Parkruns at the Barrage

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The weekly ‘parkrun’. Most of you will have heard of them. Some of you will run one occasionally, whereas others are hardy regulars who rarely miss one. (whatever the weather)

So, here’s an introduction for the uninitiated. The parkruns take place nationally. It’s a 5K run starting at 9.00 am on a Saturday. The nearest one to the club is at the Tees Barrage (TS18 2QW). Nearby courses are at Stewart Park and Albert Park in Middlesbrough, Hartlepool, Redcar and Sedgefield. It’s free to enter – you just go to the website, put in a few details, and print out a barcode. Bring the barcode to the parkrun and, after finishing, it’s scanned to give your time and placing. On the parkrun website you’ll find a host of statistics relating to the runs. There are records of each individual run, course news, Male and Female league tables, all-time records, and age graded league tables. The age grading is a sort of handicap system – anything over 50% and you’re heading in the right direction.

Tees Barrage is, not surprisingly, the most popular course with Stockton Striders members. It’s not the easiest course – there are bridges, steps, and various twists and turns. But it’s an interesting, scenic route – albeit a bit windy at times – that runs alongside the River Tees. There’s plenty of parking available, with W/C’s located at the Riverview Café, adjacent to the car park. Refreshments are available at the Café after the run.

At the last count, some 57 striders have completed Barrage runs. Two of the star runners are striders Liz Simpson and David Fender. Liz has completed over 100 parkruns. A regular in the top 3 ladies to finish, Liz has been first lady to finish on 35 occasions, and has a Barrage best time of 22.40. At the time of writing, Liz is currently top of the Barrage ladies league – an excellent achievement. David is nearing 100 parkruns, and has won the overall run 9 times, including a win in 2016. Also a regular top 3 finisher, David has a Barrage best time of 19.08 and is currently 7th in the Barrage mens league. Club coach, Phil Teece, has won at both the Barrage and Stewart Park courses. Phil has recorded a superb time of 17.27 at Albert Park. His Barrage best of 18.13 is the fastest ever time for his age category at the course. This translates to an age grading of 82.53% which ranks him 4th out of over 3,400 runners at the Barrage.

Now, if you were thinking of doing a parkrun but are feeling a bit daunted by the above times – well, don’t be. If your time is a good one, relative to your age and ability, then that’s great. If not, then you’re still out in the fresh air by the river, keeping fit with like-minded, friendly people – not a bad 2nd prize. Whatever your time, be it 20,30,40, or 50 minutes, there’ll always be someone to run (or walk) alongside.

As with the club, the parkrun relies on volunteers to stage an event. Special mention should go to the following striders: Liz Simpson, Angela Cox (ranked 4th in the Barrage ladies league – and a run director), Jeanette Appleton, Viv Murphy, Alison Brahme, Jill Abel, Kirsty Alderthay, Jackie Mccabe, Helen Johnston, Michelle Hedley, Yvonne Smith and Jennie Johnston. All are ranked in the top 150 of the Barrage ladies league and have volunteered at a Barrage run. For the gents: David Fender, David Murphy (run director), Paul Appleton, Dennis Smith, Nigel Radcliffe, Adam Potter and Ian Howse are all ranked in the top 100 in the mens league and have also volunteered at the Barrage. (Apologies if I’ve missed out any other Barrage volunteers)

There are too many other striders to mention individually. Several striders run regularly at the Barrage and record good times (you know who you are). Others run at nearby courses and have volunteered there. At the last count, 15 striders have completed over 50 parkruns, and 15 over 100.

So, there you have it, and if you haven’t done a parkrun before, why not put on your club colours and give it a go? It’s free, and you can pick and choose your runs. It gets you out of bed on a Saturday morning and helps keep you fit. You’ll feel great after the run – it sets you up for the rest of the day.

PJ Feb 2016

**   Hot off the press – 4 parkruns at various times of the year can now count towards the 7 runs required for the Striders club league   **

The Tees Barrage parkrun website is: www.parkrun.org.uk/teesbarrage/

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