On Saturday 27th February it will have been 50 weeks since we were last able to run an official parkrun in the UK (apart from the Cape Pembroke Lighthouse parkrun in the Falkland Islands - anyone from the Falkland Islands here to make us feel very jealous?).
So RunaroundSue came up with a brilliant idea last Saturday - why don't we wear our 50 shirts on runs on that date to commemorate those 50 missing weeks? Now I know that will be very frustrating for those who's parkruns were cut off in their prime and for those who haven't even been able to make it to a parkrun yet. So for those who haven't yet had the chance, have you got a red running top or something with 50 on it? Perhaps you could use that date to break that sub 30 minute 5k or run for 50 minutes as part of your 10k journey? Or has anyone got any other ideas?
Katnap , Dexy5 , UpTheStanley , cheekychipmunks , damienair , AlMorr and all the other 50 shirt holders on here (I must be missing hundreds?!), what do you think? Let's make an event of it?!
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TailChaser
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We have been running three times a week all the time, except for 2 icy days. I have logged 96, because I forgot sometimes. My best time is always on a Monday, so I want that time logged
I'm in TailChaser, I don't have a 50 T-Shirt but I'll wear my Parkrun T-shirt, I could run it in 50 minutes, I will set my metronome app at a low cadence, say for me 150 beats/cadence/steps a minute, of course, I will get a low age grading but never mind, 50 is 50. I will start the run at 50 seconds past 9.50am on Saturday 27th February.
Hi TailChaser. I have got a 50 shirt and think this will be a great thing to commemorate. I will just need to work out how to find somewhere quiet to run on the Saturday. If it’s a nice day and we are still in lockdown, our seafront and linked running routes are more or less a running no go area due to over crowding.
In general it will not help the reputation of parkrun or the timely return of parkrun if the public perception is that parkrun has restarted prematurely (through people seeing lots of individual runners out on a Saturday in parkrun shirts). I haven’t been joining damienair’s great virtual parkrunning initiative for this reason, although I run a (not) parkrun during the week most weeks.
Please take care folks in where and when you do this so as not to damage parkrun’s reputation, we all care so much about it coming back.
We have done Marple a couple of times and Bramhall once but on Mondays with a friend who did C25K during the first lockdown. We wanted to introduce him to parkrun so that was the best we could manage. We also did Delamere Forest on a Friday when we were camping nearby.
Certainly wouldn't go near one on a Saturday, especially after we heard that there were a group of people effectively doing their own unofficial one on a course we sometimes run (with timers!). They were quite open about it on their own Facebook group, the Run Director was not amused when she found out.
I bet. I think you could get away with ours in the early hours but it’s mostly flooded at the moment so it wouldn’t be going anyway. I bet Marple is pretty muddy/flooded too? I do miss our nice flat park though, our (not) parkrun route has a big hill in the middle that I’d rather not have to do every week.
We have walked along the canal to Marple a few times - last time we were able to buy fish and chips for our lunch in the park!
We haven't been for a few weeks but it was already nice and muddy then.
My Saturday run has a steep downhill for 1km. Geoff resets his watch at the bottom and runs 5k but I just keep running for the 5 or 6km. We both walk back up though.
A couple of years I marshalled for the Marple Runners 10K trail race and plenty of the really good runners walked that part, so I don't feel wimpy about it.
Good point Coddfish. It’s more the idea of commemorating the 50 in your run, whatever time/distance you choose and wherever you decide to do it. You could even just do a workout with your 50 shirt on. But I totally agree with your sentiments and we do need to be very careful 👍
Thanks for supporting my request to be careful. It’s a significant problem here and that’s probably true for anyone else who lives in a popular resort or tourist hotspot.
In normal times a lot of families spend their Saturday in Gunwharf Quays, which is a huge brand outlet centre with lots of restaurants, multiplex cinema and bowling alley. With that closed, the promenade is a magnet for families who have nothing else to do, as well as the usual dog walkers, runners etc. Some of the cafes have stayed open for takeaways and are attracting long queues and groups of people standing around chatting. The local council sends out a weekly email and a couple of times recently has suggested people mask up on the prom if it’s busy. The Daily Mail has been known to include Southsea in its social distancing gallery of shame (admittedly using wide angle shots to make it look worse than it is).
It’s the best running area around here and also dominated by our out and back parkrun route. We had a long period during the spring and summer when the council closed sections of the road to make more space. Other than then, I think I have only run on the seafront twice at weekends during lockdown, both times being a weaving family and dog avoiding nightmare. We’ve also got a hard core set of people who complain to the council about Southsea parkrun, so I can just imagine what would happen if they saw “park runners” on a Saturday morning during lockdown. At one point last year the Event Director said we had been put on “final warning” by the council due to the frequent complaints.
I can run round the somewhat deserted university area on the 28th, it’s mostly what I have been doing during the last year if I have felt it necessary to run on a Saturday or Sunday.
Hope we are through this soon. I would love parkrun to be back, I was closing in on 200 runs when we stopped, I would be within sight of 250 if we had been able to continue.
We’re normally teeming with visitors. We don’t have a big shopping centre but we do have Shakespeare. The only people around now are locals but they all seem to have lockdown puppies to walk! It is a very odd and sad place at the moment. Never thought I’d miss the tourists but I am starting to.
I think most Parkruns have those who will complain at the drop of a hat, I know we do which is why I totally understand what you mean. Ironically our current mayor is a keen runner and parkrunner so I’m sure he’d stick up for us but, of course, he’ll be out of office by the time parkrun returns. When it returns 🙏
The parkrun I mentioned before has at least one regular moaner. She was leading her children or possibly grandchildren in the way of the runners, even though there was plenty of space and complaining loudly about the parkrun. The marshals wisely did not engage with her.
Most people thankfully are happy to cheer us on, the only problem is if you are not a fast runner and they try to ask you about parkrun! I was stopped once when I was tailwalking and picking up cones. The Run Director thought I had got lost! That person came back to run the next week though, so I must have sold it well.
We were getting over 500 people on an out and back course, and I think if you are out in the area just after it starts and the horde of people are running at you, it’s fairly intimidating.
I’ve done the Pwllheli Hafan beach parkrun. That only had about 80 people and hardly anyone other than the parkrunners. It was hard work on sand though, most people went for a dip in the sea afterwards.
Great Idea. I’ll run my usual 5K route which is not in a park or on a parkrun course and I will proudly wear my Red 50 parkrun milestone T-Shirt. Looking forward to it.
Yes my number is beginning to crack. I’ve worn it lots. I should have had a 100 one by now of course. But that and the volunteer shirt will be a target once parkrun returns. 🏃♀️🏃🏽🏃♀️🏃🏽🏃♂️
I was due to get the 100 in October (we were fairly in sync until you got injured I seem to remember) 😢 Looking forward to being able to claim that one 👍 Have you got the Coronavirus apricot?
Great idea, I'll do it too. Don't have a parkurn T shirt of any colour as we don't have Parkrun here in Spain, but I'm sure that I have done 50 (not)parkruns during the year!
I’m in too please! Hopefully I’ll be off the IC by then! It’ll be some time before I qualify for that famous red T-shirt but if weather permits I can wear my purple one!
I’m in! Sadly I don’t have a red t-shirt as I only got to 36 real parkruns. Since then I have done 40 runs that I have tagged as (not) parkruns. I’ll dig out a red running top (think the only one I’ve got is my Virtual Boxing Day Turkey Trot one 😂) and will tootle around my country lanes. Maybe this should be my sub 30 return!?
I didn’t think you were quite there yet Sandie but yes!! A target to go for! There’s a sub 30 5k training plan in the March Runners World and I thought of you but it takes 8 weeks which I thought was far too long for you.
I've never done a park run as I've only been running a few months and there hasn't been any but I always run in a red t shirt and would be happy to remove the running jacket and run the parkrun course in my local park on that day 👍🏻👍🏻
I'm in! I started running last May because I wanted to be able to do Parkruns when they started again(hmmmmm, didn't think I've have to wait this long!) and from then on, I'm totally and utterly addicted to running. never would have thought I'd get excited about getting a new pair of running socks or a head torch or arm sleeves! 🏃♀️🏃♀️🤣🤣
I still haven't managed to crack a sub 30mins 5km as I seem to do better on the 10km, but it gives me something to aim for!!
Fab! 👍👍👍 Oh yes! There’s always something new to go for Hedgehogs, you never seem to run out of challenges and learning curves doing this running stuff. Arm sleeves? Now there’s something I’ve never thought about! I’m with you on the socks though. Leggings are my thing or just anything by Ron Hill!
Good luck with the 30 mins, I bet it will come, especially once you can run with groups of people again, it makes a big difference.
I love my arm sleeves, make a big difference, so I wear less layers but my arms stay warm, whereas before my body was warm but my arms were freezing! 😁🏃♀️
Our ParkRun was cancelled today so ran a not ParkRun in honour of my UK VRB’s running to commemorate 50 missing weeks. No red running gear to wear and I’m now along way off sub 30. However, I did manage 33.30 with a red tomato face for effort ❤️🏃♀️
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