Innes Fitzgerald and Seyd Taha Ghafari ran the fastest parkrun times in the UK this weekend (1st April).
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On a rainy Saturday in Craigavon, Northern Ireland, it was a great reminder of just how brilliant parkrun is. A whole bunch of us lined up, clapped for those celebrating landmark runs and then shot off up the first hill. We’re over here for the Anglo-Celtic Plate 100k, which is tomorrow morning around the same loop and, as team coach for England, it was a good chance to see the race route.
So who ran the fastest this weekend, that’s what you really want to know!
Innes Fitzgerald might sound like a familiar name and that’s because she was our first finisher last week too! The U17 continues her stellar 2023 with a 16:07 parkrun PB at Exmouth parkrun. The English National cross country champ is flying!
Seyd Taha Ghafari was the quickest male with an excellent 14:47 at Victoria parkrun, Glasgow. It’s been a cracking year so far for the member of the athlete refuge team with a 14:10 5k PB in Armagh and a strong run at the World Cross Country Championships in Bathurst, Australia for the mixed relay.
The next steps of the podium
With all three fastest females breaking 17 minutes this week it was a quick one. In The End Abbie Donnelly’s 16:31 at Lincoln parkrun was One Step Closer to the top, but just good enough for second this week. She was hardly Crawling, but we imagine the Lincoln Wellington athlete was Waiting for the End after it was clear she wouldn’t be as fast as the 15:54 run in March.
Just ten seconds away, but in the same city as Ghafari, Scott Stirling was second fastest male with 14:57. It’s a parkrun PB but maybe not quite as celebrated as the 13:56 at Armagh International Road Race in February. The last couple of years has seen Stirling come along in leaps and bounds and 2023 seems to be set to follow suit.
Daisy Glover ran 16:45 to hit third this weekend, at Alvaston parkrun, whilst Dan Mapp found his way to victory at Bideford parkrun again with 15:34.
The fastest course
I’m pretty sure it’s Springburn parkrun in Glasgow that is the only event featured twice this week. Let us know if we’ve missed one.
Women’s Rankings
Men’s Rankings