Sunday 4 May 2025 - The Mike Dunne Memorial 10km Run

We were at the athletics track at Wythenshawe Park by soon after 8:30 this morning, for the 10km run in memory of Mike Dunne, a legendary Sale Harrier runner who sadly died of cancer in 2023.

This gave me a great excuse to take it very easy on yesterday's parkrun, on which (pictured below) I spent some time around and behind Owen and Graham, before going ahead to finish the 5km in 37:53. I was in position 423 out of 473 participants. Sue was much quicker. Full results are here.

Community Run organiser, Paul, and his team, have put a great deal of effort into organising today's event, the weather for which was perfect. Paul's briefing lasted for a while.

Many of the participants and marshals are regulars at the Sunday morning 2km and 5km community runs, which take place on some of the paths that were used today. However, the 10km route uses more of the park to complete two interlinked circuits on each 5km lap.

Starting very slowly, after a while I encountered runners coming from the other direction on the path that links the two loops. I missed taking photos of the leaders but some of the quicker runners passed from the other direction whilst I was on this section.

Damian Bowman - 184 - position 25

Mike Walsh - 42 - position 23

Ian Dodds - 122 - position 28

Paul Lockett - 61 - position 34

Tommy Bancroft - 93 - position 41

Tristan Pocock - 132 - position 40

The course was very well marshalled by a large team of volunteers - far more than those needed for the usual two lap 5km course - hence this course is not practicable as a regular route due to the need for so many marshals. Bottom Bridge, pictured below, is handled in unfamiliar directions and marks the start of the short section where I was meeting faster runners who had completed the far loop twice.

David Pearson - 125 - position 17

Mike Walsh - again

I'm catching up with folk now, my second 5km being three minutes quicker than my first 5km.

Tristan, one of the Wythenshawe parkrun run directors, again

Frank Cordingley flew past in the opposite direction. He finished a little ahead of Sue, who must have gone through here just after I had left this 'sociable' section.

After passing a dozen or so folk, I encouraged Iain Weatherall to stay with me and we ran together for the last 2km at a respectable 6 minute kilometre pace.

I finished in 1:02:54 in position 129 out of the 168 participants. 
Sue finished in 49:59 in position 56, first in her age group.

Full results should be here, and ours are below the picture of Sue running.

One day I'll work out how to take a decent selfie!

Nice wooden medals. All in all an excellent event. I do hope it will continue, hopefully with greater numbers. It's a cheap event to enter, so I suspect it's a marketing challenge regarding numbers.

Anyway, congratulations to Paul and his huge team of volunteers for organising a great event in memory of a running legend.