Race report by Jo:
Yesterday brought round five of our Parkrun Championships, and this time we took on the wonderfully quirky Tawd Valley. I can honestly say it is one of the most bizarre parkruns I have ever done. The whole thing felt like stepping back into my childhood, with Philip Schofield and Gordon the Gopher about to pop out of the BBC broom cupboard to introduce a toy‑town cartoon or postman pat and Jess to drive past!
We set off outside the shopping centre and library, from there we headed into a paved woodland path that twisted and rolled through the trees. The route then popped us out behind a housing estate, where we passed people hanging out their washing. Then it was back into the woods again, over a little bridge, before looping back to the shopping centre.
Twenty one Lostockers turned out and we had some standout performances. Paul Edwards stormed to second place, while Antony Sutton and Andy Kerks showed real grit as they battled it out for seventh and tenth. Luke Baker is flying at the moment, taking another parkrun PB and dipping under twenty three minutes. Rachel Susan Hancock was first Lostock lady home and third lady overall, clearly reaping the rewards of all that Ironman training. Gillian Baker smashed another parkrun PB, and Sheila Garewal topped the championship points with an excellent 70.61 percent age grading, earning the full eighty points.
The next round of the championships takes us to Haigh Hall on 13 June, and if Tawd Valley is anything to go by, we are in for another cracking turnout.
