The highlight of this week’s running was undoubtedly parkrun, and the place to be was Black Park, where Vince Ellerby, Helen and Andy Cooke, and Gareth Tucker were all celebrating major milestones. It was wonderful to see 38 more club members joining in to share the celebration with them.
Vince was celebrating his incredible 600th parkrun—a milestone that many of us can only dream of reaching. He began his parkrun journey back in 2009 at Black Park, where he finished 9th with a time of 19:01. While Black Park has clearly been his favourite (with 461 runs there), Vince has also completed parkruns at 50 different locations and volunteered 73 times. What an achievement—well done, Vince!
My maths makes that an average of 40 park runs a year!!
I asked Vince what led him to his first parkrun, and he shared this story: “Basically a former club member asked me if I wanted to run a 5k in Slough the following Saturday, I said no it’s only three miles, I can’t be bothered with that sort of distance. He wouldn’t let it go, so in the end I said yes just to shut him up, I went along and did my first one, and a few weeks later I went back for another. After my third, I was hooked. It completely changed me as a runner.
At the time, I didn’t really get the whole ‘social running’ thing. I was all about racing—pushing hard, chasing times. But parkrun opened my eyes to a whole new side of running. It wasn’t just about clocking up the miles or competing; it was about enjoying the experience, being part of a community, and having fun along the way. That’s what keeps me coming back!“
Helen and Andy Cooke were celebrating their 250 parkrun.
Helen’s parkrun journey began in July 2015 at Gadebridge Park, where she crossed the finish line with a time of 34:14. Over the years, her times have steadily improved, with her current PB standing at an impressive 24:37. Helen has run at 26 different parkruns, with her favourite by far being Ricky, followed closely by Cassiobury Park and, of course, Gadebridge Park.
Helen running her 250th Parkrun with Ines
Andy got started a little earlier, completing his first parkrun in May 2015 at the inaugural event at Gadebridge Park. He joined 27 other Gade Valley Harriers, including Vince, Robert Bowler, Phil Mercer, and Angeline, for that memorable first run. Like Helen, Andy’s favourite parkruns are Ricky, followed by Cassiobury Park and Gadebridge Park. His PB, an impressive 19:25 from 2017, shows just how fast he was in his prime. Even in 2024, he continues to run strong, consistently finishing in around 20:20—a fantastic achievement!
Gareth Tucker was celebrating his 200th parkrun
Our fourth runner celebrating a milestone parkrun was Gareth Tucker, who marked an impressive 200th parkrun as well as scoring a course PB. Compared to Vince , Helen and Andy, Gareth is a newcomer, having only started park running in Oct 2015. His first parkrun was at St.Albans were he finished 146th in 25:26. That makes his PB of 17:43 so impressive and he regularly takes home a top 5 finish. His prefered parkrun is Ricky , followed by St. Albans.
Gareth – but sadly not on his 200th Parkrun
But it was not only our milestone runners with something to cheer about at Black Park on Saturday. Tom Evans, Andrew Wells, Kim Morgan and Martha Woollett all chalked up PBs for this course. Michael Linden and Kim Morgan were our first finishers. Well done to all our runners at Black Park.
Black park parkrun runners
Away from Black park Rob Hawkes finished 5th at Harrow Parkrun. Sandra Flynn had a strong run at Ricky, and Anthony Fogden was our only runner at Gadebridge. Louise Nash ran at Cassiobury and Tom Perry tackled the Wendover Woods. Merlin Allan had a trip to Centennial Park, whilst Megan McCreadie Travelled to Carlisle Park. Vicki Crawley and Kitty stayed much closed to home and had great runs at Leavesden Park.
Well done all on another great week of running. I am looking forward to seeing some of you out at Ashridge in the Morning.
But to everyone I wish you a very merry Christmas and festive break with your friends and family.
