Are no two parkruns the same?

[Ian5K]

I got my “credit card” parkrunner’s barcode through this week. I must truly be hooked!

For the second week running (he he) my local parkrun was suspended due to an exhibition in celebration of the infernal combustion engine - old motorbikes and cars, I believe.

So I headed further afield to the neighbouring town and tried my luck there. Boy, it was different. For starters, I didn’t see a single runner warm up - I was the odd bloke throwing funny shapes, and what’s that all about? they all thought.

Secondly, there were dogs on leads running, and runners pushing babies in buggies, as big as handcarts they were (the buggies, not the runners). So, keeping too far back (again) at the start, I was blocked by a great big buggy and a man of about 90 shuffling along beside it (but good for him!). I don’t know whether they were a pair but I couldn’t get past in any polite way until the course opened out.

Then there was a hill. Three times we had to scale it. A fair number walked it. I thought beforehand the course might be a challenge as I’d looked at the results for last week and the 1st place was around 3 minutes slower than 1st place at my local run. Same 5k distance.

I had that, “why the hell am I doing this?” moment on the first ascent - because you don’t know what else lies in store. Then there followed the inevitable downhill tumble into a kind of wood, then a weird run along an inclined lawn so the right leg was about a foot higher than the left - a new experience in running for me! I wonder what it does to your gait?

At the end a fair few were collapsed doing impressions of road kill, or dead fly, on the ground and I don’t blame them. Again, no one I saw was stretching their muscles as we’re told.

Despite the enormous puff uphill, I was really pleased I did it; it’s a fabulously good gig.

Time: 28:08.

37th/85 runners, 30th/50 males, 2nd (again!) in VM60-64 group (though there were just four of us this time).

Hope all you lovely parkrunners had a great run too! 🙂

[AlMorr Ambassador Graduate10]

Great run for you today Ian5K, a sub 30 minute 5k is always a very good run, nice that you were polite to that 90 years old who was plodding along, the dogs😊😂

[Ian5K Graduate10 in reply to AlMorr]

Thanks, Al. At my local parkrun it specifically says “no dogs”. Not that I’d run with dogs after running with our two labs (in my younger years) and they saw a squirrel and that was me flat on my face! Bruised ribs for months!

[Oldgirlruns Graduate10]

I haven’t done many different parkruns Ian5K but I think part of the fun is that yes, they are all different ! And why are you doing it? Well, because what else would you be doing on a Saturday morning and yes, you’re hooked!

[Ian5K Graduate10 in reply to Oldgirlruns]

I think at 9 o’clock I’d be having a good breakfast! 😆Though that at is the only negative I can think of.

[grumpyoldgirl]

Yes they are absolutely all different. Some are flat and on proper paths, some are hilly and on forestry trails, and everything in between. Have fun discovering them😊