CONDITIONS were good for the 72nd running of the Harwich Parkrun, although attendance was a little lower than of late.

The first and third finishers came to Harwich for only their second time and both improved their finishing times of 17 minutes and 36 seconds and 19m 17s respectively for Stuart Lumsden and Sebastian Burley.

Sandwiched in the middle was Harwich Runner Graeme Knott, running with Leo in his buggy and crossing the line in 18m 25s.

The first three lady finishers were all members of Harwich Runners.

The first lady finisher and sixth overall was Leo's mum, Kate Hodgkiss, quickly returning to full running form with a time of 21m 2s.

Nicola Flatt completed the run only one second outside of her PB on 25m 9s, with Ann Piercy the next lady home a few seconds slower on 25m 17s.

Two club members achieved personal bests this week.

Nicola Reason finished in 26m 30s and Helen Benham improved on her PB of last week to finish in 27m 17s.

Parkruns are now on every Saturday all over the country.

At Colchester, Peter Fraser Hopewell finished in 23m 10s and Kieran Callaghan 24m 17s.

Richard Flutter returned to his favourite venue, Great Cornard, where he finished sixth in 19m 23s.

Further afield, Vicky McCrea was first in her age category at the Hanley event, finishing in 27m 32s.

At the Essex Veterans' Cross-Country Championships at Writtle, Harwich Runners were represented in three races.

The ladies' veterans' race was open to any ladies over the age of 35 and the Harwich quartet finished in 18th place.

Elspeth Knott finished in 52nd place and was supported by Anne Herbert, Michelle Cooper-Keeble and Anna Anderson.

The male V40 team fielded some strong runners over the approximate five-mile course.

Simon Day was highest-placed of the Harwich contingent in 26th, with newcomer Steve Peck next home in a good 42nd.

The other two scoring runners were Robin Brookes (47th) and Andre Besant (53rd).

Ian Cannons and Matt Doran also ran to help the team finish 10th.

Harwich were also represented in the MV50 category, with Mark Rutter leading the way, having a strong run to finish 32nd.

Dennis Warner continued his good form here and the scoring four were completed by Nick Beales and Jeff Higgon, with Julian Cordwell also adding a good supporting run.

Meanwhile, Rob Reason tackled the Chelmsford 10km and came fourth in a high-quality field.

His time of 34m 23s was his fastest since the corresponding race last year.

This week attention turns to the Harwich cross-country, where the hosts will be looking to push on from their strong third-place showing in the opening fixture.