power of the group there again.

Both Dulwich and Cannon Hill Birmingham parkruns featured three times this week so they can share the fastest parkrun for the week. It seems the Midlands featured heavier than usual at the weekend, maybe everyone is returning home for Christmas to the middle of England.

Men’s top 10

1) parkrun: Dulwich
Kieran Clements, 14:32, Shaftesbury Barnet Harriers
2) parkrun: Dulwich
Jake Wightman, 14:48, Edinburgh AC
3) parkrun: Mile End
Paul Martelletti, 14:49, Victoria Park & Tower Hamlets
4) parkrun: Dulwich
Harvey Dixon, 14:55, Aldershot, Farnham & District AC
5) parkrun: Cannon Hill, Birmingham
William Richardson, 14:58, Birchfield Harriers
6) parkrun: Kingsbury Water
Ellis Cross, 15:01, Aldershot, Farnham & District AC
7) parkrun: Dulwich
Joe Morwood, 15:02, Aldershot, Farnham & District AC
8) parkrun: Coventry
Mohamed Daud Mohamed, 15:05, Coventry Godiva
9) parkrun: Worthing
Maxwell Dumbbell, 15:09, Brighton Phoenix
10) parkrun: Worthing
Howard Bristow, 15:11, Brighton & Hove City AC

Women’s top 10

1) parkrun: Walsall Arboretum 
Hayley Carruthers, 15:59, Birchfield Harriers
2) parkrun: Chipping Sodbury
Nicola Sykes, 17:29, Bournville Harriers
3) parkrun: Cannon Hill, Birmingham
Chloe Richardson, 17:05, Birchfield Harriers
4) parkrun: Leicester Victoria
Hannah Doran, 17:09, Charnwood AC
5) parkrun: Sherwood Pines
Emily Collinge 17:13, Vegetarian Cycling and AC
6) parkrun: Cannon Hill, Birmingham
Nicola Sykes, 17:29, Bournville Harriers
7) parkrun: Higginson, Birmingham
Jessica Gibbon, 17:27, Reading AC
8) parkrun: Delamere
Holly Weedall, 17:29, Vale Royal AC
9) parkrun: MUSA Cookstowns
Grace Carson, 17:29
10) parkrun: Lincoln 
Abbie Donnelly, 17:30, Lincoln-Wellington AC

If you enjoy running at parkrun but want to develop and get a bit faster then find a running club near you. Clubs have all the social aspects of parkrun and cater for all levels to help you progress. More information can be found here.

Also 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 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 UK parkrun times on Saturday 22nd December (2018) appeared first on Fast Running.

Since leaving his job to become a full-time athlete in May (2018) Kieran Clements’ performances have been on a new level with a string of personal bests.

The Shaftesbury Barnet Harrier clocked a 14:00 PB at the  Ipswich Twilight 5k, before running 28:37.12 at the Highgate Harriers Night of the 10,000m PBs. He followed that up with a 7:54.72 lifetime best at Watford over 3000m, where 11 British runners all ran under eight minutes.

Clements’ training is there for all to see on his Strava account, and he also posts about his running on Instagram.

Fast Running spoke to Clements about his training set up, strength and conditioning, plus his favourite and dreaded sessions.

Training set up

Clements mostly trains alone and he says: “Suffolk is a lot of things, but an endurance running mecca is unfortunately not one of them.”

However, he is grateful for the running company of Ipswich Jaffa’s Jack Millar, a club with which Clements is a second claim member of.

“It’s important to support the local running community,” he says. “I sometimes have the ‘social run’ crew for company, but they’re back at university now, so I’m back to Steven Glansberg-ing all my training for a bit. (A reference to his solo training status).

“It isn’t really too much of a problem for me. If anything I enjoy it as it allows me to always run my own pace, on my own schedule. I also appreciate the time alone with just my thoughts.”

Clements’ coaching philosophy

“I’m self-coached and generally take the philosophy of ‘speed from strength’, so I put a lot of emphasis on building a strong aerobic base, then adding race-specific speed on top of that,” he explains.

“As with any distance runner, my training differs depending on the time of year and race distance I’m training for, but I’m very open about it all and am happy to share it with anyone who’s interested.”

His training diaries from two key weeks

The first training diary is from the fortnight before (April 29 – May 5) Clements ran 28:37 at the Highgate Harriers’ Night of 10,000m PBs.

Sunday
17 miles in 108 minutes

Monday
AM: 11 miles in 72mins and core
PM: 6.1 miles in 39mins 17s

Tuesday
AM: 6 miles in 41mins
PM: 20 mins warm up/ 4x 4×400 off 45s/3mins (64,64,64,64/ 63,64,62,63/ 62,63,63,63/ 62,62,63,60)/ 20mins warm down

Wednesday
8 miles in 54mins 21s

Thursday
AM: 5 miles in 33mins
PM: 20mins warm up/ Road fartlek: 5×3, 5×2, 5×1 off half “float” rest – 8.4 @5:20/ 20mins warm down

Friday
AM: 11 miles in 71mins 34s and core
PM: 6 miles in 43mins

Saturday
20mins warm up then a ‘Michigan session’: 1 mile (4:35), 2k tempo (6:15), 1200 (3:24), 2k tempo (6:15), 800 (2:11), 2k tempo (6:12), 400 (58), all off 90s/3mins. 20mins warm down

Total: 108miles and 2 x core

Clements on a training run with Cambridge & Coleridge’s Charlie Christensen supporting

This second segment is from Clements’ training diary (September 30 – October 6) before his debut half marathon in Manchester on October 14.

Sunday
15.1 miles in 91mins

Monday
AM: 8 miles in 52mins and core
PM: 8 miles in 51mins

Tuesday
20mins warm up (3 miles) then a road fartlek: 1,2,3,4,5,6,5,4,3,2,1 off half ‘float’ rest – 10.1 miles at 5:18 pace. 19:30mins warm down (3 miles)

Wednesday
AM: 11 miles in 73mins
PM: 6 miles in 39mins

Thursday
AM: 6 miles in 41mins
PM: 3 miles warm up then 15 x 350m hills (hard up, ’float’ down recovery, 3 miles warm down.

Friday
6.1 miles in 39mins

Saturday
3 miles warm up, then National Road Relays! Ran second leg in 17:13 (4:42 pace), 6th fastest split of the day. Then ran 5 x 1200m off 90s (3:38, 3:37, 3:35, 3:32, 3:28), 3 miles warm down.

Total: 103miles and 1x core

Strength work

All of the core exercises referenced are Clements’ only strength work, using bodyweight only.

He explains why: “I always found lifting weights would beat me up a bit and cause me to run slower in workouts.

“I don’t have access to the facilities at the moment. In the future, I want to work with a coach who knows what they’re doing in this area before incorporating it back into my training schedule.

“I will also try to do some strides and drills two to three times a week after easy runs.”

Mental health benefits of running

“I feel like it’s very good for your mental health to have a bit of time each day where you are able to be alone in that way,” he explains. “It gives you a chance to reflect, think, put things into perspective, focus.

“Running has always been such an incredible mental release for me and I think that side of it is undervalued.”

Favourite sessions

The psychology graduate is clearly a strong minded athlete, with his favourite sessions being brutal track sessions.

“One example of a go-to session would be firstly 8×600 off 90 seconds, before changing into spikes and then doing 4×200 off 90 seconds, aiming for 96-93 seconds for the 600s and 28-26 seconds for the 200s,” he says.

“I also love longer sessions, such as four sets of 1200, 800, 400, with 90 seconds rest throughout and between sets, aiming for about 3:30, 2:16, 66 seconds for the reps.”

RELATED: How I train: Dan Studley

Most dreaded session

On the sesssion he least looks forward to, he says: “A tough session I always dread is one of the workouts mentioned in my training called ‘The Michigan’.

“There are a few different versions of this workout (see above for his adaption) but I think I’ve found an appropriate balance for myself.

“I find visualising my goals is the best motivation when I’m struggling on a run or session. It brings back the focus of why it is you’re doing it in the first place.”

Fuelling 100+mile training weeks

Clements is lucky enough to have chickens at his family home, “so eggs are a big source of fuel”.

He goes on: “I just try to keep a relatively healthy balanced diet. When you’re running 100 miles a week or more your biggest enemy is under-fuelling and a lot of distance runners forget that.

“The only supplements I use are a calcium and vitamin D supplement from Tesco and a liquid iron supplement from Floradix.”

RELATED: Kieran Clements is gunning for the top after breakthrough summer

Are you a fan of Fast Running? Then please support us. 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 How I train: Kieran Clements appeared first on Fast Running.

Suffolk-based runner Kieran Clements has run back to back PB’s since becoming a full-time athlete in May.

He now ranks in the top ten rankings for no less than three distances, the highlight being a 28:37.12 result at the Highgate Harriers Night of the 10,000m PBs in May. That time placed the 24 year-old fifth in the UK this year.

Just a week earlier he’d sliced nearly half a minute off his 5k road best at the Ipswich Twilight race, running 14 minutes flat.  He followed that up with a 7:54.72 lifetime best at Watford over 3000m, where 11 British runners all ran under eight minutes.

The Shaftesbury Barnet Harrier had some classy pedigree before this impressive purple patch, though, with some outstanding results on the country as an under-20.

In 2011 he won all the major cross championship races bar the Inter-Counties, and represented Great Britain twice the following year.

Clements ran superbly to finish just one second behind the victorious Ethiopian-born American Kirubel Erassa at the Great Edinburgh Cross Country, before earning a bronze medal at the European Cross County Championships in Budapest.

Many will be wondering why we haven’t heard much about this talented athlete, and why he hasn’t made a stronger mark on the athletics community with such standout results?

Perhaps it is because he joined the increasing number of British runners taking up the opportunity to train and study at university in America, travelling stateside a year after pulling on the GB vest for the first time.

American athletics scholarship

Clements spent five years studying psychology at Iona College in New York, winning the Metro Atlantic Cross Country Championships (MAAC) during his time there, amongst many other achievements.

Transitioning to a new coach in the US (he was coached by Ricardo Santos at Iona), was a smooth move for him, with his high mileage background helping him cope with the demands of an athletics scholarship.

He says that, although he would ‘recommend anyone fortunate enough to be offered the opportunity to study and train out there to strongly consider it’, he also feels it is because he spent half a decade across the pond that he has remained relatively under the radar.

“I think spending time in America may have caused athletes like me to get somewhat ‘forgotten about’ here – it may even be looked on unfavourably by some,” he says. “Luke Traynor is the perfect example of this – seriously, how on earth is that kid not sponsored!”

RELATED: Time to get Luke Traynor a sponsor

Photo: Liam Dee

Teaming up with RunFast

Clements is grateful for the support he has received from the elite sports management agency RunFast since returning to British shores.

“Linking up with RunFast has been a big step in the right direction for me,” he reveals. “While they don’t offer direct financial support, they help by communicating with brands and potential sponsors on my behalf, as well as assisting with race entry and scheduling, so I am able to get the most (financially) out of it when I do race. 

“They do remain my only supporter though, which I hope will change very soon!

“It seems that letting your running do the talking isn’t enough these days though. There really isn’t a lot of support out there unless you know the right people, or have the right amount of followers on social media.”

Clements has only been a full-time athlete for a few months, but has reaped the rewards of opting to concentrate on fulfilling his potential in the running world.

Making the decision to leave his job and train full-time

He feels he had no choice but to leave a job he’d had for nine months since returning to the UK. Juggling full-time work and an intense training schedule took its toll on his health and running.

“Although I was getting fairly decent results working and training at the same time – including a 49:20 10-mile and an 8:01 3000m – I eventually found out the hard way that training very hard while adjusting to working 9-5 was only ever going to lead to one thing – injury,” he says.

“I picked up a third metatarsal stress fracture in my left foot during a workout the week after the Great South Run last year, which put me out until December.

“Looking back I think it was a blessing in disguise. I wasn’t enjoying my job and this gave me the motivation to start training again, as a way to release stress. I fell back in love with running and pursuing the highest level in the sport.

“Eventually I built up to some pretty solid volume, but was struggling with anything at any real pace and was under-performing in races, which I now attribute to a combination of fatigue and stress from the job.

“I ran a sub-par 10k in Brighton (Clements ran 30:00) in April, despite being in very good shape.  That, combined with a number of other issues I was having, led to me deciding to quit my job, move back home and give running a really good go.

“Just over a month later I ran 28:37 for 10k on the track, so going full time very quickly helped my progression!”

Clements’ future racing aims

This Sunday’s Manchester half marathon is the Shaftesbury Harriers’ first big endurance challenge of the autumn, followed by the Great South Run, Leeds Abbey Dash 10k and the European cross country championships trials at the Liverpool Cross Challenge in November.

He adds: “The main goal over the next six months or so is to learn racing on the roads, and try to make a bit of money since this is my job now!

I am also very keen to get back on the international racing scene and represent England and Great Britain, whether that’s on the roads, the country, or indoors.”

Let’s hope the selectors are keeping a close eye on this young talent’s performances. If he continues to ride the upward trajectory of running progress they will soon have no choice!

RELATED: Luke Traynor and Andy Vernon set for Manchester Half Marathon

Are you a fan of Fast Running? Then please support us. 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 Kieran Clements is gunning for the top after breakthrough summer appeared first on Fast Running.