Our weekly parkrun top ten is sponsored by the Coggiola Endurance Centre, a residential coaching and performance facility in the Italian Alps. Follow on Instagram for more updates in the new future.

Anna Bracegirdle sits at the top of the women’s rankings this weekends after running an impressive 16:12 at Battersea. The South London park is famed for delivering fast times and this week’s parkrun was no different. That time is a ten second improvement on Anna’s previous fastest parkrun, set on the same course last December. It is only three seconds shy of her 5k PB which dates back to 2022. After winning both the Village Bakery Wrexham Half Marathon and Chester 10k earlier this year, Anna’s had an excellent start to 2025.

Peter Chambers ran the fastest time overall this weekend in his first parkrun of the year. He ran 15:11 Sutton Park, just five seconds shy of his parkrun best from last year. His road PB sits at 14:10, set in February at (you guessed it) Battersea Park. Most recently he raced as part of the Highgate team that won silver at the National Road Relays in Sutton Park. A venue he knows well!

Best of the Rest

Amy Clements’ 16:48 at Burgess and Morag Millar’s 17:05 at Falkirk place them on the podium this weekend. On the men’s side, it is Evan Fitzgerald with 15:15 at Peel and Jamie Richardson’s 15:19 at Norwich that take second and third spot.

Fastest Course

With three appearances including one top spot, Battersea makes its return to the fastest course title after a few weeks absent.

Women’s Rankings

Men’s Rankings

The post 10 fastest UK parkrun times on 26th April 2025 appeared first on Fast Running.

Our weekly parkrun top ten is sponsored by the Coggiola Endurance Centre, a residential coaching and performance facility in the Italian Alps. Follow on Instagram for more updates in the new future.

In a week where no one broke our normal top marks of 17 and 15 minutes respectively it was a close battle in both the men’s and women’s rankings, with both podiums separated by 10 seconds or less!

Tamara Beach of Les Croupiers RC was the fastest by just three seconds ahead of Sonny Allen. It took 17:05 to finish first at Penrose parkrun and that was enough to take the honours ahead of Highgate Harrier Allen’s 17:08 at Battersea parkrun in London.

Matty Linsley had a slightly bigger gap to second, but not by much. 15:06 was the fastest time at Town Moor parkrun for the Gateshead Harrier and it was seven seconds ahead of James Lund who ran 15:13 at Maryport Prom parkrun.

Third, by only by a whisker

At Belfast Victoria parkrun Kirsti Foster was only seven seconds back in 17:15 and completes the women’s podium, whilst Adam Hudson at Bromley parkrun was only one second off second with a 15:14 (and only one second ahead of fourth as well).

The fastest course?

A few event feature twice but it was Battersea again that featured the most this week with four runners making out rankings!

Women’s Rankings

Men’s Rankings

The post 10 fastest UK parkrun times on 22nd March 2025 appeared first on Fast Running.

The past fortnight has been quite an exciting one for Justin Davies. At the start of February, he had raced just one indoor 800m this year. Since then, a maiden British Indoor Championships title, a British U23 Record and an unexpected goal ticked off. A spot at the European Indoor Championships and his track debut representing Great Britain on an international stage.

Justin opened his year with 1:46.94 at the Miting Catalunya in Sabadell in early January. It was his fastest ever time indoors, and only the start of things to come. It is fair to say it has exceeded all expectations he had for this winter.

“It’s totally surreal being in this situation, because it was completely unexpected. It’s just fantastic! I think I would have been very happy with a 1:46-mid indoors. My season opener was good, and my coach said, right, we’re going to try and aim for this time. The European Indoor standard. Just give it a shot“.

Birmingham Brilliance

His next race was the Keely Klassic. Justin’s first time stepping onto this track since winning bronze at last year’s British Indoor Championships. It was a race to remember, victory in 1:45.78. The European Indoor standard – 1:46.40 – the target for the year was well and truly secured. It took a while for to sink in.

“The race went really well. I saw the time and I thought ‘oh my god, this is amazing!’. It sunk in later that evening, it did take a good minute for me to unpack it all.

It was a good event for it. I found it almost got me used to the crowd a week out from the British Championships. At last year’s British Championships, you can see on the footage, I was absolutely terrified. I feel like the Keely Klassic was really good for getting me used to that number of people. It helped make the British Championships, not easier, but more manageable especially in terms of handling my nerves”.

Furthermore, as well as a British U23 Record, 1:45.78 is the fastest by a British athlete indoors in three years. That fact was one that Justin was not aware of, and adds to his optimism for what might come in the future.

“That’s fantastic! I don’t really know what to say to that.

It makes me feel quite optimistic about the summer. My PB is just under half a second faster. On a nice outdoor track, a completely still day, a nice train. We’ll see what happens”.

Photo: James Rhodes

Maiden Title

One week later, a return to the Utilita Arena for the British Indoor Championships. The assignment was simple. With the qualifying time in his hand, a top-two finish was all that was needed to secure a spot in Apeldoorn. That might sound easier on paper than in reality. A particularly tough qualifying process from five heats saw only the first finisher progress.

“There was definitely a lot of pressure. I was talking to Jack Higgins, and I think we were both more nervous for the heats. There was no room for error.

For the final, I knew I just had to finish in the top two. That’s all I could think about to be honest. I had faith that I could kick on from 300m and not let anyone pass me. It went really well, the gamble paid off!”.

In the space of less than two minutes of racing, the latter half of which were particularly eventful for those behind Justin, his fate was decided. British Indoor Champion. Two spots higher on the podium than the year before. A Great Britain track debut was on its way.

“I was happy, but compared to last year where it was really energetic happiness, it was more just a relief. A satisfaction that it was done, it was finished. That was the overwhelming emotion”.

Europe Bound

Now, it is less than one week until Justin takes to the track once again. It is the culmination of the season, which he describes well.

“It was almost like going up a ladder, each time I wasn’t expecting to make the next rung. I’m feeling good. Training is going well, last weekend was a nice confidence booster. I’m optimistic and can’t wait!”.

Whilst he has represented Great Britain at the World University Cross Country Championships, this is something new. Justin’s biggest goal is to learn from the experience. Many of those learning experiences are unknown at present, as they are brand new. For example, pre-race protocols for a competition of this level, how it feels to be part of a team.

Learning from the experience is not the only objective, however.

“My biggest goal is to just learn, to see what it’s like to be at this level. It’ll be a completely different experience. I think there’s going to be a lot of things which I don’t know right now, but I’m going to be so grateful for learning having done it. I just can’t say what they are yet.

To learn, obviously to give it my all and to make sure I leave it all out on the track. I would love to make the final, it would make my year if I made the final. Navigate the rounds as best I can and see what happens”.

Photo: James Rhodes

Racing Companions

He will go travel to Apeldoorn and race alongside Jack Higgins, who too is making his Great Britain debut. They will be joined by Tom Randolph and Justin is looking forward to racing with them both – and others.

“I’m really grateful Tom and Jack are there. Jack and I are going to have very similar experiences. They’re really nice guys, it’s a good team”.

Amongst those Justin would like an opportunity to race are Spaniard Elvin Canales, fastest in the field this year, and Dutchman Samuel Chapple. The former he raced in his season opener in Sabadell, the latter only 0.3 seconds faster.

“In my season opener, he [Canales] gapped the rest of the field quite significantly. I’d love an opportunity to go up against him again. There’s also Samuel Chapple from the Netherlands, who ran at the Keely Klassic.

He’s just ahead of me on the rankings and I keep seeing him on Instagram. I really want to see what happens, I haven’t raced against him before. It probably wouldn’t end too well for me, but I still want to give it a shot”.

Photo: James Rhodes

Future Goals

There is plenty to look forward to beforehand, but the outdoor season is not far around the corner. Amongst Justin’s goals are to get some more experience of racing internationally and improving his PB as far as possible. Depending on how well the latter goes, one eye is naturally on the World Championships qualifying time of 1:44.50.

“My first goal has to be the European U23 Championships. It’s my last year in that age group so I want to give it my best shot. Hopefully I do make the team there. It’s in Bergen and I’ve always wanted to go to Norway, so this would be a great excuse!

Then, the goal would be shifting and maybe looking at the World Championships time. It’s 1:44.50, which is so fast, but I feel I’ve got to stay optimistic. Ideally I can get in the right race and try and aim for that time”.

It will be an exciting year, starting with this weekend in the Netherlands.

Justin is joined by Jack Higgins and Tom Randolph in the men’s 800m at the European Indoor Championships. The heats take place at 10:05 (UK time) on Friday, the semi-finals at 19:13 (UK time) on Saturday and the final at 16:27 (UK time) on Sunday.

The post A Surreal Fortnight – Justin Davies’ Indoor Season appeared first on Fast Running.

Our weekly parkrun top ten is now sponsored by the Coggiola Endurance Centre, a residential coaching and performance facility in the Italian Alps. Follow on Instagram for more updates in the new future. 

It was another quick weekend for parkrun with Lauren Heyes the quickest woman by some distance with an excellent 16:40 at Warrington parkrun for the Hallamshire Harrier. Heyes has run for Great Britain on multiple occasions and it is great to see her in strong form early in the year, although 2025 already holds a Northern Counties win on the cross country.

Alex Lennon was the fastest chap with 14:55 at Battersea parkrun, the onyl athlete under 15 minutes at parkrun this weekend (although there were plenty at the Armagh International Road races as usual). The U20 has also had an excellent cross country season and is flying around parkrun now.

The best of the rest

It was Gabrielle Pinder and Sabrina Coppola Johansen who were the next quickest for the ladies with 17:05 and 17:10 (and after them it was 5 second intervals all the way to 5th as well). Pinder ran at Albert parkrun in the north-east and Coppola Johansen was in SE London at the same event as Lennon, Battersea Park.

Even further north was Harris Pagett at Edinburgh parkrun with a 15:01 for second quickest bloke and Callum Bowen-Jones was only a couple of seconds behind with a 15:03 at Norwich parkrun.

The fastest course

It was Battersea parkrun again. Come on, let do something about this, it’s getting out of hand. Maybe Nick Griggs and co can go for a clean sweep at Belfast Victoria next week?

Women’s Rankings

Men’s Rankings

The post 10 fastest UK parkrun times on 15th February (2025) appeared first on Fast Running.

At the Millrose Games in  New York on Saturday (February 8), all three Irish athletes in action set new national records. The best result came from Sarah Healy who not only finished third in the women’s 3000m, but knocked five seconds off the record she had set a week earlier with her time of in 8:30.79.

In the 800m Mark English, now coached by the Australian Justin Rinaldi, finished fourth in a time of 1:45.15 breaking his own Irish Record.

Finally in the Wanamaker Mile, Andrew Coscoran finished seventh in a time of 3:49.26. That time meant that Coscoran became only the third Irishman to break 3 mins 50 secs for the classic distance after Ray Flynn outdoors Oslo in 1982 and Eamonn Coghlan indoors in the USA in 1983.  Flynn is now race director of the Millrose Games.

Andrew Coscoran, Eamonn Coghlan & Ray Flynn. Photo: Dan Moses

For the record, in the pre-carbon-plate era, Eamonn Coghlan won the Wanamaker Mile seven times from 1977 to 1987, earning the title ‘Chairman of the Boards’.  Marcus O’Sullivan won it six times from 1986 to 1996, Niall Bruton twice in 1994 and 1996 and Mark Carroll once in 2000. Coscoran ran the race for the first time in 2020 finishing tenth (last) in 3:57.83 and has run it twice more since then. He is clearly benefitting from his new training set-up since signing up with Helen Clitheroe at the New Balance Team in Manchester.

Winner of the race for a third consecutive year on Saturday was Yared Nuguse in a sensational world record time of 3:46.63. That is running on another level altogether. Will we ever see another Irish winner?

Lots of overseas action elsewhere too

In the men’s 3000m at the Bruce Lehane Scarlet and White Invitational  in Boston, USA, Cormac Dalton finished 12th overall in 7:50.09 and Shane Brosnan 14th in 7:53.86 after winning his heat.

Cathal Doyle of Clonliffe Harriers  improved his best to 3:37.58 when finishing fourth in the 1500m at the INIT Meeting in Karlsruhe, Germany on Friday (February 7). That time is inside the B standard for the European Indoors next month.

Finally in the Czech Republic, Jodie McCann (DCH) finished ninth in the women’s 3000m in a personal best 8:55.71 at the Czech Indoor Gala in Ostrava on Tuesday (February 4) .

National Indoor League

Locally, the Clonliffe Harriers men and Ratoath women were the winners of the National Indoor League with the second of two rounds taking place in Athlone on Saturday (February 8).

Dundrum South Dublin finished second in both competitions.

Among the dual winners were Juan Ignacio Pena of Raheny Shamrock AC who won the men’s 3000m in 8:32.67 and the 800m in 1:53.83.

Cross-country

Lizzie Lee of  Leevale AC added yet another title to her large collection when winning the women’s 4km race at the All Ireland Masters Cross-Country Championships in Westport, Co Mayo on Sunday (February 9).

Lee finished  in 14 mins 29 secs, with her clubmate Irene Clements second in 14:36. Kate Purcell of Raheny Shamrock not only finished  third in 14:41but led her team to a  solid victory. Making up the team were Dublin champion Fiona Roche fourth, Annette Kealy 16th and Zoe Quinn 36th. Sportsworld, led by Noreen Brouder in 12th place finished second on 103 points  beating Galway City Harriers by just two points. Dublin won the county team title.

Dublin champion Colm Rooney  of Clonliffe Harriers  was a clear winner of the men’s 7km race in 22 mins 12 secs.  Second  was Eoin Mullan from Omagh Harriers in 22:31 with Conan McCaughey of North Belfast Harriers third in 22:44.

Rooney was also leading Clonliffe to team victory with Sergiu Ciobanu seventh, Cathal McHale 14th and Karl Nolan 16th. On a good day for Dublin clubs. Rathfarnham WSAF finished second  and East Cork third.

In the over 65 race, Liam Lenehan (Sportsworld AC)  was the overall winner in 15 mins 52 secs, with Tom Cuddy of Rathfarnham WSAF second in 16:189 and mountain runner Martin McDonald from Ballyroan Abbeyleix  and District third in 16.30. Finishing fourth and first M70 in 16:43 was. Joe Gough of West Waterford AC.  Other category winners were Martin McEvilly (Galway City Harriers) M75 and Jim Langan (Tullamore Harriers) M80.

Rathfarnham WSAF proved best of the teams  while Dublin  won the county title.

Also taking  place were the All Ireland Intermediate Championships, with Clonliffe Harriers dominating the women’s race with four finishers in the  top nine. Helena Butterly was the winner in 19 mins 44 secs, Niamh Kelly second in 19:55, Jools Hughes fifth in 23:50 and Julie Larkin ninth in 21.15, making Clonliffe clear winners of the team title and also ensuring a county victory for Dublin.  Liffey Valley  packed well to  finish second team  led by with Siobhan Nugent 8th,  and in a Dublin clean sweep, Sportsworld AC finished third, led by Elaine Kennedy in seventh place.  Just four teams competed.

Abaas Adam Edris of Castlegar AC  was the winner of the men’s race with a time of 26 mins 16 secs. For Ennis TC, Barry Conway was second in 26:29 and Jamie Kelly third in 26:42.

Ennis TC, with four in the top twelve,  was the winning team ahead of Clonliffe  with Castlegar third.

Ultra (and another Irish record)

Caitriona Jennings of Letterkenny AC finished sixth overall and first woman in a new Irish record time of 3 hrs 16 mins 33 secs at the Donadea 50km, in Co Kildare, which incorporated the National Championships.

Overall winner of the race in 3:01.50 was Wayne Waldron  of Donore Harriers.  Terry Shanley (Clane AC) was second in 3:04:58  and Ian Fitzgerald (Donore Harriers) third in 3:08.21. Anthony Brady (Coolock RC) finished eighth in 3:22.08, Derek O’Brien (Lusk AC) 19th in 3:39.17

Roads

Aidan Noone and Hannah Steeds were the winners at the Cork BHAA Janssen Pharmaceuticals 5km, held at Little Island,  hich attracted an entry of well over 400  on Sunday (February 9)

Noone  finished in 15 mins 42 secs,  with John Meade second and first M45  in 15:42 and Darren McCann third in 15:46.

Steeds, who was eighth overall,  crossed  the line in 16:13. Sinead O’Connor was second in 16:36 and Michelle Kenny third in 17:30.  Teams from the Department of Education won both  A grade team categories.

In Co Louth, also on Sunday, Ruaidhri Nolan of Drogheda and District AC was the winner of the Clogherhead Seaside 5km in 16 mins 54 secs. First woman in 19:06 was Anne-Marie Cassidy of Dreadnots GFC.

Winner of the Rathcoffey GAA 10km in Co Kildare on Saturday (February 8) was Martin Hoare (Celbridge AC) in 31 mins 21 secs. First woman was Sheila O’Byrne (Sli Cualann AC) in 36:56.. Declan Power (Clonliffe Harriers) was first M50  in 34:16 and Mick Carolan (Brothers Pearse AC) first M70 in 47:44.

In the 5km, the winners were Daragh Keegan (Donore Harriers) in 16:28  and junior athlete Iris McCartan (Clane AC) in 19:07.

Robin Mooney (Sli Cualann AC) in 16 mins 29 secs and  Ciara Wilson (DMP AC) in 17:40 were the winners at the Wexford Credit Union 5km Night Run, on Thursday evening ( February 6) which attracted an impressive entry of 558.

The post National records for everyone – Irish round-up appeared first on Fast Running.

A total of 4,607 Irish club athletes ran over the non-metric distance of ten miles in two exceptional races on Sunday.

In Dungarvan, Co Waterford Fearghal Curtin of Youghal AC  produced — arguably — the best road race result  seen in this country for some time when winning the 33rd John Treacy Dungarvan 10-Mile in a stunning new course record of 47 mins 42 secs. It was the first sub-48 minute time by an Irish athlete in over sixteen years and puts Curtin equal tenth on the all-time Irish list, with Ray Treacy who ran an identical time in the Ballycotton 10 of 1983.

The Irish record of 46 mins 25 was set by  Ray’s brother John Treacy over thirty-one years ago in October 1993.

Curtin, who hadn’t raced in some months, was out on his own for much of the race, enjoying the perfect conditions for a fast race. Jamie Fallon of Craughwell AC finished over two minutes behind him in a still respectable time of 49:56, while third in 50:26 was Sean Doyle of Cork City AC.

Last year the fastest 10-mile time of the year in Ireland was 49:29 run by Hugh Armstrong in the Frank Duffy 10, held in Dublin’s Phoenix Park, a course not known for fast times.

Six athletes broke 52 minutes in Dungarvan — Ger Forde (Kilkenny City Harriers)  50:35, Evan Fitzgerald (West Waterford AC) 50:59 and Sergiu Ciobanu (Clonliffe Harriers) first M40 in 51:58.

The women’s race also provided an eye-catching result with Niamh Allen (Leevale AC) finishing twelfth overall in 52:51 — another course record. Over three minutes behind in the runners-up spot was Patricia Jackman  (Waterford AC) while third in 61:14 was Clara Ryan ( St Finbarr’s AC) .

Leading home the sixty-four men’s teams was Leevale AC, followed by St Finbarr’s  and East Cork AC. A  total of forty-nine women’s teams had entered and  coming out on top was St Finbarr’s AC followed by Togher AC and Leevale AC.

23 September 2023; Peter Somba, Dunboyne AC, Meath on his way to winning the 2023 Irish Life Dublin Half Marathon which took place on Saturday 23rd of September at Phoenix Park in Dublin. Photo by David Fitzgerald/Sportsfile

Not the only 10 miler around

In Co Meath, Peter Somba of Ratoath AC made a winning return to the roads at the Trim 10-Mile.

Unlike Curtin in Dungarvan, Somba had to fight for his win and his time of 51 mins 51 secs put him just eight seconds clear of the chasers led by Martin Hoare of  Celbridge AC in 51:50. Third and first M45 was Alexander Wallaces of St Coca’s AC in Leixlip in 52:49.

Ciara Hickey of Brothers Pearse AC was first woman and first W40 in 56:09.  In a race that attracted club athletes from all over the island, Caitlyn Harvey of Belfast Road Runners was second woman in 58:06 while third was Catherine Thornton  of Galway City Harriers in 60:27.

One notable finisher in the age categories was the 1990  Dublin Marathon winner Christine Kennedy of Galway City Harriers, who was first W70 in  70:23.

Winning the women’s team prize ahead of eighty other teams was Belfast Roadrunners, who had travelled in force for the race. Mullingar Harriers finished econd and Donore Harriers third.

Belfast Road Runners also finished best of the 103 men’s teams entered,  with four finishers in the top thirteen. Celbridge AC was second  and the Road Runners second team third; the Belfast club had entered four teams. Best of the Dublin clubs was Civil Service Harriers in ninth place.  Clonliffe Harriers had four teams entered, Lucan Harriers  and Raheny Shamrock had three teams entered,  and Brothers Pearse, Metro St Brigid’s, LSA, Donore Harriers and Esker RC two each.

Of the record 2,200 who signed up for the race, an impressive 1,803 finished. An even larger total of 2, 804 had finished in Dungarvan. Who says ten-mile races are dead?

Photo: James Rhodes

A brace of records in Boston

Two Irish 3000m indoor records were broken at the New Balance Indoor Grand Prix, Boston, USA held on Sunday evening (February 2).

In the men’s 3000m, Andrew Coscoran (Star of the Sea AC) made the perfect start to the New Year when winning the 3000m in a time of 7 mins 30.75 secs, knocking almost eight seconds off Alistair Cragg’s long-standing record of 7:38.59 set exactly twenty-one years ago.

On a great evening for the Irish, Sarah Healy’s time of 8:35.19 for fourth place in the women’s race broke her own Irish Record of 8:36.06, set in Metz last year. The race was won by British athlete Melissa Courtney-Bryant in a world leading time of 8:28.69. Healy’s time was comfortably inside the qualifying time for the European Indoor Championships next month.

In the men’s 800m, Mark English (Finn Valley AC) finished fifth in 1:46.83.

Cathal Doyle of Clonliffe Harriers, who has signed a contract with Nike, opened his indoor season on Friday night (January 31) in the south of France by shaving .09  of his previous best when finishing sixth in the 1500m with a time of 3 mins 39.01 secs at the Meeting Miramas Metropole. His previous best was 3:39.10.

A large group of Irish athletes travelled to the IFAM Gent Indoor, Belgium on Saturday (February 1), where Darragh McElhinney (Bantry AC) won a closely-fought  men’s 1500m in a time of  3 mins 43.85 secs. McElhinney’s best time of 3:39.63 dates back to 2022.  In the men’s 800m, Cian McPhilips from Longford won his  heat in 1:48.86 while in the same heat, Cillian Kirwan (Raheny Shamrock) ran a time of 1:49.51 for fifth place. Louise Shanahan (Leevale AC) finished second in her 800m heat in 2:04.30.

In the men’s 3000m, Callum Morgan (CNDR RC)  ran a personal best 7:59.63, when finishing eighth in his heat, while in another heat, steeplechase specialist Finley Daly (Sligo AC) finished  second in 8:04.95, also a personal best.

McGlynn tops at Euro Clubs

Eight Irish clubs were represnted in the five races at the European Clubs Cross-Country Championships, in sunny Albufeira, Portugal, on Sunday. A record four  came  from Ulster — and three of those from Belfast.

In the senior women’s 9.1km, the ageless Ann-Marie McGlynn of Letterkenny AC in Donegal finished a fighting ninth  in 33 mins 19 secs. Next  to cross the line was Hannah Steeds for Leevale AC who finished 28th  in 34. 33. Letterkenny finished ninth of the seventeen teams with Leevale AC 13th.

In the men’s  race, North Belfast Harriers finished eleventh, led by Andre Milligan 30th in 29:40, while CNDR TC finished 17th , with Conall McClean 27th in 29:34.

At under 20 level,  Emily Bolton finished  fifth in the women’s race, leading Clonliffe Harriers to fifth place in the team competition. Lagan Valley from Belfast finished eighth led by Kate Graham  in  22nd place. Both those clubs also competed in the men’s  U20 race, where  Oisin McGlynn  of Lagan Valley led the Irish home in 20th place, with his team finishing 15th. Clonliffe packed more effectively  to finish seventh team, led by Tom Breslin in  27th place.

Finally in the 4 x 1500m mixed relay,  Dublin City Harriers  finished fifth and Dundrum South Dublin seventh.

The post Irish records indoors and excellence over 10 miles appeared first on Fast Running.

Our weekly parkrun top ten is now sponsored by the Coggiola Endurance Centre, a residential coaching and performance facility in the Italian Alps. Follow on Instagram for more updates in the new future. 

We already mentioned that a team effort would need to be made to keep Battersea parkrun off the top spot every week and now the time has come. A double whammy for the South London based event.

Ella Fennelly was the quickest woman with an excellent 16:50 for thre Thames Hare and Hounds athlete. It’s a huge parkrun pB from 18:13 and it might be that Fennelly is a Belgrave Harrier now as well, but that needs to be updated on the parkrun profile first and foremost!

Edward Pettitt was first chap at the same event with 15:06, bang on equal to the week before, also at Battersea. Although this time the Vale Royal AC runner got to be first finisher and claim the top of our rankings, so it probably felt 10x better. After the fact, when he reads this. If he does.

The best of the rest

The non-Battersea parkrun rankings this week saw Hannah Clark in second with a 16:58 at Bromley parkrun, also south London and another sub 17 with Lindsay Skinner running 16:59 at Market Rasen Racecourse.

At Rutland Water Harry Hewitt was the quickest and stopped the timers at 15:13, five seconds quicker than Callum Hanlon, who was at Warwick Race Course with 15:18.

The fastest event?

That was Battersea Park this week, with five. Make it stop. Please!

Women’s Rankings

Men’s Rankings

The post 10 fastest UK parkrun times on 18th January (2025) appeared first on Fast Running.

Our weekly parkrun top ten is now sponsored by the Coggiola Endurance Centre, a residential coaching and performance facility in the Italian Alps. Follow on Instagram for more updates in the new future. 

This week almost saw an unprecedented bonanza of a podium completely occupied by events that begin with B. Brockenhurst, Bushy, Belfast Victoria, Battersea and… Lowestoft (although that does pass a lot of beach huts). Even Blandford and Blickling got in on the act. 12/20 of the rankings. Blimey.

Now for the runners. Ellie Marie Monks was the quickest woman with a 17:22 at Brockenhurst parkrun and was a clear 10 seconds ahead of Isabel Clark, who ran 17:32 at Bushy park in London.

Nick Bester was the quickest chap, with 15:05, just a small amount of time ahead of Edward Pettitt, who clocked 15:06. Both ran at Battersea parkrun on London, which is a popular training ground for the distance runners of the capital.

The best of the rest

The third spot for the ladies was Katie Keown, who ran 18 minutes on the dot at Belfast Victoria in Northern Ireland and for the men it was Samuel Stevens with 15:46 at Lowestoft parkrun. Both third place spots did have some illiteration going on, so that was an additional win.

The fastest course

Six runners at Battersea parkrun was the fastest event this week and it’s going to be interesting to see how often this happens in 2025. We might need some concerted effort elsewhere to stop it happening too often!

Women’s Rankings

Men’s Rankings

The post 10 fastest UK parkrun times on 11th January (2025) appeared first on Fast Running.

Our weekly parkrun top ten is now sponsored by the Coggiola Endurance Centre, a residential coaching and performance facility in the Italian Alps. Follow on Instagram for more updates in the new future. 

For this week we have some extra fast times as it is a culmination of a week’s worth of parkrunning… well, an additional set of events on Christmas Day. The fastest 10 over both days it what makes our top 10 this week.

Anna Bracegirdle was the fastest woman by just three seconds, with 16:22 at Battersea parkrun in London. One of the newest events in the UK, it’s a fast course in England’s capital city so it’s no surprise to see the event popping up in the rankings. Bracegirdle has run for Great Britain over 50k at the World Championships last year.

Andrew Milligan led home a bunch of fast finishers at Belfast Victoria parkrun, which could lay claim to the fastest course in the world, and ran 14:31 to take the top spot by just seven seconds, so it’s close at the top in both sets of rankings this week and also, potentially, a Saturday performance unseating a Christmas Day performance in both.

The best of the rest

At Seaton parkrun it was Innes Fitzgerald who was second fastest of the week with 16:25, ahead of Alex Eykelbosch in third, who ran 16:39 at Rickmansworth parkrun. They were part of eight runners under 17 minutes and it took 17:01 to make it into the top 10 ladies this week!

Jake Smith continues to go from strength to strength with a course record at Salisbury parkrun with 14:38, followed home by second place at Belfast Victoria Danny Mooney, who ran 14:49 (and was being closely chased by Christopher Fielding in 14:52)

The fastest course

Both Belfast Victoria and Battersea feature three times, but on a count back it goes to the Northern Irish event as they had 1st, 3rd and 4th, compared to 1st, 6th and 7th.

Women’s Rankings

Men’s Rankings

The post 10 fastest UK parkrun times on 28th December (2024) appeared first on Fast Running.

Our weekly parkrun top ten is now sponsored by the Coggiola Endurance Centre, a residential coaching and performance facility in the Italian Alps. Follow on Instagram for more updates in the new future. 

At Long Eaton parkrun it was Poole AC’s Melissa Courtney-Bryant who was miles ahead of the rest with an excellent 15:52 parkrun for the British international distance runner. It’s not actually a PB for the 3:58.01 1500m runner as she has run 15:31 at Poole parkrun back in 2022.

Which leads us nicely to the men’s rankings, which are dominated by results from that very same event. Rowan Miell-Ingram led home six runners under 15 minutes, with his time of 14:38 being the quickest of the bunch for the Radley AC athlete who will have Christmas dinner bragging rights over Quinn Miell-Ingram, who ran 14:40 (unless there’s a rematch on Wednesday and it goes the other way).

A Miell-Ingram sandwich for Rabjohns

Another two seconds behind Rowan and a hair in front of Quinn was Poole AC’s William Rabjohns, also in 14:40. There was also only another second back to Johnathan Cornish and two more to last week’s fastest finisher Adam Hickey, who wasn’t even aware of the bunch finish as he was in Southend again.

Olivia Tsim continues to improve after becoming a mother at the end of August and 16:36 is her quickest of the year at Cardiff parkrun. Another Poole parkrun performance completed the podium with Emily Parker running 16:43. In addition to this six women were under 17 minutes in total, therefore it was a strong week for fast parkruns.

The fastest event?

No prizes for guessing this week, it was Poole parkrun with seven results in the rankings!

Women’s Rankings

Men’s Rankings

The post 10 fastest UK parkrun times on 21st December (2024) appeared first on Fast Running.