A day for Burgess Hill Runners newcomers at Portslade Hedgehoppers race

BHR at Portslade (Courtesy of Jill Chalk-Craigs)

Gary Woolven led the 32 Burgess Hill Runners home in an impressive 9th place overall with a time of 32:46. He was followed by another relative newcomer to the club, Steve Bird who clocked 34:51 and narrowly missed out on maximum points. Leading the ladies home was in-form Fay Roberts, 11th female overall with a superb time of 41:25.

In Oxford, James Collins continued to chip away at his 10k PB at the “Town and Gown 10k” where he recorded a staggering time of 35:29.

On Saturday 9th May, Parkrun was held in Clair Park, Haywards Heath for the 95th time. Since the inaugural event in July 2013, Clair Parkrun has gone from strength to strength, regularly attracting well over 100 participants for this free 5km timed run. The event holds close ties with Burgess Hill Runners and Haywards Heath Harriers, many of whose members are part of the core team.

With the second anniversary now approaching rapidly, the event celebrated a fantastic milestone this week. Waheeda Mujahid, one of the regular junior runners was the 10,000th person to finish the event.

This community event attracts a huge range of abilities, from accomplished club runners to joggers who are looking to improve their fitness. Parkrun guarantees a warm welcome, lots of encouragement and everyone will be clapped over the finish line.

Neil Dawson, who is the Event Director was particularly happy with the event this week:

‘Every Saturday morning at Clair Parkrun is special, but seeing our 10,000th finisher cross the line was fantastic. In addition to this, we set a new record attendance of 157 runners. Parkrun has become a great way to start the weekend for me and many other people in Haywards Heath, Burgess Hill and the surrounding area. It is great to be part of a successful volunteer led community event that is helping people get active.’

Waheeda Mujahid - 10,000th Parkrunner (Courtesy Neil Dawson) w-cc9Z5MyD-yblwRMu1k

Clare Jones and her family are regular runners and volunteers at Clair Parkrun

‘I look forward to our run as a family every week. Our Saturday’s wouldn’t be the same without it. The atmosphere is so friendly and supportive and I like teaching my kids healthy habits by running together which we all really enjoy. Clair Parkrun has a really positive effect on our lives that I wouldn’t want to be without it.’

If you are interested in taking part in Clair Parkrun, just visit http://www.parkrun.org.uk/clair for further information on how to register.