Evening all!  It's been too long since we've had to do a run report (I had to check - our last event at Fletcher's Cove was on 7th March), so well overdue an update to let everyone know what's been going on.

Firstly, we must recognize the challenging times that we are experiencing at the moment, as we struggle to recover from the unprecedented effects of COVID-19 and the tragic events surrounding the death of George Floyd; our thoughts are with his family & friends, and hope, like with the aftermath of this devastating health pandemic, it forms the catalyst for positive change in our communities.  At times such as these it is reassuring to remember one of the underlying principles behind parkrun: 'it's for everyone,' and we hope to continue to welcome runners and walkers from all backgrounds, of all ages, regardless of race and color into the welcoming Fletcher's Cove parkrun diverse community.

Although we haven't been able to congregate at Fletcher's Cove these last few Saturdays, Dan Owen has done a sterling job of keeping us connected virtually - his article was featured on the parkrun.us blog and I commend it to you as a great read: Global virtual tourism – telebridging Fletcher’s Cove to the wider world.

Last week we connected by Zoom and heard how many have been doing their own 'socially-distanced' virtual parkruns and stories of others that have recovered from illness, and how they have been coping with isolation; it was also brilliant to see some familiar faces and catch up socially over a 'virtual coffee.'  Dan continues to invest in these events, so please do follow us on social media and join us for our next Zoom tomorrow at 1000 if available.

With regards to social media we've had a long hard think on how we can engage better with the Fletcher's community.  Our strategy is still developing, but in order that no one feels alone, feel free to reach out and connect by whatever means suits you best.

New ideas are always welcome, but we have our own Facebook page; Instagram site; and also a group on Strava, so please do come and say hello in whatever forum works; if you're reading this, you're part of the Fletcher's Cove parkrun growing community and we look forward to seeing you all again (virtually & physically) very soon!  Matt

 

 

 

7^th March 2020

It was a beautiful, sunny and a bit cold parkrun last Saturday, celebrating International Women's Day.  Many were dressed in their purple jumpers and we even had purple cookies at the finish line, courtesy of Nancy Edson!  We had 90 people joining in the fun and a special welcome from the Ward 3 Councilmember Mary Cheh, who was instrumental in starting up parkrun at Fletcher’s Cove. Thank you, Mary!!!!

We had an excellent turnout of humans and dogs to enjoy the course either running, walking or jogging.   A big Fletcher’s Cove welcome to the 8 first timers and well done to those who recorded new Personal Bests.

Our first place winner was quite the celebrity, Nina Zarina, who won last year’s San Francisco Marathon and set a new Female parkrun Record at 17:58!!! Congratulations to Nina!  We also had an Olympian amongst the participants. There were 2 milestones – congratulations Roberta Gatti who completed her 50^th parkrun and David Scarnato who completed his 100^th!!!!, we look forward to viewing your congratulatory parkrun t-shirts!

The usual big parkrun thank you to this week’s 14 volunteers who helped to make the event happen and celebrate our 2,000^thvolunteer position at Fletcher’s Cove: Alice Bender, Chris Connor, Dan Owen, Daniel Connor, Kai Oltmanns, Kim Oltmanns, Linda Rahal, Lisa Owen, Maria Garcia, Mariana Rahal, Michael Bender, Nancy Edson, Rob Kempsell and Whitney Ball.

Saturday's full results and a complete event history can be found on the Fletcher's Cove results page.

Thanks for the steady flow of volunteers who sign up to fill gaps on the white board each week and thanks to Michael Bender for the photos this week, the full album is on our Facebook page.

Sara Bailey

Important Update 12 March:

We are writing to inform you that all parkrun events in your home parkrun's country have been suspended with immediate effect due to the ongoing COVID-19 (Coronavirus) situation.  At this stage we have cancelled events up to the end of March.  Please see our newsletters and follow our communications channels for ongoing updates.  Our latest position is published here.

 

29th February 2020

This week 70 people made the most of the chilly extra day in the month to wrap up warmly and run, jog and walk their way along the course. A big Fletcher’s Cove welcome to the 3 first timers and well done to the 9 who recorded new Personal Bests.

 

There was also a flurry of milestones – congratulations Cathie Fagerstrom, Sol Snedeker, Fred Fagerstrom, and Chris Connor who all completed their 50^th parkrun (which one of them got to wear the milestone cape?!) and to Nathan Downie who completed his 10th, we look forward to shiny new t-shirts in the coming weeks. And also congratulations to Jennifer Knittig who was the 12,500^th finisher at Fletcher’s Cove.

The usual big parkrun thank you to this week’s 14 volunteers who helped to make the event happen: Andres Falconer,  Whitney Ball, Chris Mooney, Nancy Edson, Michal Kisikevitz, Kai Oltmanns, Kim Oltmanns,  Matt Churchward, David Silver, Jennifer Knittig, Phoebe Davies,  Peter Paris, Maria Garcia and Sara Bailey.

Saturday's full results and a complete event history can be found on the Fletcher’s Cove parkrun Results Page.

This week we celebrate International Women's Day, at our parkrun on Saturday March 7^th (you are all encouraged to wear purple, and there may be edible treats at the finish) and the event will also see someone carry out the 2,000^th volunteer position at Fletcher’s Cove (we are currently at 1,993) - next week’s volunteers can fight among themselves for the honor. It’s good to see a steady flow of future volunteers signing up on the white board each week. Thank you all.

And in case you’ve missed the announcements in previous run reports and on the Fletcher’s Cove parkrun facebook page, we also have a special event the following week (March 14th) to celebrate St Patrick’s Day, so wash and press your finest green clothing items and prepare yourselves for the possibility of post run Irish Stew. Hopefully I can persuade the twins to bring me along.

Happy parkrunning and see you on the towpath.

Matt P

(Thanks to Whitney Ball for the photos this week, the full album is on the facebook page)

 

 

Last Saturday for our 210th Parkrun at Fletcher's Cove it was still a tad cold, but we were blessed with glorious sunshine which attracted an impressive 75 runners & walkers for this time of year - well done to all of you for getting out of bed on a nippy morning and especially well done to the 12 that recorded a personal best!

We also welcomed 11 first timers, representatives from some other clubs and tourists from as far away as Australia.  A little bit closer to home, Niko popped down from our neighboring College Park Parkrun, setting the pace and coming in first with a time of 18:09.  Nina achieved a PB and was the first female across the line at 22:53; Nina is still in the JW category, so no doubt we'll continue to see a regular series of PBs from her!

It's definitely not all about being the fastest though and globally the average times for a Parkrun 5km continues to drop, recognizing the growing and diverse nature of runners and  walkers of all abilities - long may that continue to be the case!

Although we missed Dan this week, he took time to share an excellent summary of the some of the history and background behind this weekly event at Fletcher's, so please take the time to have a read of his blog.

Rob did a great job as Run Director, making a call to divert to the alternate route due to another event along the Canal, basically running in the opposite direction to normal.  Thanks to the merry band of 13 volunteers that enabled this event to go ahead: well done Andres, Nancy, Scott, Carter, Kai, Kim, Matt, David, Evan, Rob, Phil, Lien and Ed!

Lien took some excellent photos, so if you want to see more like these in the report, check out our Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/fletcherscoveparkrun/

Looking ahead, this Saturday is a Leap Year event, so one to be part of - bring a friend and we'll see you at 0900.  Looking further ahead, wear purple on 7th March to help us celebrate International Women's Day and find something green to support Terry and his friends on 14th March, recognizing St. Patrick's Day and all things Irish!

Please do Fletcher's a favor and make others aware of this report and our Facebook site, in order that we can continue to encourage both new runners & walkers, as well as those that have visited before.  It's a great community and so much more than a 5km run!  Matt

 

Forty-three people ran and walked on this cold, sunny day. There were six first-timers and five PBs -- plus some dogs! Today's results -- and every result ever -- are on the Fletcher’s Cove parkrun Results Page. To get the latest news, information about future events and photos, go to the Fletcher's Cove Parkrun Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/fletcherscoveparkrun/

         

Thank you to the volunteers who made this event happen!: Tita Chico, Matt Churchward, Gabe Edelstein, Nancy Edson, Maria Garcia, Martha Neff, Kai Oltmanns, Dan Own, Linda Rahal, David Silver, Mariana Song, Janelle Wong, and Race Director Steven Schonberger!

Congratulations to everyone who finished on this cold winter morning. The first finishers, Nina and Evan, both run for BCC High School (9th and 10th graders), a few miles down the Capital Crescent Trail. Go Barons!

We were all bundled up. It was freezing. But the cold weather didn’t stop us from running!

- Mariana Song

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March dates to remember: 

On Saturday March 7th we’ll be celebrating International Women’s Day. Wear purple to recognize womens’ achievements, raise awareness against bias, and support gender equality. Ward 3 DC Councilmember Mary Cheh will make remarks.

On Saturday March 14 remember to wear green and try Terry’s Irish Stew!