Busy Morning On Town Moor

16 JUN2011

Newcastle parkrun continued its reputation as one of the most innovative in the country with a brilliant 74th renewal last Saturday. Organisers successfully fielded five pacers who ran 20, 25, 30 and 35 minutes times plus another requested pace. The team behind the successful free 5K time trial have also said that they will provide an extra pacer to run a specific time at the request of a parkrunner. So whether you're aiming for 17.45 or 27.45, get in touch and they will endeavour to help you run your target.

Saturday's Newcastle event was also notable for the appearance of Ethiopian runner, Tadele Geremew, who ran 2:13 at the 2009 Frankfurt Marathon. Tadele was predictably fastest runner, cruising home in 15:39.

Meanwhile Justina Heslop set a new female course record in a time of 16:18 just two days after winning the 2011 Blaydon Race. Justina lowered her PB by 14 seconds on a blustery day, and just 7 seconds short of the global parkrun course record for a female competitor.

Justina wasn't the only parkrunner achieving a PB as the use of the pacers meant that lots of runners were recording best times including Thomas Tinsley (Claremont Road Runners) who ran 19:28 on his 40th run.

The parkrun programme is set to be joined by another event in the north of England with the arrival of Barrow-in-Furness parkrun. Local organisers have secured the permissions for the park and are now looking for a leader to take on the event director role. If you are able to get involved with Barrow-in-Furness parkrun then please contact Tom - tom@parkrun.com