Bicester parkrun - run report for event 401

By Steve Claridge on 2025-09-27.

This week 294 finishers crossed the line at Bicester, cheered on by our fabulous volunteers. Among them were 8 “Unknowns” – remember, no barcode means no result.

First timers

We welcomed 49 newcomers to Bicester this week. Some were tackling their first ever parkrun, others were visiting from further afield – a warm welcome to all of you, and we hope you’ll be back soon.

Personal Bests

An impressive 32 PBs were recorded. The standout improvers included:

  • Adam Roberts – a massive 4 minutes 35 seconds faster than before
  • Bethany Hayward – slicing off 4 minutes 31 seconds
  • Ronak Karelia – bettering his time by over 3 minutes

Plenty of others also nudged their best down – well done to everyone who rang the PB bell!

Welcome back crew

Seven runners notched up their second Bicester parkrun – proving that the bug has bitten!
Shout-outs to:

  • Charlie Haley
  • Ian Trenholm
  • Charlie Macfarlan
  • Amie Withers
  • Corlan Smith
  • (and a couple more now officially repeat offenders!)

Milestones

A big cheer for those reaching Bicester milestones this week:

  • 10 runs: Charles Darby, Ross Molyneux, Drasti Patel, Luke Barter, Darcie Holloway
  • 15 runs: Emma Whitley, Hamish Scragg, John Orridge, Jenny Brown, Alan Turnbull, Ridhwaan Mukadam

Clubs on show

We had 239 unaffiliated runners, but the club vests stood out too:

  • Alchester RC – 24 runners
  • Malvern Joggers
  • RunBrunchCrew
  • Bicester Tri Club

Age groups

The busiest brackets this week were:

  • SM25–29: 23 runners
  • VM40–44: 22
  • VM50–54: 22
  • SW25–29: 21
  • VM45–49: 21

Fantastic to see so many age groups represented, from juniors to veterans.

Attendance trends

This week’s 294 finishers was down from the bumper 411 at event #400, and a little lower than the steady 316–340 of the preceding weeks. Looking back in history, this September weekend has drawn on average:

  • 116 finishers in 2016
  • 150 in 2017
  • 189 in 2018
  • 253 in 2019
  • 220–250 in recent years

Streak stars

Consistency deserves celebrating! Among those on the start line this week were our streak champions:

  • David Ingram – 44 weeks in a row
  • Jack Depit – 38 weeks
  • Ben Smith – 31 weeks
  • Ian Hunter – 30 weeks
  • Michelle Edwards – 29 weeks

That’s nearly a year of consecutive Saturday mornings – dedication at its finest.

Event #401 once again showed why parkrun works – PB chasers, club runners, families, tail walkers, Unknowns, and newcomers all sharing the same course and encouragement. Thanks again to our volunteers who make it possible. See you all next week! 🎉