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. 

Chelsea Baker sits at the top of this weekend’s rankings, following a 17:12 outing at Isabel Trail parkrun. It is the Bristol & West athlete’s fastest parkrun of the year, after two outings at different courses last month. Her fastest time came in 2023 (16:35) at Pegwell Bay, and she improved to 16:19 for 5k last year. Her year has got off to a good start, with PBs over five and ten miles in January, and undoubtedly it will not be long before her parkrun time is back under seventeen minutes.

Amongst the men this week, it was Edward Buck who set the fastest time. Doddington Hall was the venue, and he completed the course in 14:41. It was a first visit to the venue for Edward, and also a parkrun PB. In fact, it was his first time running sub-15. It is also six seconds faster than his 14:47 5k best, which came at the Podium 5k in Leicester back in 2022. Since then, he has spent some time in the United States at San Francisco University.

Best of the Rest

It was only a matter of time before it happened – sub-15:00 at Battersea Park! Raif Serif was second on the rankings last week with 15:00, and the Belgrave Harrier keeps the same position in the rankings. This time, however, he is three seconds faster. A new course record of 14:57. Twenty seconds behind and a fair way to the east, Callum Bowen-Jones clocked 15:17 to complete the men’s top-three for the weekend.

Running at University Parks, Tara Ferguson sits second in the women’s rankings with 17:21. It is a parkrun best for the Windsor, Slough, Eton & Hounslow runner, and also one second faster than her 5k PB. West End Runners’ Claire Frankland is third after running 17:40 at Stretford. It is always nice to see six different courses in the two top-three times!

Fastest Course

It was an impressive spread this weekend, with seventeen courses featuring in the rankings. Poole, Stretford and Battersea all feature twice. By virtue of a second place on the men’s rankings, Battersea just about takes it – but with Stretford also on the podium, can we call it a draw?