The Parkrun – new to the area in 2010 - has proved extremely popular with club members. Events at Coventry and Solihull have made the hitherto unpopular 5km the most frequently attended distance this year (Although the 10km saw more athletes performing). Whether it is the opportunity to tune up the speed over a manageable distance or that it is a free weekly event that makes the event so popular is not entirely clear.

The top three male athletes over 5km – Rich Simkiss, Stuart Hopkins and Phil Gould – would dominate the standings in many of the other distances. Rich ran particularly well to break the sixteen minute barrier. Stand out runner over 5km is arguably Pete Bryan, who enjoyed PB’s over a range of distances in 2010 and was our fourth best male 5km runner in 2010.

Ros Matthews was our clear stand out lady over 5km in 2010, over five minutes clear from the evergreen Pauline Dable and Joan Mason. With only seven ladies taking part in Parkrun, it seems the event has not captured the imagination of our female runners in the same way as it has the men.


WMA/WAVA (Parkrun grading system used for the following table)

 The WMA/WAVA tables throw up some interesting results as Mick Williams, who was our sixth fastest runner, jumps to the top of the table when age is taken into consideration. His 81.14% score was the second highest score across all the distances and he is one of only a handful of athletes to beat 80% in 2010. Pauline Dable was our highest graded lady with an impressive 78.14% (The highest grade by a woman in 2010) and fifth overall – beating Men’s Team Captain Phil Gould in the process!