Ciara Mageean ended 2023 on a high on Saturday morning, by recording a world-best time in the Parkrun at an event in Belfast.
The Parkrun was founded in 2004 and takes place in over 2,000 locations in 22 countries across the world every Saturday morning. The idea behind the event is to have a relaxed environment for a time trial 5km run, welcoming runners of all levels.
Despite the Parkrun not being marketed as a race, there are of course records kept of the best times, and Ciara Mageean smashed the fastest-ever time by a woman at Saturday morning's run at Victoria Park in Belfast.
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Parkrun record caps off a memorable 2023 for Ciara Mageean
Ciara Mageean came home in a time of 15:13 over the 5km run in Belfast this morning, finishing in third place overall.
More importantly, Mageean's time was enough to smash the previous world record for the fastest Parkrun by a woman. Last year, Melissa Courtney-Bryant of England set a time of 15:31 - with Mageean going a full 18 seconds quicker.
It caps off what has been an excellent year for Mageean, where she cemented her place in contention at the very highest level of athletics.
22 August 2023; Ciara Mageean of Ireland, second from left, competes in the women's 1500m final during day four of the World Athletics Championships at the National Athletics Centre in Budapest, Hungary. Photo by Sam Barnes/Sportsfile
The highlight of Mageean's year was her fourth-place finish in the 1500m final at the World Athletics Championships in August. She also broke Irish records in both the 800m and 1500m, and earlier this week was named BBC Northern Ireland Sports Personality of the Year.
Mageean will be right in the mix for medals at next year's Olympics in Paris, and her impressive 5km time at Saturday's parkrun only adds to the excitement for what 2024 will hold for the Irish runner.
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