Hello and good morning everyone. Happy (not)parkrun day. Less than a week to go now until Christmas. If parkrun was back and all was normal in the world, we would all be so looking forward to next weekend. We would have the Christmas day parkrun and the normal Saturday parkrun the very next day. It would be the same on New Year’s. We could have done 4 parkruns in a little over a week. Alas we can only pretend. I’m struggling people. I must be honest. I am really struggling with the motivation to keep running. I am really missing the normality of life. I hate the word Virtual now. I just want real. I am confident that 2021 will be better. Fingers crossed we might be back in our local parks and even doing some parkrun tourism in the summer. I can’t wait. I am so looking forward to being crammed in the middle of a big crowd at the start of a 10K race and soaking up the pre-race tension and atmosphere. I am so looking forward to being at a first timers briefing at a parkrun and running with Oisin again. I am looking forward to undoing all the hard work at a post parkrun breakfast.
I am on Holidays now. No more work for a couple of weeks. So, I am going to get out and run and walk. I am going to be more active. I am going to purchase a new pair of running shoes later today in time for the New Year of running.
I just want to say a huge thank you to each one of you whom have taken part in our little (not)parkruns each weekend since the start of lock down. I have struggled, and really struggled to stay motivated recently. But without each and every one of you amazing people I would have given up. This forum is populated by the nicest, most caring and most amazing people. You are all fantastic. And I thank you from the bottom of my heart. It has been such a tough year. But we have all kept our heads high and we have been here for one another. 2021 will be better. But once we keep running, shuffling, huffing and jeffing away we all be fine. I wish you all a very Happy Christmas with your family and friends. I hope you all have a very special Christmas and I wish you all a very Happy and Healthy 2021. Thank you again.
Almor will be running his 40th virtual and 27th (not) parkrun today dressed as Santa Claus. If ever I need to know how long we have been in the COVID-19 world for I just look out for Alans post (not)parkrun post, as he has not missed one of them. Congratulations Alan to you and everyone one of you whom have kept this going all through 2020. I have looked forward to my Saturday runs.
For any of you reading this for the first time, a group of us on this Forum run 5K over the weekend and we pretend that we are doing a parkrun. We just run on our own. It’s not the same as the real thing. Not by a long shot. But it is a way to keep ourselves motivated and we can have a bit of fun here by telling everyone how we got on after our run. You don’t even have to run, you can walk, jog and run. It is the taking part that counts. All are welcome.
So, enjoy your run guys. I look forward as I do every week to reading all the post (not)parkrun reports. Happy running and Happy Christmas.
Damien
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Hi Damienair, that’s an encouraging post that helps everyone struggling to know they are not alone I’m off to work so wishing all not parkrun runners this weekend all the best and hopefully join you next weekend
Thank you for keeping this going it’s helped a lot of people
Thank you. Sorry I am only just replying now. We were away for a couple of days catching up with family whilst we can. Looking like we are going back into lockdown straight after Christmas. It was so lovely meeting up with our family.
That’s good you got to see your family, Willows children and grands live in London so we did a mad dash to exchange presents last night and got home just before midnight, they are nurses so tested themselves before we got there 😀Work has been manic but i have 5days off over christmas so plan 5k a day either running or walking
I’m off now for 2 weeks and plan to get out there for loads of walks and runs. Bought a new pair of Brooks GTS shoes today so will break them in on a 5K tomorrow.Happy Christmas,
Thank you Abi. We were away for a couple of days visiting family whilst we still can. It was lovely and I haven’t been on my phone. Sorry I missed the last speed challenge. But I bought a new pair of Brooks GTS Adrenaline today. I’ll be lacing them up for a run tomorrow.
Morning Damien and thanks for such an open and honest post. It’s not easy at the moment and motivation for running is at a premium - but you’ll get there, I know it! And we will be running in ‘real’ races sometime soon (well you might, I’m not yet convinced it’s for me but you never know!) - hang on to that thought! Festive greetings to you and yours - and here’s to continuing the parkrun tourism one day!
Thank you so much. I was at Rugby training with one of my boys yesterday morning and then was away meeting family for the weekend. So I did not get to do my run. However I did buy anew pair of Brooks GTS today. So I’ll be giving them a run in tomorrow.
Once the vaccine has been rolled out we will start parkrun again next year. You and I will earn our 100 run T-shirt and our volunteer T-shirt. You will continue your parkrun challenges and that includes meeting the motley crew in Southsea or Southampton for your compass challenge! It will be so good to get out every Saturday again.
Until then, we will chat on this forum, because that is what is keeping us all going. Don’t forget, we invented virtual parkruns before parkrun came up with (not) parkrun.
Have a wonderful Christmas break and see you in the new year. I’ll post later if I do my 5k in between making mince pies and delivering cards.
Oh mince pies. Yum 😋. Homemade are the best. Thanks Dexy. I will look forward to celebrating our 100th parkrun together. And I’m looking forward to seeing you again with Oisin to grab that South for our Compass Challenge.
Thank YOU Damien for making our Saturday mornings more enjoyable. Without these I’d have struggled too, even though today’s run was absolutely horrid! 😩 I simply didn’t want to go out, but the thought of seeing your post come up and me not logging a time (40:06 - told you how much I didn’t want to run!) was worse.
So out I crawled, feeling very lethargic and uninspired by the wet soggy common. I’m sticking with that route on Saturdays because I’m a creature of habit, but I don’t half long for a flattish 5k paved route nearby. I don’t have one so I need to get a grip! 🙄
Sooo, have a wonderful Christmas everyone. 2021 had better be kind to us. ❤️ 🤞
Very well done Cheeky. I didn’t get to do a run. I brought one of my boys to rugby training yesterday morning and then was away for the weekend visiting family whilst we still can. It was lovely. But I did buy a new pair of Brooks GTS shoes today. So I’ll lace them up and go for a run tomorrow.Happy Christmas.
Thank you. I bought a new pair of Brooks running shoes today. So that will put a pep back into my step. And in January I will be on a serious mission to shed some pounds and get fitter.
I did it. My worst run for a while with several jeffs thrown in. But, as I kept telling myself, just enjoy it and live to run another day. 👍😊Damien, I Hope your run today was a good one. 👍
I did reply to your other email to me Damien, thanks for mentioning me in that very inspiring post.
Yes this morning I ran my 40th virtual parkrun in a time of 40.40, I told you that I almost had a fall on Tuesday going down stairs, I blame it on the facemask I was wearing, I missed a step, however, to avoid a nasty fall I violently put my left foot on one of the stairs/steps and ouch there was a bad spasm up my left leg, I still managed to walk.
I had a short 4K 'run' on Wednesday, 45minutes, so this morning I ran /walked my 40th virtual parkrun, first 3ks in C25K week 1 mode, the last 2ks I felt fit enough to run continuously.
Congratulations Alan on your 40th virtual parkrun - and in a time of 40.40! That's just brilliant!Are you going to post a pic of you in your Santa Claus outfit?
I found that 40.40 time on my 40th virtual parkrun a bit "bibical" just sheer coincidence regarding all the 40's, I hoped my time would be about 44.50 to get a sub 45 minutes 5K, originally with the way my left leg was on Wednesday I would walk all the way on Saturday in around 55 minutes, however, with my leg feeling not so sore today I decided to do it using run 1 of week 1 of C25K, 60 seconds running, 90 seconds of walking, I did that for the first kilometer this morning.For the second and third kilometers it was 60 seconds of running and only 60 seconds of walking as my leg didn't feel too sore, so much so that for the final 2 K's I ran slowly non stop,
I did run again this morning dressed in my Santa Hat and Reindeer Christmas Jumper like I did last Saturday, again Christmas 🎶 music, Carols today from a Spotify play list with one tune with bells sounding like a ice cream van and a version of O Come All ye Faithfull which sounded like it was a 1920's recording, very quaint to say the least.
There was a photo of me in that Santa outfit last week.
The time was sheer coincidence, the auto voice announced that I had ran 5K in a time of 40 minutes and 40 seconds, I was quite glad with my time, especially recently that I couldn't run at all on Tuesday and on Wednesday I managed to "run" 4K in 45 minutes, my average time for a 5K recently has been around the 33/34 time, I just thought 'goodness 40/40/40, 40th virtual parkrun in 40 minutes and 40 seconds, such a coincidence. 😊 🏃🏾
Fantastic and congratulations Al on your run. So glad that you are OK and that your little spill didn’t do any worse damage. Wishing you a quick return to 100%
Thanks Damien, 👍 🏃🏾 🎄🤶Probably my 41st virtual parkrun will be run as my mid week run on Wednesday morning, I usually get a slap up meal on Christmas Day which is Friday, also, it's the only day of the year I drink a little wine, so a run on Saturday morning could be a bit 😂
Happy (not)Parkrun Day Damien. Know that you are not alone! It’s hard enough to keep motivated at this time of year even under normal circumstances! I’ve just about managed to keep going with 5k runs 2 or 3 times a week. The walking breaks have started to creep back in, but I figure that’s ok, as long as I am out there and still moving😊. Oh, and I actually managed a (not)parkrun this morning at the proper time. Warm today, so was just in my Parkrun top, which promoted a couple of “Happy Parkrun Day”s from fellow runners. Hopefully not too long now until we can be back out there reporting on our real Parkruns.
Thank you for voicing what so many of us are and have been feeling throughout the last long 9 months and remember that you have all of us out here rooting for you. If you hadn’t come up with (not) parkrun before Parkrun did, I’m sure loads of us could well have given up, so thank you again. Let’s just hope that, with the reality of a vaccine now here, the so far empty promises of returning to reality will finally become a reality and parkrun, parkrun tourism and proper, non-virtual races will be back. In the meantime, I clocked a slightly hung over 32.55 this morning (celebrating the last Friday before Xmas - seemed reasonable at the time 😂). Enjoy your time off work, go for a run with Oisin and have a very happy Xmas. Keep running x 🏃🏻
Very well done Sandie. I didn’t get to run in the end. But I bought a new pair of running shoes today. So I’ll be lacing them up for a run tomorrow morning.
Hi Damienair and fellow (not) parkrunners.That was a brilliant post Damienair.Sorry that you're struggling at the moment_The break from work will mean you can walk and run in daylight _thats gotta help! Good luck!
Your weekly posts have kept so many of us going , thank you.
I did my 5k this morning 32:04 so a little slower but I put that down to the fact that I discovered redwine gin at the Work Xmas zoom meeting last night_present from the boss so rude not too!!!
Ha ha well done. I was away for the weekend visiting family. I overindulged myself last night. I bought a new pair of Brooks GTS shoes today so I’ll be wearing them tomorrow for a run. After the little hangover has subsided.
Hello Damien and firstly I just want to thank you for your weekly not parkrun post . Its good that we can post together even if we are not actually together. I ran my not parkrun on Monday with a time of 30.02.
So thank you for all you do and enjoy your time off work and I hope you have a lovely time with your family. 👏👏👍👍🎄🎅
Sorry damienair I hadn't read your post earlier as we were literally on our way out of the door when it arrived.
As you say, these forum (not) parkrun posts have been so important to keep us all motivated. I hope you will have a nice holiday, get in lots of runs and be prepared for what we all hope will be a better year ahead.
Thank you for these Saturday morning posts.
You are right about AlMorr - he has been keeping us on track. We have run every non and (not) parkrun but he had been keeping our tally
Well done Sue. I was away at the weekend visiting family. It was lovely. I'm back home now. I did not run myself over the weekend, but I will change that today. I'm going to pop out for a nice easy 5K after lunch.Happy Christmas,
The first three days of any holiday, if you have been working really hard in the lead up, are, in my experience anyway, pants! Migraine, lethargy, anxiety....can't be bothered; horrible feelings. Runs are influenced by stress too. I hope that in a couple of days time your spirits will have lifted, your legs will feel lighter you can relax. The other problem at this time of year is that, if you have been working up to the wire, you can find yourself not having done the Christmas shopping for your nearest and dearest!! One year I had to complete a deal at Christmas and was hundreds of miles from home! Thankfully our daughter texted me and said" just tell me how much and give me an idea"...which I did. When I got home everything was wrapped and there was a photo of the contents of each parcel so I knew what was in each! Saved!, anyway....hope you have a great Christmas Damien. I managed a comeback 9k today, slow and claggy, but my average heart rate was 8bpm lower than like for like pace last week and my breathing felt great. Best continuous 5k in that ? 33:08. Starting to recover a bit of fitness I think 👍Have a great Christmas Damien; look forward to seeing a smile on your face. 🙂
Your daughter sounds like an absolute treasure BC 😍 My son is currently sitting on our sofa desperately trying to finish his shopping and demanding my address book 😂
System swallowed my response!!! Kids living up to stereotypes; I just wish our daughter was back on this side of the Atlantic....but she is doing the work she has always wanted to do, ever since she watched Medicine Man 🙂
Oh Thank you so much Beachcomber. I am happy out. Mentally thankfully I am tip top. I think just due to being bored running on my own and not having anything to train for or aim for I have just totally lost my running mojo. But I purchased a new pair of Brooks yesterday and will take them out for a nice relaxed 5K later today. Thankfully all my Christmas shopping is done too. I don't need to go near any shops, except for the essentials.
Well done on your 9K run. I'll be coming back strong in January.
Glad to hear it Damien. Maybe because I took up running at such a venerable age, I am still like a kid with a new toy. I am happy running on my own( it gives me space to think, and a flat white at the end just tops off a morning run nicely!! 5k for me this morning too.👍
I am really sorry that you have been finding things so tough. But thank you for such a heartfelt and honest post. I am sure it will help many people to know they are not alone in that. This year has certainly been a strange one and has seen all of us struggling in all sorts of ways at points in time. Fingers crossed there is light now at the end of the tunnel and some kind of normality will return next year.
I have never run a real parkrun, or any other kind of real race. I have only known this virtual world since I started to run during lockdown. Doing that, and talking with all the amazing people on these forums has played a huge part in preserving my sanity. If that is the only positive to come out of this horrid situation then I'll take that as a plus.
I've been battling the gremlins myself and haven't run since Tuesday. I almost didn't run this morning either but forced myself up and out.
My (not)parkrun this morning was an interval workout as my final run of roseabi 's December 1km Speed Challenge. I desperately wanted to beat my previous best time from week 2 of the Challenge, which was 5.50.
I managed a time for the 1km sprint of 5.48 😁 A new PB but by just 2 seconds! I was totally exhausted though and spent maybe 30 seconds stopped, bent double, hands on hips trying to catch my breath. Once I'd recovered sufficiently I slow jogged home to a selection of Christmas tunes to reach my 5k in a time of 41.44
Strava also gave me personal records for 1/2 mile and 400 metres so a pretty good run. I'm so glad I made the effort.
Happy running Damien. I wish you and your loved ones a happy and healthy Christmas and New Year. Here's to better things in 2021
Oh wow. Fantastic effort and very well done on your PB time for the 1K speed challenge. Great running. You will love parkrun when it returns. There is a lovely warm atmosphere and a real buzz. You get an official time at the end of each one and you can train to try and improve each week or just run for fun. I am looking forward to its return. It is a lovely positive way to kick off the weekend.Happy Christmas,
Like many of the class of 2020, I've never done a real parkrun. I live on the other side of Manchester to most of my colleagues, so couldn't even do a socially distanced run with any of them.
I know there is at least one other C25Ker in North Manchester, but there's no way we're likely to meet up.
I'm also on holiday until the New Year. But due to existing (and just announced) restrictions I will not be able to spend Christmas with my parents (who retired to NW Wales) for the first time, and my partner is now without both her parents. It's going to be an unusual time for us.
Today I did the speed challenge and a jog home. The overall distance was 5.7 km, and I got a PR of 4'33" for the kilometre.
When I extend my distance again next week, one of my possible routes will take me over the aqueduct at Mills Hill which carries the canal over the River Irk above Chadderton Hall Park.
Excellent running and very well done on your 1K speed challenge. One thing I love doing with parkrun is parkrun tourism. I just pick a different course some weeks and travel there, usually with my 11 year old son. We don't know anyone, but love collecting different courses. A challenge I like to do is a NENDY, Nearest Event Not Done Yet. You will have loads of them to do around Manchester. We got away this weekend to see family as I'm not sure whats going to happen around Christmas. There are further restrictions coming in very soon. Wishing you a very special Christmas with your partner.
Hey Damien! I've just come away from the TV watching BoJo telling us about Christmas and that we can't see our parents as they live too far away, so to see your lovely post put a nice warm feeling back in my sad heart.You (and AlMorr ) have kept us going each and every step of the way each Saturday these past months. Although parkrun set up (not)parkrun's, you started way before they did and to be able to see your post each Saturday has really got us out of bed and into our trainers. A massive thank you from the whole of the Kat family. I still proudly wear my COVID parkrun top with your name on it for each Saturday morning run.
So, for this week's run, we battled against a headwind during this week's (not)parkrun. Katnap was taking it fairly easy as he was going out on a long run with Windoze later, so for once he ran with me all the way. 28:22 this week with my slowest Speed Challenge 1km but then the others were in better conditions.
I hope you and all fellow brilliant HUer's have as wonderful a Christmas as you can possibly have. Stay safe, stay healthy and stay running xxx
Thank you so much TailChaser. Sorry I am only replying now. We took ourselves away for the weekend to see family as there are further restrictions coming sooner than anticipated. It was so nice to meet up and have a few drinks. We will be having a quiet Christmas, but we will make it special for the kids. Very well done on your run and great finish time. I'm going to pop out after lunch today for a run.
Hi Damien - thanks for your thoughtful and inspiring message. I hope you have a good break and manage to fit in lots of runs. We will be here until parkrun starts again!
This morning I couldn't resist wearing my red 50 parkrun t-shirt - it was a perfect day for running, with some winter sun and a gap between the showers. Despite a last minute surge, I broke my run of sub-30 times with 30.01 - but who cares when it was so enjoyable!😀
Great running Jonathan and well done on wearing your 50 T-Shirt. I was away over the weekend, so did not run myself. I did however buy new running shoes, so will break them in with a nice easy 5K after lunch.
Hi Damien thank you for your honest post and hosting this weekly event. Please know that you are not alone. Wales went into a Level 4 lockdown at midnight last night. I felt incredibly low yesterday. I didn’t read any posts and I couldn’t be bothered to run. This year has been pants I have seen my adorable grandchildren and children only twice, I am spending my first Christmas without my family for the first time in my life and the bloody conservatory which was supposed to be finished for Christmas isn’t and the house is a tip. I spent the whole day feeling sorry for myself. You Damien have encouraged me to get out there every Saturday and run, you have encouraged me to keep at it when I got injured for the second time since March. One of the best things to come out of this awful year is that I am fitter than every before. I can run 10k and I can cycle 35k. I have got off the couch in all weathers and moved my lazy bum. You Damien have helped me do that, you and my virtual friends on this forum. Christmas is going to be different this year, I don’t have a Christmas tree or any Christmas decorations but I am going to be running on Christmas Day and I might treat myself to a mince pie and a glass of wine on the beach even if it’s pouring with rain. I wish you a happy Christmas and a better New Year. I did manage to get out there today I ran 5k without any Jeffing in a time of 38.33. Merry Christmas 🎄 Everyone xxxxxxx
Fantastic running as always, well done. Sorry for my delay in replying to you. We took ourselves away for the weekend to visit family as no one knows whats happening for Christmas. Further restrictions are coming. So we had 24 hours of catching up, drinky poo's and fun. We will be having a quiet Christmas now. I bought a new pair of running shoes yesterday and will take them out for a test drive after lunch on a nice gentle 5K. Well done on all your cycling and running in 2020. My fittest year was last year, 2019. I'm going to kick 2021 off with a challenge which I have done for the past 3 years. I'm going to do 5K everyday for the month of January. I will run one day and walk the next. When I have done it in the past it ended with a big 5K event where you got a medal and T-Shirt. This time I will just do it for myself so as to build back up some fitness and burn off the Christmas over indulgence.
Wishing you a very Happy Christmas. It will be very weird and different this year. But I hope you still have a special one.
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week3run1 ✅. 3 x 17 mins with 1 min walks. 
