Rising Brook Runner Tourists at Cannock Chase Parkrun 03.08.2019

Posted on August 6, 2019 by cannockchaseoffice

Rising Brook Runner Tourists at Cannock Chase Parkrun 03.08.2019 by Mandy

Today is my 19th Parkrun and we are off to Cannock Chase.

I don’t think I will be too fast today, but it never matters about your pace!

You can run or sprint or jog or hop or take your dog for a walk;

It’s a fabulous course for a solo goal or a great place to meet friends and talk.

I toured with Ali and Chelle and with Lynne from Baswich Run4Fun –

Her group’s graduated from couch to 5k and are ready for their first Parkrun

The excitement is building amongst the crowd and we all make our way to the start

The warm up is great with Run4Fun coach Mark who encouraged us all to take part.

It’s a wonderfully warm summer morning for a Parkrun over the Chase

And the beautiful forest surround makes it an extra special place

There are 389 runners today and I am so proud to be one of them

Why not come along next week? – Tourists and locals all welcome.

Well done to all participants including a 100th milestone run for Steve

You, too, could reach some of the milestones just get up and go and believe!

The 33 bundles of joy at Cannock Chase added to the great atmosphere

Especially the man at the bottom of the hill chanting ‘its all downhill from here!!!’

Thanks for all of the support today, I was steady and didn’t go hell for leather –

But that is what Parkrun is about for me – I am in it to #RunTogether.

 

Thank you Cannock Chase. Parkrun caters to runners and walkers (and buggies), young and old and dogs on short leads too. Come along and see what it is all about. It could change your life! What will you be in it for?

And this weeks stats are:

389 people joined us, 56 of which were first timers!

52 new PB’s were recorded

29 different clubs took part

Of course we couldn’t do this without the volunteers. Our 33 hi-viz hero’s this week were:

Paul Brendon SCULLION • Graham WILLIAMS • Geoff FARMER • Zoe BURNS • Keith PARRY • John R HARRISON • Rebecca JACKSON • Darryl COPELAND • Ellen WILLIAMS • Emily PEARCE • Darren MATTOCKS • Allison KELLY • Charles JARMAN • Emma PLUMBE • Thomas LAND • Simon BROMLEY • Gail DOUGHTY • Helen GOFF • Larry GOFF • Donna SEALEY • Keith STONEMAN • Ian PHILLIPS • Marie WARD • Michael JONES • David TIMMINS • Geoff TYLER • Marie WOODWARD • Sue WILLIAMS • Karen PHILLIPS • Karen BULPITT • Amanda MORGAN • Mickey Blu HARRIMAN • Natahsa GILBERT

No records changed this week:

The female record is held by Lizzie BROWNE who recorded a time of 17:26 on 31st December 2016 (event number 7).
The male record is held by Ian KIMPTON who recorded a time of 15:04 on 22nd July 2017 (event number 33).
The Age Grade course record is held by Christine KILKENNY who recorded 92.00% (22:43) on 13th July 2019 (event number 127).

 

Love Mandy x

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The Remarkable Rising Brook Runners Takeover

Event #33 – 20th July 2019 by Mandy

It is the day of the Rising Brook Runners’ parkrun Takeover

I’m up early and excited as if I’d won a lottery rollover!

RB Runners has been running for almost 8 years

And today 26 of us are here to be Isabel Trail volunteers

From Run Director and Setup to Finish Tokens and Marshal

Volunteers make your weekly 5k as smooth and safe as possible.

I am on barcode scanning with lovely Luke and Heather

(Who collected the most??) What a great team we make together.

 

I love watching the flashes of club T’s run, walk and jog past

32 various clubs are here today – it doesn’t matter if slow or fast.

At parkrun you really can be as laid back or as rapid as you like –

Just have to watch out for other trail users and the occasional ‘BIKEEE’!

 

Tourists from all over come to get the sought after ‘I’

From Dudley to Manchester to Portsmouth – they all go smiling by.

Our RBR runner Antony was 12th back over the line

Well done – a new personal best with a fabulous time!

 

I am in awe of all of the PBs – there are 43 today

The perfect weather to get them, not too hot or too cold a day.

As the time is almost over, the weather becomes a bit windy

Just in time to greet the tail-walkers – Mandi, Jane and Wendy!

 

And at the end of it all – there is absolutely nothing

Better than the cakes and Stacey’s homemade choc chip muffin!

It’s been a great morning – better than winning the lotto

Made extra special by club friends and Berta’s beautiful dog – Otto!

Thank you to RBR volunteers and all participants. You are all amazing.

This week 232 people ran, jogged and walked the course, of whom 60 were first timers and 43 recorded new Personal Bests. Representatives of 32 different clubs took part.

The event was made possible by 26 volunteers:

Wendy HERRIOTT • Natalie SMITH • Gemma PHILLIPS • Tim HERRIOTT • Lee EDGINGTON • Paul TURNER • Sandra POWELL • David HEMINGWAY • Lisa HILL • Josephine JONES • Jason KEADY • Chris BEDFORD • Mandi EDWARDS • Jane FLETCHER • Stacey WEST • Anna ROLLO • Nigel HARMER • Heather HIGGS • Roberta HAWKINS • Amanda MORGAN • Lorraine HARDY • Julie BRANDRICK • Jon O’BRIEN • Luke HARMER • Dania SMITH • Chloe TURNER

Today’s full results and a complete event history can be found on the Isabel Trail parkrun Results Page.

The female record is held by Emma GOULD who recorded a time of 17:32 on 9th February 2019 (event number 10).
The male record is held by Jamie ARNOLD who recorded a time of 15:24 on 23rd February 2019 (event number 12).
The Age Grade course record is held by Sue NICHOLLS who recorded 92.98% (25:11) on 12th January 2019 (event number 6).

Isabel Trail parkrun started on 8th December 2018. Since then 3,342 participants have completed 8,432 parkruns covering a total distance of 42,160 km, including 1,936 new Personal Bests. A total of 248 individuals have volunteered 790 times.

 

Love Mandy x

Isabel Trail parkrun – 1st June 2019 Event #26

From a parkrun Volunteer

Photo by Melisa Treesa Godfreyson on Pexels.com

My little ditty about parkrun on June the first;

I arrived feeling sleepy, ‘Why did I volunteer?’, I cursed.

But I was glad that I was out of bed and not in a dream

As I was soon feeling the love from the rest of the team.

I love the hustle and the bustle of all pulling together

And then walking to F spot with Jane, Becky, Lolz and Heather!

The front runners soon ran by and I gave a shriek!

As I wondered what the fastest time would be this week.

The weather was changeable – sunny, rainy and muggy

But 263 people flew by, friends, strangers, adults, children and buggies.

41 different running clubs including RBR took part,

I love their T shirts – milestones, events, charities, and hearts! 

Loads of four legged friends this week – Mitch was a sweetie!

And Zoey from Bristol completed the alphabet chase (woohoo) – her friends just need ‘zee’!

The final walkers and tail walker were greeted at the end with a cheer.

I can’t convey how much I love the buzz of the Isabel Trail atmosphere.

Thank you to RD Hannah and to all participants and volunteers

I’m so glad that I get out of bed! parkrun is an event that I hold dear. 

Huge well done to every single one of you – you are all part of something amazing. Well done to the 16 first timers, I hope it will be the first of many for you. And 67 new PBs – just brilliant! But don’t forget whether you run, jog or walk, it is the taking part that is the best part of parkrun.

The event was made possible by 22 volunteers:

Today’s full results and a complete event history can be found on the Isabel Trail parkrun Results Page.

The female record is held by Emma GOULD who recorded a time of 17:32 on 9th February 2019 (event number 10).
The male record is held by Jamie ARNOLD who recorded a time of 15:24 on 23rd February 2019 (event number 12).
The Age Grade course record is held by Sue NICHOLLS who recorded 92.98% (25:11) on 12th January 2019 (event number 6).

Isabel Trail parkrun started on 8th December 2018. Since then 2,909 participants have completed 6,893 parkruns covering a total distance of 34,465 km, including 1,618 new Personal Bests. A total of 198 individuals have volunteered 621 times.

My take on Run Report for Isabel Trail Parkrun #26 – watch this space for more…

Love Mandy x

A View Of A Marshal…

Isabel Trail parkrun – Event #21 – A View from a Marshal

I marshalled at Isabel Trail Parkrun today,

The volunteers are invaluable for our weekly 5k;

From the Pre-Event Set-Up and the Run Director,

To the Timekeeper, Token Support and the Result Processor. 

I took Sonny Jim with me to be a hi-vis hero.

He has helped me before and can high-five like a pro!

The weather wasn’t great, Storm Hannah is on the way

But everyone’s friendly – the weather didn’t spoil the day.

The support from the other volunteers is amazing, I concur –

What a team! Without them the parkruns just would not occur!

We walked up the trail and marshalled at spot ‘I’

A beautiful pitch by the lake to watch swans and ducks go by…

The first runner past by us after only 9 minutes

(But it doesn’t matter if you walk – just come and be in it!)

He must, surely, be superhuman (or like Lee) to be so fast

He was truly like lightning when he zoomed on past 

We hurrahed and hollered, ‘well done, keep on going’

To be fair, though, there was not a chance of him slowing.

There were high fives aplenty from the Saturday runners

The best outfit we saw was Spiderman – what a stunner 

There were 210 runners and walkers altogether –

This just proves that we are dedicated whatever the weather.

We cheered both locals and tourists – (there were even some from Devon!)

And we know that reaching the finish line is just heaven 

As tail walker Nigel reached us, the weather was getting bitter

But walking back, the cold didn’t stop us from picking up some litter.

As we arrived back, the weekly hustle and bustle was almost done

So we went for a coffee and Sonny Jim had a bun! 

The moral of this tale is to, please come and volunteer; take part.

The youngest marshal, today, was age five and the oldest are young at heart!

 

Thank you to all of the volunteers and runners/walkers – you are all stars. 

Today’s stats: This week 210 people ran, jogged and walked the course, of whom 82 were first timers and 33 recorded new Personal Bests. Representatives of 28 different clubs took part.

My take on Run Report for Isabel Trail Parkrun #21 – watch this space for more…

Love Mandy x

My Delish Go-To Vegetable Curry Recipe…

I am a vegetarian on a diet and struggle with what to make for tea, often.  However, I do love a bit of spice and this curry is so easy to make and delicious and non-fattening so I thought that I would share.  Also, I do, often, make the recipe up as I go along, so I thought that if I share it to here, I would never lose it again!  It is so tasty – please try it and let me know what you think.

So – the ingredients are:

3 tbsp curry powder (I use medium)

1 tbsp cumin

½ tbsp turmeric

Pack of Quorn pieces

2 onions

2 peppers of your choice of colour

100g carrots (3 big ones)

100g green beans – yum

100g courgette

• Tip – you can mix and match the vegetables to your own taste eg swap courgette for cauliflower or whatever you prefer.

400ml of hot vegetable stock

100g fat free yoghurt (mixed until smooth)

Rice

If you want a bit pizzazz – add fresh coriander to the finished product

I think I need to make another one for tea – just writing out the ingredients is making me hungry.

So, basically, mix the curry powder, cumin and turmeric together then put into a dish with the Quorn to marinade whilst preparing the veg.  Chop the veg up into bite-sized pieces.

Stir fry the onions for about 6 minutes.  Add the peppers and carrots then stir fry for another 3 minutes.

Add the Quorn mixture and continue to stir fry.  After 5 minutes, slowly add the stock.  Simmer. After 10 minutes or so add the green beans and courgette.  Serve after another ten minutes (stir in the yoghurt first if you prefer a thicker sauce) and, hey presto! – quick and easy and very tasty vegetable curry.  If you are a non-vegetarian, I will allow you to use chicken or beef or lamb instead.  I am sure that you will enjoy it as much as I enjoy mine…

Enjoy.

Love Mandy x

Julie…

 

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An Ode To A Colleague And Friend

 

My colleague is leaving the court service today –

I expect that she will be cheering – ‘hip hiphooooray’!

She is leaving after thirteen years exactly

So here is a little rhyme packed quite compactly!

Will she miss the street namings or stat decs at sols?

Will she pine for suspending evictions and non-mols?

Surely, she will cry out with joyous elation

When she thinks about all of that court preparation!

I know that she will miss the hundreds of calls

With excuses of sickness and diarrhoea and groins and balls!!

On her last day, she can say, ‘oh don’t worry my dear,

Don’t bother turning up, we can adjourn for a year!’

We’ve been through some changes with more yet to come;

From family to civil to criminal to mention just some

But to relieve the stress and to have no more tension

She’s leaving work early to cash in her pension.

On a personal note I was thinking that I’d miss her so much

But I will never have to miss her because we will be staying closely in touch

Shopping days, cinema nights and plenty of gin

Starting with a curry night – let the celebrations begin…

People will say, ‘ do you remember when Julie……’ , but I do feel clever

Because my lovely ex colleague will be my friend forever.

 

Mandy Morgan

Which Watch?..

 

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I have recently become a very novice runner and I wanted a tracker watch to record my stats and look at my routes and be GPS friendly and be worth the money, oh, and to look ok on my very skinny wrists.  It is an absolute minefield out there!  It actually took me a shorter period of time to make an offer on my first house than to pick a watch.  I do like value for money and I had a few quid ‘spare’ on Amazon to put towards a super new shiny wearable watch with pizzazz.  I did have a tracker which was ok for my stepping needs – a Jawbone Up.  I loved it, very basic but did the job.  However, this year (as I started my beginner running) after the company went bankrupt a year or so ago, the app finally gave up the ghost.  Typical.  The scandal of it all is that Jawbones are still for sale.

Brand…

I set out on my search for a new tracker/watch.  The first thing that I looked at was the brand.  There are so many out there to research.  Apple, Fitbit, Garmin, Huawei, Polar, Samsung, Tom-Tom etc etc.  Aaargh!  I instantly decided against Apple as I had Apple mobile phones then, after changing to Samsung, Apple decided to take money out of my account for the use of itunes which I had never even used.  Once bitten and all that.  I prefer being back with Android.  I finally narrowed it down to either Fitbit or Garmin.  Fitbit looked more stylish for smaller wrists but Garmin seemed to have more to offer for a more reasonable price.

GPS…

I actually picked the Fitbit Charge 2 – I thought, ‘what is there not to love?’  However, to have an accurate GPS recording of any walks/runs, you had to take your phone with you.  For the extra bit of money to pay now, I did not see the point in this.  In the summer, having to carry an inhaler and maybe a car key plus bottle of water, where was I going to put my phone?  This made me rule out all trackers that had connected only GPS.  This also put me in a slightly higher price bracket…

Price…

I am a total bargain hunter, I always have been, and this runs through everything that I buy; clothes, food, shoes, gifts, everything.  So this is also a factor into how long I took pondering over trackers.  Now that I wanted GPS, though, this ruled out too low a price.  I didn’t want to go too high.  I am never going to give up running as I now love it and hate it in equal measures, but what if…

Style…

The final factor is how it would look.  I loved the look of Fitbit Charge 2, it is fairly slim plus there are loads of variety of new straps if I fancied a change.  Oooh lots of colours! More decisions to follow?  However, on further inspection, it transpired that Charge 2 doesn’t have GPS away from a mobile phone – noooooo!  The Fitbit Verso was also good looking but was quite a bit of extra money for no GPS too.  I finally narrowed it down to a toss-up between the Fitbit Ionic and the Garmin Forerunner 35.  There are endless reviews online about both and it took me ages to trawl through the good, the bad and the ugly.  I even went into Argos to try them on – quite big on the wrist but I plumped for the Forerunner.

I ended up buying the Garmin Vivoactive 3 hah!  I am loving it.  To be fair, I expect I would have loved any of them as, despite what this post may reflect, I am quite easily pleased.

Love Mandy x

P.S. Come on England!