Weather forecast was crap but never mind skin is waterproof yeah. So having checked that it was on (run director inspection at 8am π) I was going. What to wear was the hardest desicion but I went for shorts, base layer and long sleeve top. Started my strava app on my phone and my stopwatch and off we go. Despite the weather there were still about 300 people lined up at the start. I've set my phone to give me audible live time checks at every 0.5k but for some reason they didn't seem to be accurate. I've done this parkrun now 12 times so I know where the kilometre marks are and strava didn't seem to match the times at the checkpoints I thought? I knew I was going at a fast pace cos I could feel it! I was shocked though when I stopped my watch at the finish in a time of 24.03 and the official parkrun time has just come out as 24.06 which is 50 secs quicker than my previous PB! WOW Wasn't expecting that.
Parkrun #12: Weather forecast was crap but... - Bridge to 10K
Parkrun #12
Congratulations on a PB at this mornings Parkrun, sub 25 minutes, fantastic. π π
Wow! In this weather, too! Great job π
It's raining here now but it was dry this morning but it was very windy
Iβm in Leeds and itβs been awful today. Putting todayβs run off until tomorrow!
Oh wow! That is a very special time for a 5k - you must be feeling pretty chuffed! Well done!ππ
Well done to you!
Well done Dave! Iβm liking your time very much. And in this wind! ππ¨ πββοΈ
Congratulations - excellent time particularly given the wind! I managed to equal my PB (28.26) this morning which was a bit of a surprise too!
Wow π² you really are speedy! Well done ππ»
Well done. Yes Strava uses GPS which people think must be really accurate because itβs electronic but actually the mechanical methods they use for official course measurement are more reliable. Just not so practical to carry round the course with you GOS is usually pretty good to be fair but there are issues that can arise: for example it assumes you have run in a straight line since the last time it saw you, which if itβs sampling every second is a good approximation but if say there is a blind spot where you run round a bend the GPS will assume you went in a straight line not a curve so it will underestimate the distance. And because itβs watching you from a height of over 20,000 miles (!) atmospheric conditions can affect the signal too. I think itβs fair to say atmospheric conditions were out in force yesterday.
Thanks for the insight into how GPS works. Our parkrun course is an out and back one with a big loop at the turn. The error yesterday was it shortened the loop which affected my split times but obviously the official parkrun time is completely accurate and that's what matters
That sounds about right. At least it didnβt have you running across the North Sea as it had me doing earlier in the week. On a route Iβve done many times before, which it normally logs accurately.