Stragglers (mini) Mob Match · 2026
Old Deer Park parkrun | 13 June 2026 @ 9am
The annual (mini) Mob against our friends and rivals at Stragglers RC has become an anticipated event in our fixture calendar. Part competition, part social gathering, and part excuse to fill a parkrun with club colours, this year's edition delivered all three in abundance.
An impressive 72 Ranelagh runners turned out on Saturday morning to take on 60 Stragglers, with the best 57 scorers from each club counting towards the final result.
As always in Mob Match competition, every runner mattered. The scoring system rewards strength in depth rather than just front-end speed, making the result a true reflection of club participation. From those battling for podium positions to those enjoying a more leisurely parkrun, every place contributed to the final outcome.
That said, Ranelagh's front runners certainly set the tone. Gareth Hopkins led the field home in 17:47, ahead of clubmate David Ready in 18:02, with Ted Mockett following in 18:11. Further support came from Graham Weller, Matthew Hirschler and Sam Davies as Ranelagh claimed five of the top twelve scoring positions.
Ranelagh’s first woman home was Aoife Kilpatrick, in an excellant 20:31, followed by a strong contingent of women and veterans ensuring valuable points throughout the field.
Particularly pleasing was the spread represented in the team. Juniors Oliver Beal, Ben Rushby and Rayka Khatamizadeh lined up alongside club stalwarts including John Ricketts, Gordon Whitson, Sally Bamford and Clive Naish, demonstrating the breadth and inclusivity that has always been at the heart of these events.
Once the calculations were complete, Ranelagh emerged victorious, scoring 2,599 points to Stragglers' 4,024, retaining bragging rights for another year.
Of course, the Mini-Mob has never been solely about the result. The sight of more than 130 runners from the two clubs gathering together before heading for coffee afterwards remains one of the highlights of the year. The friendly rivalry may be real, but so too is the camaraderie between two clubs that share many of the same roads, races and runners.
Congratulations to everyone who took part and helped secure another Mini-Mob victory for Ranelagh. In closing, here’s our club president, Maia Rushby, for her in-person point of view:
I woke up to the sun! It was going to be a good day. Rocked up at Old Deer Park for about 8.45am and there was a sea of yellow shirts, blimey, Stragglers were taking this one seriously.
A few minutes passed and team Ranelagh started to peel off their jumpers; it began to even out a bit. Then Stragglers did a team warm-up which looked super-impressive, we managed a photo!
We were welcomed by the Old Deer Park parkrun team - Ranelagh runners were spread out and our cheers were drowned out by Stragglers. Oh dear, this had an ominous feel about it.
Then we started; I was chasing a sea of feet, the Stragglers crest on their backs! It was a lovely run in the sun, the leaves were rustling, there was a football tournament offering a backdrop of music and play.
Despite the three laps, we were distracted trying to catch Stragglers, one by one. Ted confirmed at the end ‘if we were scoring first five we’d be fine’.
And the winner – RANELAGH! Final thanks to our runners - it was all about the numbers.
It really was the most fantastic mob. Well attended by both teams, great camaraderie at the end over cakes and coffee. Thanks to the Old Deer Park parkrun team, Stragglers for coming to Richmond, Hadi for sweet treats, and most importantly a big shout out to James Ritche for doing the scoring.
