Battersea Park in Wandsworth, London, is a 200-acre Victorian park with a scenic River Thameside setting, a large lake, formal gardens, and broad boulevards – perfect for Victorian promenaders and modern-day runners.

A busy weekend saw the venue utilised for the Friday Night Under The Lights (FNUL) 5K on Friday 28 November; the Battersea parkrun on Saturday 29 November, and the British Masters 5K Championships on Sunday 30 November.

FNUL 5K is an event for aspiring club runners, with PBs in mind, and seeded races started in waves of no more than 85 athletes to maximise potential for fast times. A certified-accurate, capital D-shaped two-lap course, plus 266m extra at the start, is used, and the flat tarmac route is a dream to race on with only one tight turn to negotiate each lap.

The elite races at FNUL were outstanding, with 10 men finishing under 14 minutes and six women inside 16 minutes! The individual winners on a frantic Friday night were Jack Kavanagh (Holland Sports AC, 13:33.6) and Charlotte Dannatt (Camberley & District AC, 15:36.3).

Saturday morning saw 851 parkrunners in the 48th Battersea parkrun, where the first to finish were Paul Whittaker (PW Performance Coaching) in 14:58 and Nancie Bowley (Reading AC) in 17:05. Paul also topped the age grading with 88.64%. The final finishers were two Battersea first-timers in 1:06:26.

On Sunday, the stage, or rather the Battersea bandstand, was set for the British Masters (BMAF) 5K Championships. A gloriously sunny and crisp winter's morning followed the dank and drizzle of the previous two days. Two races were held, with 360 finishers in 37:58, including your correspondent.

The faster Masters were in the first race for men aged 35-64, with M40 James Copeland (Southern Counties Veterans) on top in 15:04. The second race was for all women over 35 and men aged 65-plus, won by W35 Rebecca Pigott (London Heathside AC, 17:24) and M65 Paul Reddaway (Ware Joggers, 18:27).

Everywhere you looked, there were top-class performances. Among those that caught the eye were W60 Clare Elms (Kent AC, 18:39), winning her category by almost two minutes. M80 winner Peter Giles (Hercules Wimbledon, 24:13) was also impressive, and M85 champion Dave Moorekite (Larkfield AC, 26:31) was nearly five minutes clear in his age group.

As for your writer, M70 Alan Newman (#310 above) ran 23:25 for his best time this year, so it's a big thanks to race organiser Ben Pochee and his team of volunteers who make Battersea Park the place to batter your PB!

Results of FNUL 5K and BMAF 5K Championships can be viewed via the runABC results listing.

Image courtesy of Diane Bradley, Tonbridge AC