Runners out in force for Easter weekend Portsmouth Lakeside, Southsea, Great Salterns, Havant, Lee-on-the-Solent and Fareham parkrun events

Keen runners from across the area and beyond headed to parkrun courses within Portsmouth and just outside the city as part of their Easter weekend celebrations.

By Lewis Mason

Published 19th Apr 2022, 18:07 BST

At the Portsmouth Lakeside 5k event, there were 169 finishers with a mixture of ages and abilities making it around the distance.

Peter Newman headed up the list of finishers to complete the course in a time of 18mins 17secs.

Denmead Striders' Samantha Morris went around in a Portsmouth Lakeside personal best time for herself as she was the first female (21:30).

Entrants came out in their numbers for the Southsea parkrun Easter Saturday event. In total there were 458 finishers in the latest 5k, with Southampton AC's Max Costley making it around the seafront distance in 15:56.

Meanwhile, in the third of the Portsmouth parkrun events there were 146 runners who made it home at the Great Salterns course, making a total of 773 finishers at courses within the city over the Easter weekend.

Teenager Tommy Blake, of Loughborough Triathlon, was first of the 382 runners who completed the Lee-on-the-Solent seafront course in a time of 17:07. Stubbington Green Runners' Lucy May headed up the female finishers (20:57).

Fareham parkrun saw a sizeable Easter weekend event contingent of 228 complete the Cams Hall Estate 5k distance.

Thomas Wallace was the first to make it back (18:13) while the opening female finisher was Isabelle Heal (21:25).

The Havant parkrun also had in excess of 200 finishers (220) with Stubbington Green Runners' Lewis Banner heading up those who made it home (17:47).

Newquay Road Runners' Megan Davis visited the Staunton Country Park course for just the second time and was first female around the 5k distance (18:39).