The Brockenhurst parkrun field was led home by Shaftesbury Barnet Harriers’ Joshua Fisher, while New Forest Runners and Lymington Tri Club’s Gemma Russhard led the women

A new face led the 187-strong Brockenhurst parkrun field home, that of Joshua Fisher, on a hot and humid day at the Brockenhurst College course on Saturday.

First-time visitor Fisher, who races in the M20 category and for Shaftesbury Barnet Harriers, sped around in 17:01 on just his 15th parkrun.

Most of Fisher’s other parkruns have been in London, where he set his 16:03 parkrun personal best (PB).

He led second-placed Jordan Mackie (18:26) by almost a minute and a half, with Southampton AC’s Luke O’Brien (18:36) coming home in third.

In contrast, the familiar face of New Forest Runners and Lymington Tri Club’s W40 Gemma Russhard led the women home for the 23rd time with a time of 21:01. It was her 59th Brockenhurst run and her 249th parkrun.

Exeter University AC’s Charlotte Brown (21:22) and Newbury AC’s VW50-54 Rachel Allen (21:40) concluded the female top three.

It was a close finish for the first two boys, with first-time visitor M10 Elliot Parsley setting a new parkrun PB of precisely 20 minutes, just two seconds ahead of M11 Ned Grant.

Another first-time visitor from London was the first girl, and it was only the second parkrun for W15 Ella Fisher.

New Forest Juniors AC’s W55 Catherine Smith topped the age grade score, while M65 Paul Loveridge of New Forest Runners set the highest male score.

A volunteer who deserved special mention was Christchurch Runners’ Chris Potter, who will have volunteered for the 100th time after his next fulfilled role.

Despite the heat, there were an impressive 37 PBs, while M65 Lionel Handy of New Forest Runners ran his season’s best parkrun on his 350th parkrun. Handy has run 225 times at Brockenhurst since 2013.

A small team of 16 volunteers made the 531st event possible. They were Peter Lay, Michael McCabe, Sarah Wilson, Paul Bailey, Charlie Brown, Keith Mitchell, Luisa Holt, Victoria Miller, Vivienne Baxter, Barbara Walton, Christopher Potter, Anny Rice, Eloise Edgar, Serena Bourne, Isaac Mudge, and Mick Anglim.

Results: 1, Joshua Fisher, 17:01; 2, Jordan Mackie, 18:26; 3, Luke O’Brien, 18:36; 4, Thomas Smith, 19:05; 5, Carl Hall, 19:12; 6, Freddie Heather, 19:22; 7, Rowan Bird, 19:23; 8, James Elfer, 19:36; 9, Graeme Zaple, 19:45; 10, Elliot Parsley, 20:00.