Louis Robinett, of Poole Runners, has set a new world parkrun record and he's not yet old enough to run the 5K event alone! The nine-year-old completed his local Poole parkrun on Saturday 7 October 2023 in 17 minutes and 40 seconds to trim 13 seconds off the previous best Junior under-10 record set in California in October 2017.

Louis was accompanied every step of the way by his clubmate Dion Garner as under parkrun's safeguarding rules children under 11 must run within arms reach of a responsible adult.

Poole is a flat and reliably fast course based in Poole Park, with two loops on the cycle path around the cricket pitch and one circuit of the boating lake before a dash for the finish line at West Field, opposite the crazy golf pitch.

Poole parkrun #573 was typically well-attended with 656 finishers. The first finisher was Poole AC runner Charlie Collins (16:00) with Louis not far behind in tenth place overall.

Louis told local reporters: "I'm on top of the world right now! It's a huge deal to break a world record." He added: "I couldn't have done it without the support of my family and the team at Poole Runners."

Louis' proud dad, Paul Robinett, said: "I'm no expert on running but I support my son wholeheartedly. His progression is all thanks to the dedicated coaching and support from the team at Poole Runners Juniors that Louis has reached this level of achievement."

Louis has run 31 parkruns (24 at Poole) and 27 junior 2K parkruns. His world-beating 17:40 was age-graded by parkrun at 92.55%. Poole's age-graded record is an astonishing 104.62% by W70 course record holder Sarah Roberts (22:00).

While he has mainly concentrated on parkruns, Louis has enjoyed success by winning his age group race in the Wessex Cross Country League and in the Poole Runners Summer Series Mile, where his best is 5:36. 

A Poole Runners spokesperson said: "With his new world record, Louis has raised the bar for young athletes everywhere. This isn't just a win for Louis, it's a new benchmark for youth sports, inspiring children all over the world to aim higher."

For the results visit Poole parkrun here.

Photo courtesy Poole Runners