For 2023, the National Virtual Mob Match took place a little later than usual, on 18th February, with a decent turnout at many parkruns around the UK and beyond.
In total there were 230 volunteers, walkers and runners participating for 25 Christian running groups/churches.
A big thank you to parkrun and all of the volunteers who make events up and down the country (and across the world) happen through their dedication and commitment to their local communities.
Where did we run/walk/volunteer?
An incredible 124 different parkrun locations were visited covering Jersey, Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales and England.
By far the furthest away of all venues was Deep Run parkrun across the pond in Richmond, Virginia! Amazingly, the alphabet was close to being covered by the first letter of each venue with only Q, U, X, Y and Z not represented!
I sampled a fairly new parkrun close to home at Stockley Country Park, the first in the London Borough of Hillingdon, a fantastic trail course.
Clubs and churches – who ran?
Wrangthorn Runners – The Salvation Army – Tailenders Running Club – Sutton Christian Centre Runners – St Patrick’s Tigers – Springfield Church Springers – Selsdon Baptist Church Runners – Rising Brook Runners – Refresh Church Runners – Lighthouse Church Runners – KMPC Runners – jOG Norwich – HTH Runners – Holy Trinity Church Wallington – Grace Church Dulwich Runners – Good Shepherd Runners – Emmanuel Runners – Emmanuel Church Chuggers – Croydon Vineyard Church Runners – Christian Vision for Men – Christian Runners UK – Christ Church Purley Runners – Chiltern Church Runners – Cheam Baptist Church Runners – Berry Lane Methodist Church
Once again, some familiar names and some new, 25 in all.
Results
This year, we used a simple scoring system which rewarded participation and there were bonus points for the fastest few young people, women and men. A big well done to Christian Runners UK who fielded by far the greatest number of runners/walkers & volunteers totalling 62 people, which included the fastest woman (Rebecca Sprowell) and man (Ollie Campbell).
| Club | Points | Participants |
| Christian Runners UK | 70 | 59 |
| Tailenders Running Club | 31 | 28 |
| The Salvation Army | 26 | 24 |
| Chiltern Church Runners | 25 | 22 |
| Holy Trinity Church Wallington | 18 | 9 |
| Good Shepherd Runners | 11 | 10 |
| Grace Church Dulwich Runners | 11 | 7 |
| Christ Church Purley Runners | 10 | 10 |
| Christian Vision for Men | 10 | 10 |
| Selsdon Baptist Church Runners | 9 | 9 |
| Emmanuel Runners | 7 | 6 |
| St Patrick’s Tigers | 6 | 4 |
| Emmanuel Church Chuggers | 6 | 3 |
| KMPC Runners | 4 | 4 |
| Rising Brook Runners | 4 | 4 |
| Wrangthorn Runners | 4 | 4 |
| Cheam Baptist Church Runners | 3 | 3 |
| HTH Runners | 3 | 3 |
| Springfield Church Springers | 3 | 3 |
| jOG Norwich | 2 | 2 |
| Lighthouse Church Runners | 2 | 2 |
| Berry Lane Methodist Church | 1 | 1 |
| Croydon Vineyard Church Runners | 1 | 1 |
| Refresh Church Runners | 1 | 1 |
| Sutton Christian Centre Runners | 1 | 1 |
In an effort to give every club a fair chance, we also calculated the average points per person. Congratulations to Holy Trinity Church, Wallington and Emmanuel Church Chuggers, Woodley for finishing joint top of that table, thanks to a sterling set of performances by the Siu family of Cindy, Stephen, Hazel and Zoe (HTCW) and 2nd fastest female finish for Chris Woolnough (ECCW). Fastest young person was Nathaniel Widdows of Grace Church Dulwich Runners.
| Club | Points/Person |
| Holy Trinity Church Wallington | 2.00 |
| Emmanuel Church Chuggers | 2.00 |
| Grace Church Dulwich Runners | 1.57 |
| St Patrick’s Tigers | 1.50 |
| Christian Runners UK | 1.19 |
| Emmanuel Runners | 1.17 |
| Chiltern Church Runners | 1.14 |
| Tailenders Running Club | 1.11 |
| Good Shepherd Runners | 1.10 |
| The Salvation Army | 1.08 |
What’s next?
For those of you based in the south of England, or for anyone who fancies a tourist trip, our next mob match is at Dulwich parkrun on 20th May 2023 – do come and join us if you are able.
Notable mentions…
Cheryl Hudson (Good Shepherd Runners) returned for her first parkrun since breaking her leg back in September last year! We were pleased to learn that Sylvia Symes (St. Patrick’s Tigers) made an impressive return, her first parkrun since lockdown, with the 2nd quickest all-time performance in her age category at Crystal Palace parkrun. Last, but by no means least, Hannah Gordon (Good Shepherd Runners) celebrated a PB in fine style with doughnuts…and why not! 😊
…and finally…
A selection of photos for you all to enjoy…
Thank you on behalf of the Christian Runners UK and every other christian group that took part and shined the light of our Lord Jesus. Keep running , run the race and keep the faith.