I went to a new Parkrun with a friend today. On the way I realised we see it in a completely different light. She is a seasoned runner and sees it as a race, where she is trying to catch one of the ladies who runs for England. I see it as an endurance run, I just try to get from beginning to end. She came in the top few with a time near 22 mins. I came in the bottom few with a time just under 35 mins. It was great, she hopped back on to the route next to me and coached me along part of the last lap, then zoomed off to the finish and cheered me in! I’ve never had that much support before ( except virtually, thank you everyone). I first met my running friend when I could hardly walk, so she was super proud of what I’ve achieved. Because I have an invisible illness that is rarely acknowledged it was really encouraging for someone to see how far I’ve come. It was SO lovely. I was a bit slower than my PB but it was such a pretty Parkrun 😊
A new Parkrun after a week of no runs - Bridge to 10K
A new Parkrun after a week of no runs
Well done. The great thing about parkrun is you can treat it as an out and out race if you are so inclined or just race against yourself or just have fun in the fresh air meeting people
It’s such a nice atmosphere and there’s a place for everyone and their personal goals. Very inclusive 👍
I totally agree. I only dream of times like 35 minutes! 
That sounds a great parkrun!! 😁
Well done to you Baddie! How lovely to take part in this park run with your very experienced friend and have such support. I thought the slower ones at parkruns took more like 50 minutes. Someone at my nearest Parkrun had a new PB with a time of 49:46. And yes you have come so very, very far no wonder she was massively impressed with your progress! Your a star! 🌟😊🏃♀️🎉
Thank you. I took over 40 mins for my first Parkrun.
Oops! I should have said you're a star not your! Sorry!
Sounds like me and my partner. We tend to say goodbye at the start these days or I just get irritated by his constant come one ‘push yourself’! He can run his race and I’ll just run mine. He’s going for sub 20 I’m going for sub 30. Neither of us will do it on our hilly trail course, but it’s a target to aim for. Keep going, keep enjoying it and good luck!😊
Parkrun sounds perfect for you then! 5km in 30 mins is just a dream for me. But who knows...one day...
Running hilly courses is said to be a good way of improving your speed on the flat. So maybe when you’ve been doing that course for a while you could treat yourselves to a flat parkrun and hit your respective targets there
Hmm, I'm off to practice on more hills... 😁
Well done Baddie! I'm not brave enough to try a parkrun as I'm a bit slow, and it sounds a bit competitive, which I find difficult. Sounds like you are doing brilliantly - wish I had your attitude. 👏👏👏👏👍😀
Jo, the parkruns I've seen aren't competitive, there will always be elite runners who go off like whippets, but everybody is cheered on, those who finish first will often cheer on those coming in behind, as do the volunteer marshals. The last one I did, there was a group of runners, one considerably slower than the rest. He begged them to go off and get better times. They refused saying "no, we're a team, we finish together". Some people walk it. Some people push their babies round in buggies. Go and have a look one week, maybe volunteer. They are wonderful things. Sorry, that went on a bit! 😳
Thanks for this. I have a friend (a proper runner) who does the parkrun near me every week and keeps asking me to go, so perhaps I should give it a try. 😀👍
I think you'll be pleasantly surprised 😊
👍🏃♀️
I know what you mean but we're all proper runners. There are fast proper runners and there are slow proper runners 😉 I think you'd enjoy it. Yes, give it a go.
Yes - sorry. We are all proper runners. 🏃♀️👍
Definitely accept that invitation but definitely don’t try to keep up with your friend once there! My slowest time as tailwalker is an hour and two minutes - obviously the tailwalker’s pace is determined by other people and in this case there was a 20 minute parkrunner who had broken his ankle a few days before and went round the course on crutches. This was a guy who normally does sub 20 as I say but he wasn’t at all embarrassed to have a 62 minute time on his list.
Depends which end of the field you're at. They aren't competitive at our end. I just move over to let the front runners come through, so they can get what they want from it, then carry on and get what I want from it. Everyone is there on their own journey. It's great that all speeds and standards get to join in together. I would give it a go if I were you. GOG's suggestion is a great one. Volunteering is a good way to make friends. If you do decide to run it there is always a tail walker. If you want to walk it with them you can.
Sounds more inclusive than I realised. Thanks for the encouragement! 😀🏃♀️
Especially if your parkrun is a single lap, you won’t even see the speed merchants after the first few minutes. There are people who race it and there are people who walk it in hiking boots. Most of us in between are not competing with others but only with ourselves.
Glad you think the same Baddie, and that run sounds great. So nice to have your own cheerleader and personal motivator!
It was a real treat!
The fastest on our hilly Parkrun is 16 minutes! That person is not me! In fact he could run it twice waiting for me to come in. You’ll never be last because there’s always a tail walker who takes on that job. Usually at about 50 odd minutes. We have walkers, some with Nordic pole thingies, some without and all ages from under 11 to over 80. Really inclusive, friendly and competitive, or not, it’s up to you. If you get in with the in-crowd there’s often cake! Give it a go, it’s fun!🏃♀️😊
Cake, where? 😋
At our parkrun there’s a custom - expectation is putting it too strongly - that anyone doing a ‘milestone’ run like their 50th or 100th brings sweet treats for the finish line.
Oh, do try! My local park run is far from competitive , well, apart from the first half dozen or so who whizz round. The rest of us chat, look after each other, walk for parts, and are still cheered over the finish line by the volunteers, the local running club and the already finished runners. And PR here seems to be an excuse for birthday cake in the cafe afterwards ( the volunteers even get free coffee) and fancy dress costumes, and a jolly good time. If you don't like the first one you try, there's always another one locally to try. Enjoy!
I'm like you. Just want to get to the end! There are a lot of racers who make up the top 20 or so of our park run, then there are the fast runners, then me and the just want to run to the end runners. Then walkers. The racers are always completely supportive!!
They are! Isn't it nice.
Sounds great Baddie. Yes it's fantastic that parkrun can meet the needs of so many different types of runner and progress of whatever type is encouraged and recognised. Ours was a bit muddy today so I was pleased to be only 17 secs off my PB 😀
Oh well done. 35 minutes is a great time. You must feel amazing x
Actually I felt a bit rough after this run, no idea why. I guess I'm out of practice as it was my only run all week! I'll be off on another run soon though, hoping that it will be a good one and aiming to gradually get fitter and faster. I'm pleased with anything under 35 mins. I wonder if I could reach 30 one day....
Perhaps I should eat less cake, that might make me faster 😁
Life is too short to give up on cakes haha 🧁🧁
What a lovely friend & a great parkrun time! Your post reflects my usual parkrun experience: I'm just impressed I got out of bed & got round the course in 32ish mins, around 120th place (engage smug mode and turn up to 11) whereas my super speedy husband is more competitive & comes in 11th at 22 mins & jogs with me urging me on as I lumber down the last 1/2 km! Of course, I'm grateful to him but it is interesting how differently we view our Saturday Parkruns! Hope your friend will continue to encourage & support you - we all need people like that in our lives! 🙂
Yay for super speedy cheer-us-on-ers!
What a great park run.👍😀
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