Chris Heggs
What day is it? I have absolutely no idea! We are currently in that twilight zone of time between Christmas and new year. The confusion many of us experience around the festive period may explain why the compulsory group photograph taken by the race director, (see below) appears to be half in focus and half blurred, very much like my vision after the Heggs Christmas gatherings. Perhaps it was the request from Scott Blanks to create a soft – focus image via the application of his pre – run Vaseline on the lens of the camera that created the disagreeable outcome? I also find myself wondering just what had caught Yvonne’s eye, it certainly seemed to be amusing her.
The final Challenge of 2024 and the culmination of this year’s proceedings, saw a super 70 of the Totley massive assemble, returning to where it all began in March.
What I appreciate most about the Millhouses parkrun is the out and back nature of the course. This allows Totley runners to greet and encourage one another around the park, no matter what pace you travel. It was fantastic to run with the members of this great club and to be able to acknowledge the running journey of so many wonderful people.
The challenge this year consisted of 9 events, and an unbelievable 150 Totley members took part in at least one get-together. Wow! You are all amazing!
In what seems like a regular pairing, Richard Watts and Paul Grayson were once again drawn in the showcase head-to-head, both producing impressive times and age grade scores. Suggestions that I just like to see them both suffer and so in some way fix the completely random and unbiased draw are beginning to gain traction, despite my continued denials.
With regards to the final standings, the decision to make the pairings mixed has produced a well-balanced top 9, consisting of 4 ladies and 5 men.
Anne Hegarty takes the top billing with an impressive 17 points. Rory Wall, two Chris’ (Day and Heggs) and Yvonne Twelvetree were hot on Anne’s heels, with 2 Liz’s (Carthy and Dally), Mark Goodison and Mick Crookes a further point behind.
My main motivation continues to be to organise a regular focal point for Totley runners to meet and show others in attendance what a great bunch we all are. My favourite ‘not a cup’ prizes presented at the annual club celebration in January will be dedication awards. These will involve those who attended between 9 and 7 runs (but did not finish on the points podium) in a live draw at the awards evening rivalling the complexity of the FIFA world cup.
Finally for this year, I would just like to thank every single one of the participants who have helped to make this social event so successful.
It has been truly remarkable to see so many of you each month, your smiling faces and enthusiasm shone through at every event.
We are still in negotiations as to whether the Totley parkrun Challenge will be renewed for next season, but for now, I wish you all a happy new year and I hope to see you in 2025.