Hello Everyone and happy weekend. Today is parkrun day, a free 5K event which takes place every Saturday morning all around the world. It is for everyone, slow, fast, able, disabled, big, small and everyone in between. Oh and don't forget about the super Mum's and Dad's who push their babies in buggies. You can walk, jog, run, run/walk, it's not a race, just a run in the park and loads of us here on Bridge to 10K do it religiously every Saturday morning.
parkrun is back thankfully in most Countries around the World. I am hoping for any Countries still struggling with COVID-19 that it returns to you soon.
Some of us may not be able to do a parkrun at the moment so until parkrun returns fully for everyone some of us will continue to take part on our own in a Virtual parkrun every Saturday morning called a (not)parkrun. Or if you are away on Holidays, prefer to run on your own, or do not have a parkrun close by you a (not)parkrun is perfect, please feel free to join in.
Please post a little run report after your parkrun or (not)parkrun and let everyone know how you got on. The little run report can be done over a post parkrun coffee and treat/cake. (parkrun is all about the after run coffee and cake, and meeting friends old and new).
If you are a new graduate and would like to start, all you have to do is run, walk or jog at a parkrun or a 5K run/jog/walk (not)parkrun anytime today or tomorrow and write a little run report under this post. It's like a little community and it is good fun, sets you up nicely for the weekend. If you want to you can register on the parkrun website and you can log your 5K (not)parkrun. In fact you can log any 5K done during the week as a (not)parkrun.
For anyone whom has not done a real parkrun yet and if it is available to you, give it a try. It is the most wonderful community event. Saturday mornings will never be the same again.
Looking forward to hearing from all of you who ran in real proper parkruns and (not)parkruns. Happy running and have a lovely weekend.
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damienair
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No park run for us today as hubby ditched me for Doris. ( his beloved roadbike)
It was hot so I did a low heart rate run earlier than park run in a leisurely 35:16. I haven’t decided yet whether I’m going to release my running legs in the HU 10k on Monday or keep it easy. I’m doing a HM plan at the moment which is 6 days running so I probably should keep it easy 🤔Rest day tomorrow!
Happy running everyone ❤️🏃♀️🏃🏻♂️
Pic from today’s run. We took the boys there for a swim later. Dolphins, seals and a 🐍😱
We had a zoom chat last week with a friend who lives near Brisbane…all about snakes (don’t like the sound of the Brown!!) spiders, sharks, jelly fish and blue ringed octopus! All from different parts of Australia I guess, but I think that you need to keep your eyes open in some locations ! Tread warily!!🙂
Flossie and I volunteered again this morning. What an amazing day; mild, next to no wind and the light was beautiful. 😍 We lucked out as we were given marshal station 9 - up by the little coffee stall which also happened to have free (and healthy) dog biscuits. We were a pair of happy marshals!
It’s also the station I look forward to seeing when I’m running - at the highest point of the park - not the final hill, but Eastville’s cruel like that! But completing the long climb is psychologically empowering and the runners all looked happy to see me (or more likely my dog!)
It was a good turnout this week - over 460. Next week is Eastville’s fourth birthday but I’m going to miss it as we’ll be away in France. Bad timing Mr Cheeky! 🥺😅
Oisin was just talking again today about the fun he had with Flossie and the other dogs at Eastville parkrun. Looking forward to the next UK trip to get our next compass point on the compass challenge.
That looks beautiful cheeky! The colours are beautiful just now aren’t they! I imagine Flossie-dog wants to volunteer every weeks if there are treats! Enjoy yourselves in France!
Oh wow. carpark marshal Jonathan? That’s one we don’t have. It’s having a gigantic Tesco Extra close by that helps! I’ve bagged marshal position 9 for next time. 😅
Not park run but a run in the park, was great this morning, we three enjoyed ourselves and had a good catch up chat while we ran round the park then round the river and even round the lake, 5k with some walking Happy parkrun to all
Good morning Damien, this morning I ran my 30th parkrun at Drumpellier Parkrun in another sub 31 minute time of 30.58, I thought I was over 31 minutes but I was happy it was just under 31 minutes, a beautiful morning with no clouds in the sky, the Autumn colours in the woods in the park were beautiful with a little mist lying over the loch at the park, perfect for No. 30 for me and everyone else running.
Saturday 4th April 2022 is the day you will run your 100th Parkrun, it will be my 50th parkrun, of course that's a big IF, it is coming on winter, parkruns maybe cancelled due to the weather, we might miss a few, again due to the weather, I am not sure if I will be running on Christmas Day or New Year's Day which are a Saturday
I know, I’ll be adding in a couple of volunteering stints as well. I recon it will be end of April or early May for me. I’ll miss New Year’s Day as will be away. I might be purchasing my 25 Volunteer T-Shirt and 100 T-Shirt at the same time. Plus a 50 T-Shirt for Oisin. With all of that and import duties thanks to Brexit I better start saving.😀
Thanks BB66, guess what?!!, one of the runners before the start asked me and Keith, he is the man who has been taking me in his car to parkruns for the last 12 weeks "are you two not too old for running? " lol, I replied 'no, never too old for anything' he just laughed and wished us luck.
😂 cheeky beggar ! My standard response is “not at all; I only started 3 years ago following a spinal fracture!” It is good to keep surprising ourselves. 👍
He told me that this was his 2nd parkrun and his age was 50, I have just looked up the results and the only man in that age category time was 27.38, which is 3 minutes 20 seconds quicker than I was, to be fair to him he said to me while he passed me "you'r doing well"
Ha ha, he might have realised that there are many +65 age runners who run at various parkruns, yes I am pleased with my time today, I was hoping it wouldn't be more than 32 minutes, so 30.58 for me was fine.
This coming Wednesday I will run the Autumn HU 10K, despite now running 30 official Parkruns I still run a (not) parkrun on a Wednesday, either a 5K or if it's a 10K I submit my 5K split time to my home parkrun website, so far no one has asked me to stop doing that.
Oisin and myself traveled to Dublin this morning to run at Shanganagh parkrun. Great to be doing some parkrun tourism again. It was a beautiful mild calm morning and there was about 130 runners and walkers taking part. Oisin ran in a time of 26:51 and I was 5 mins behind him in a time of 32:23. I had a pretty awful head cold earlier in the week. Got tested as I had some symptoms but thankfully it wasn’t Covid. I was feeling a good bit better yesterday so decided I would try and run it easy. I was running fine holding a 6:04 km pace for the first 2.5K but then I felt exhausted so had to take a couple of short walking breaks. My last kilometre was back down to a 6:05 km pace. Overall happy, the cold has me still a little shattered, and another new parkrun done. We had a post parkrun breakfast in McDonalds. 😀
I know how you felt Damien. My cold has pretty much gone now, but I felt rotten last week and my running was definitely affected. Well done to you and Oisin today! 😀
My usual venue. It was a bright morning with a low sun, but very damp with many fallen leaves.
I paced myself well and did 29'00" exactly (official time). Not a PB for this place, but only 10s short. A good spread of abilities: fastest was 21 minutes and slowest 51 minutes. Unusually the tail walkers followed three minutes later.
One regular was celebrating having run 1000 miles this year. I'm only at 800 miles so far. She was wearing a RED 2019 (Run Every Day January) tee shirt. She said she'd done it the last three years, and that had contributed greatly to her annual mileage total.
Afternoon Damien and all. Bit late as been litter picking with our local group. Sitting in a nice cafe as a treat.First time running since Monday as my ankle has flared up again and it was starting to pull on my calf. My fault as I’d upped the mileage again. I’m going to ease back now so I don’t ruin myself for the Parkruns and Winter Series.
Quite pleased with how today’s run went as I got double jabbed on Wednesday. Last jab took me three weeks to get back to full lung capacity but this seems to be better. Maybe because I spent Thursday afternoon/ evening knocked out on the sofa.
27:30 was what I recorded and 27:30 was what it was officially. And I was in a new pair of Ghost 14s which I’m pleased to say fit better than I expected. Reviews said they came up narrow but they were fine on my slightly wider than normal feet.
Next week I’m helping out with RDing again before the next Winter Series run. Fingers crossed as I’ll be without Katnap as co RD this time.
My achilles gave me a bit of grief this morning TC ……just when you think you have sorted it out it drops in to say hello again. Complicated things ankles….I did a hill run midweek, so maybe that is a factor ……hope yours is sorted out soon!🙂
Thanks BC. Sorry to hear you’re still having ‘fun’ with yours as well. Yes, they seem to like biting back again don’t they? Thankfully my physio seems to be kicking in and my left leg is getting stronger, hopefully a bit of balance will help 🤞 Hope yours is better soon too.
If it keeps reappearing I will head back to my physio. These niggles can go on for a while. They don’t stop me running but they do limit pace and distance.
Today was my second ever parkrun today and I've had a positive experience. My brother lives close to the park and it's nice as we have been running together. Although we were near the back, and a bit slower than last time, doing it was all I was aiming for so that still counts as a win. Plus I'm actually faster than when running by myself even though the route is pretty hilly. I guess the company and the crowds gives me a boost. It's probably not doing my brother's average time a lot of good, but he did get a coffee and bacon sandwich out of it.
Well done on your parkrun and it’s a lovely way to spend a morning with family. As the weeks go by and as you become fitter you will find yourself moving up through the field of runners. It’s great starting at the back because that’s where all the nicest runners hang out.
Hello Damienair and fellow runners. As it’s the day before Remembrance Sunday, Oldgirlruns and I wore our Poppy Run T-shirts for parkrun today but forgot to take a photo, so here is one of the statue outside the old Royal Marines Museum. It was cloudy and no wind but that cold i had a few weeks ago is still effecting my breathing when I go fast. So I did my new usual of running to the half way point and then doing a few short walking spells on the return leg. No PB or fastest run this year today but another run in the bank, and my 85th parkrun - that black 100 T-shirt is winking at me now.
UpTheStanley was off for an early hockey match so we dashed straight in for breakfast with Mr Coddfish and were joined later by Oldgirlruns and Coddfish.
Then I was off to the doctor’s surgery for my flu jab . The nurse remembered that I was the patient who got taken off high blood pressure tablets as a result of doing C25k and parkrun.
Nice run Dexy. Those colds have a lot to answer for don’t they? Hope the flu jab doesn’t affect you - we had ours a few weeks ago and to be honest we had no ill effects at all. 😀
Great running Dexy. Yes your so close now, 15 parkruns away from that 100 T-Shirt. I ran my 80th parkrun this morning, so just 20 for me. Enjoy your lazy afternoon.
We had a few poppy shirts at Stratford today. I was remembering how you and UTS were there for eldest kitten playing The Last Post a few years back. Youngest kitten is booked to play in one of the nearby villages tomorrow.
Yes we we were chatting yesterday about our great trip to Stratford on remembrance weekend, and how frosty it was for parkrun. It’s so mild down here this weekend . Good luck to kitten this morning.
A not park run for me this morning (again) …inevitable if I can’t get myself out there until after 1pm! My lungs are still a bit congested from my cold and the air temperature was down too…..end of excuses! The trail is still a bit soft underfoot and is covered in leaves in many places. Looks lovely, but not ideal for running at any pace. 14 seconds quicker than last week….so going in the right direction at least. Where are those 28 minute times??🙂
Hey, 14 seconds is a good improvement BC! But yes I agree, running on soft surfaces is mighty hard work. Your 28 minute times will come back. Mine have never been close …. 🙄
Hi Damien! Another parkrun walk for me today as I recover from my grumbly hip. A good time of 56:50 with a finish time of 350 out 353 (including Tailwalkers 🤣!). And a little better than last weeks 57:11 - neither of which are much faster than my running time 😳! But it was mild and dry, if a little overcast, and it provided a lovely opportunity for a catch up with Coddfish as she recovers from her hip surgery. And did I mention breakfast afterwards with Coddfish and Mr C, Dexy5 and @Up The Stanley?
I did my first PR in 6 weeks, coming back from injury and illness. Officially just over 45 minutes but my Garmin said under 45 (there was a long queue at the start). I am pleased with that time, all things considered. It is great to be running PR again.
Today was my second ever (not)Parkrun and my first this year 😃 so I am thrilled with a new 5k PB 😆. Today was also a tourist run while visiting my in-laws in Scotland 🏴.
Hello, Park run virginity taken today with my very first one completed at Lincoln!
Feeling dead chuffed, because the reason I started couch to 5k and running, was the running on my own and no social interaction so it was a big deal and took conquering a fear and social anxiety! I wasn’t worried about distance as I’ve been moving up distance and can do almost 12k now (working up to 10 miles and then half marathon), but the situation made me nervous.
Perfect day for a run, cool but not cold and the sun peeping through. And my time was under 35 (34.24) and I reckon I’ve got another 1min easily as i was very cautious at start and started myself near the back!
I normally work Saturdays but I have a few off so looking forward to doing more whenever I can! And felt so good and set for the day after it!
Ah huge congratulations to you on your first parkrun. Very well done. It is a bit weird doing it for the first time. You don’t know what to expect. I was the same when I did it first. But 80 parkruns later and 20 volunteering days at parkrun I am absolutely hooked and love doing a parkrun. It’s a lovely way to kick off the weekend. Well done and lovely happy proud post parkrun photo.
Very well done on your first parkrun! I was the very anxious at my first one and still don't sleep at all well the night before each one and I bet most of the others are probably like that as well.
Well done Megan! Welcome to parkrun! It’s a brilliant way of easing social anxiety as you’re all in the same boat. You run separately but together. After 3.5 years I still have mine every week but it constantly amazes me how I feel part of the community despite the anxiety. You’ll grow to love it I’m sure 😍
It was definitely jumping up and down in muddy puddles today - Peppa would have loved it! We celebrated the 300th parkrun of our run director who set up the Portsmouth Lakeside parkrun- fantastic achievement!
I was volunteering as car park marshal and misjudged the temperature - shorts and t-shirt would have been fine if I'd been running straight away, but were a bit chilly for directing traffic for half an hour. However once I got running I was fine - despite the mud I managed to further improve my best time this year at 29.21, another step towards sub-29.
Just watched Michael McEntyres Big Wheel. The winning question was Peppa Pig based. Well done for Volunteering and running, great finish time. Congratulations 👏
Husband and I did our local Parkrun today, I think he's got the running bug. We ran together for the first lap but on the second I overtook him on a downhill section then he overtook me. Well, he's younger and taller than me. He decided to run at his own pace ahead of me for the final km and finished just under a minute in front of me.It's not a race, is it? (BUT my age grading was better than his 😜😂😂😂)
Bit late replying again, our 11 year old grand daughter turned up for a random visit this afternoon and the day / evening was gone haha.
As usual I tried to keep pace with someone in front that I recognised from previous runs. He seems to make it so easy and looks like he is running slow and easy. He runs with the arms down and I tried that for a bit. I was thinking that people behind me was thinking I was a bit like Mr. Bean doing his copying routine ha-ha.
I managed to keep up for about a third but then began to suffer from the hill second time around and and took a 10 second walking break and set off again up the hill. I then took another walking break about a km from the start and was passed by about 5 people which was a bit of a shock.
Heart rate was steady today and peaked at about 153 and dropped down to mid 130s after the 2 stops which is quite interesting. Saying all that I finished a pb of 24:46.
Oh and looked up the person I am trying to learn from and I found out that he has done over 100 park runs, has over 2 decades of running experience and has won several all Irelands
Oh my god. I’m in shock. I was reading along, 2 walking breaks, nothing wrong with that I thought. Did that myself today. Than got to PB of 24:46. That is really amazing, well done. Great running.
Hello Damien and fellow park runners. It’s been a long time since I did a PR. hope to be back out again as done as I’m given the green light by the physio. In the meantime I’m enjoying reading about all your achievements. Well done 👍
Yesterday was my 6th Parkrun and 2nd at Gorleston. I thought the minute silence at the start for Remembrance Day was a lovely touch. I got a bit carried away with the crowd at the beginning and went off too fast. This meant I recorded my fastest 1km and 1mile times but my 5k time suffered. I had to walk for about 600m in the final 1km but I made myself run again for the last 500m. I’m going to give volunteering a whirl next week.
Very well done on your parkrun. It is a great way to learn about pace, stamina and endurance for 5K. It’s very easy to get pulled along by the crowd too early. Enjoy volunteering next week, it’s a great way to get to know your fellow parkrunners.
Hi Damien,
I am afraid my wheels fell off. A night of anxiety and stress resulted in me deciding at 3am that my scheduled run was not going to happen.
In order to cheer myself from my disappointment in myself I then compounded the issue by having a huge fry up in a nearby cafe looking at the results from nearby parkruns.
The worst feeling I think is disappointment in oneself for not taking part. Arghhhhh!
Hi, since doing my first actual Parkrun when they came back in July, rather than the last year's virtual ones, Im totally loving them. The only thing I'd say, is that because I hadn't had one before, I thought they were nice gentle weekly runs, but blimey, its like doing a 5km race every Sat, and I always myself that I'll just enjoy the run whatever, and the minute the timekeeper counts down to the start, the inner competitor in me kicks off and Im running as if my life depends on it!!
Having said that, I love them, people are so friendly, and the banter is great. I did a 26 mins 29seconds a few weeks ago but then since then I can't get under 27 mins, which is really frustrating, so I'm thinking I maybe need to go back to the podcasts and do so the stamina and speed ones as well as some fartlek training with coach Bennet.
Well done that’s great running. I’m a long way off my PB times now but plan to work towards them again early in the new year. I managed to go from 39 minutes down to 25:36. When I did that it took me about 9 months of solid training. The key is to mix up your running. Try running a nice easy 10K once per week, and try a couple of faster interval training sessions during the week. And go for a PB only every 3-4 weeks. For the other weeks at parkrun just go out and enjoy them. But your already doing great and I’m sure some speed training will have you breaking PB’s again.
I did a different park run at the weekend, much smaller with only 67 runners, but all very friendly. I went off way too fast in the first 1k, 6.08, so was knackered for the next 4km 😱 My official time was still my second best at 33.16, so I was pleased with that, but really need to learn how to pace myself!
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