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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Must admit I have never done a park run, all my runs are quite solitary affairs just listening to audiobooks, maybe I should try one 😀 . . . good luck to everybody doing a park run today 👍😀🏃♀️🏃♂️
You should definitely try one. It can be whatever you want it to be for you. I just love how inclusive it is. I was at my local parkrun this morning, the volunteer handing out the finish tokens was a regular parkrunner who takes part in a wheel chair, a couple of other parkrunners have special needs, and there were kids from the age of 6 to adults in their 80's and everyone in between. It is just a lovely community event and everyone is equal.
Another advocate for how much fun parkrun is. Go out and give one a try. Hopefully you have one fairly local to you. Register first, so your time will count, and see if you enjoy it. Bet you will. 😀
Good morning Damien, I didn't go to parkrun today because my friend Keith who takes me is unwell, instead I ran, run 3 of week 5 of C25K for my Saturday morning run. On Wednesday I ran my 78th (not) parkrun in a time of 35.30, I always seem to be a little slower running by myself than with other runners at parkrun. I hope you have everything ready for Christmas 🤶 🎄
Well done on your run Al and I hope your friend feels well again soon. Oh we are so badly prepared this year. I'm still holding out, decorations are not down from the attic yet, but I'm sure I'll be bending to pressure later on this afternoon. Waiting on some packages to arrive. Hopefully by next week we will be fine.
Well done Al, isn’t it great we can still record a (not)parkrun? I did one during Storm Barra earlier on in the week, it was a great challenge 👍Hope Keith feels better very soon.
Thanks TailChaser, there have only been 78(not) parkruns, I have ran them all, one a week, however, several runners have ran more than one a week, sometimes 3 or 4, hence for some, well over 100 not parkruns, thanks for wishing Keith a good recovery, next Saturday he has to attend a business meeting in Edinburgh so I will be going by bus to Dunfermline parkrun.
I was almost late for parkrun this morning. I had a sudden "urgency" just before leaving which delayed me by 10 minutes.
The loyal crowd today, only about 50 or so. Good running conditions. Cool and still. A little damp underfoot.
I let the bulk of the pack zoom off ahead whilst I kept a steady pace for most of the first lap, then "made progress" on the hard climb up the S-shaped path to the Rose Garden. The rest of the run was spent gradually working my way up the field.
The tail walkers were preceded by a group pushing a guy in a wheelchair who had lost a leg.
Climbing the S on lap 3, I felt a muscle pull in the middle of my back. No idea why or how that happened. Posture, probably. It didn't affect the running but was very annoying.
There was nothing left in the tank for a sprint finish, though I had a feeling that today was going to be a good time.
I chatted a little afterwards with various folks there until I started getting cold.
The official time pinged up surprisingly quickly whilst I was on my way home. I'd beaten my previous PB on this parkrun of 28'50" by doing 28'07" this week. Now for some bacon butties before my booster jab at midday.
I can empathise! I tried for a sprint finish today and almost tripped over my own feet… well done on a great time and a PB to boot. Hope you don’t suffer after your booster jab, mine knocked me off my feet for 2 days (and my 5G signal isn’t any better despite what Dave on Twitter says!)
My phone doesn't have 5G, but I do now have 3Jabs. Herself was flattened for four days by her second Pfizer, and was very much under the weather from the booster for a couple of days.
Wow that's some jump from your previous PB especially with your mussel pull feeling on the back. Take it easy for the next runs perhaps because you don't want to add to the niggles you recently acquired.
6th Parkrun for me this morning, it wasn’t an easy one for me today- underfoot conditions weren’t brilliant due to leaves and frost- plus I had my Covid booster on Monday which knocked me for six for two days and I’m still not feeling 100% even now.
Under the circumstances I was just glad to get round! 30:02, another PW… hoping that I can reverse the trend next week and at least get back under the 30 minute mark.
Hope everyone who did a Parkrun (or (not)Parkrun!) today had a good one.
Very well done a great finish time especially considering that your not feeling 100% yet. I'm a long long way off sub 30 minute times now. That is my goal for 2022. I ran 10 minutes slower than my PB today.I had my booster jab just over a week ago. Thankfully I felt fine other than a sore arm for a day. Hope your back feeling 100% again soon.
I ran at my local parkrun again this morning. I've slowed down so much, but then again I was late getting to bed last night and relaxed with a few beers which didn't help. My legs felt very heavy. I ran my first kilometer in just over 6 minutes but started to slow up a bit after that. After 2K I had to take the odd walking break. But I did it in the wind and drizzle in a time of 34:33. It was my 50th parkrun at my local park and my 83rd parkrun overall.
3rd time volunteering for me today at Lowestoft Parkrun. I’ve done a couple of runs already this week (6k and 3k) and I’ve got a twingy calf now so I decided running in slippery conditions wasn’t for me today. Had a great time in funnel control and we all wore Xmas hats. Well done for everyone running and volunteering in today’s very cold conditions. I had to have a hot bath to warm up the fingers and toes!
Hi everyone. My running buddy daughter is away at the moment so I treated myself to my old friend, Ashton Court PR. It’s always a corker and I’m relieved to say there was practically no adverse weather to make the hill any harder today. Any type of headwind, and it would be quicker for me to slither up on my belly I’m sure! 😅
So I clocked an ok for me time on my Garmin of 37:53 and an official time of 38:02. Looking at my Strava pace stats, I ticked every box from slow to fast!
Well done to you CC on your run this morning, I didn't go to parkrun today, but ran my 78th not parkrun on Wednesday, next Saturday I intend to go to Dunfermline parkrun wearing my reindeer jumper and a red Santa hat, afterall it's only a week before Christmas 🤶 🎄
Good afternoon Damien & all,Back running this week 😀 The park is a bit of an obstacle course atm as they are doing up the paths. Katnap and I did pre setup so extra post cosies to make all the new wooden posts they’ve just put in more visible. Katnap is still injured but hopefully he’ll be back for the Christmas Day run 🤞🤞🤞
It was cold and damp and I haven’t been running so much, so I’m quite pleased with my 27:36. I had my Christmas shoes on again and I think that’s the fastest they’ve gone 🤶🏻
We have the Victorian Christmas Fair on in town at the moment, so it is very busy. We wanted a post run coffee with Shake-and-run but had trouble finding somewhere. We had to settle with sitting outside but they were very quick serving us. I had a lovely, warm post parkrun porridge to go with my coffee as I’d had no breakfast.
Thanks Dexy. It’s been a couple of weeks now. Slow running with the C25k group seems to have caused the trouble. He’s very fed up as he’s hoping to join me in the next Winter Series run.
No parkrun, A mixture of Teenagers talking "quietly" downstairs til after 3am and still recovering from Thursday. Not a recovery run - let us say I was very dehydrated on Thursday night and "slipped" over - luckily just a slight bruise. Back up to 9K - very slow but still 9K. It is very odd running the last 4K in T-Shirt and joggers while passers-by have got big coats and woolly hats on!!
Hello fellow parkrunners. UpTheStanley was our RD today so it was an early arrival to get all the kit on course and welcome the volunteers and briefing. I gave the first timers brief, and they were mostly tourists who are visiting family or picking up offspring from university. No wind and really mild today.
I set off fairly near the back and managed to overtake one by one those I knew were usually behind me. I caught up with one of my tourists from Bromley, wearing a 250 volunteer shirt, and we chatted together for several kms. Unfortunately chatting, running a good pace and forgetting to breath made me get the stitch so I wished him well in the 4th km and walked a bit. I got there in the end though with a sprint for an overtake just before the line.
33.43 on Garmin and 34.13 parkrun time.
Breakfast with our Event Director and a new Run Director followed whilst doing the results process . Yum yum.
Back to Lakeside parkrun this week thank goodness, after a 2 week break. Unfortunately my cold seems to have got its second wind😠 (I blame the grandchildren!), so I didn't go mad. Just as well since it was decidedly puddly around the lake - we all came back decorated in a nice shade of mud! Still managed 29.58 so pleased with that.
Today was my 12th parkrun (14th including volunteering), and it was meant to be the first one with my son but he chickened out because of the rain and the fact that he had to go to work afterwards and didn’t want to feel wet all day. He would have had enough time to get cleaned up and dried, but it wasn’t to be. He only suggested it last night after I collected him from work and took him to his girlfriend’s house. Ah well there is always another time. The weather was quite bad though and the clouds began to empty just before the countdown. I didn’t think many would go but everyone seemed to come from nowhere and there was a total of 61.
The two out of the last three parkruns were not the best for me as I stopped and walked for them both. Although I did get my last PB (24:46) on the one three runs ago, but that was because I was following someone a good bit quicker than me so the quick 10 second walks worked out well. I followed the same person the week after but stopped to walk 5 times that week and got 25:18. Last week I ran behind a person who consistently completes the run in the 25mins, I didn’t stop this time, but I was running on empty after 2/3rds distance and finished with a time of 25:41 (the man person I followed finished with a time of 25:26). So, I had a thought about it and thought that I run out of fuel at about the same distance for both paces and used complete sound logic and decided to follow the faster runner and try not to walk this time. It actually went quite well as I started concentrate on my breathing and imagine myself letting go and relaxing. I slowed a bit but felt quite good and relaxed. My heart rate also went down from its peak of 159 to 138, which is very good for me especially since my heartrate was touching close to 180 during my early runs and my watch was telling me to slow down. I was tempted to try and pick up speed with 0.5k to go but there is a bit of a hump on the path back and it’s a killer, so I just ran at my slower 5.00 pace (I only just saw that now) and finished in 19th place with a time of 24:52 which was 6 seconds off my PB. Personally, I was over the moon with that time because of what I accomplished with my breathing and heartrate and feel that I have began to set a foundation for future parkruns.
I must end by saying a big thank you to the volunteers this week as it was soaking wet for them. I got soaked when I volunteered a few weeks back so can appreciate it having to stand around waiting for the runners to come back.
Not a great picture below but this me at the top of what I called the killer hump near the end of the course, these was a 40 second gap before the next person ran by the photographer so it looked like I was on my own about to be arrested haha.
Not a great pic but this me at the top of what I called the killer hump near the end.
In my first two parkruns I tried to keep up with other people, picking a likely pacemaker, but that meant I ran out of steam and had to walk part of it around the three quarters mark. I set PBs which took a while to better those weeks, but it was more satisfying to be able to say I ran all of it, so I made the decision to hold back a bit for the first quarter and get myself properly warmed up, then gradually allow myself to speed up and move up the field.
I also have times (usually during the fourth and final lap) where I look around and can't see anyone near me. Some weeks there's even been a clear minute either side of me in the finishing times.
You were still two minutes faster at doing 5km yesterday than my all time PB. 👍
Reached 20 parkruns. Not an official milestone but I'm delighted. I've only missed one since the restart on 24th july.Back at my closest one at lyme park for the 7th time and just taking it steady this week (what with trying to fill up an advent calendar with runs!) but still pleased to be under 25 minutes. Will be helping out with the whaley Bridge juniors on Sunday so hoping I can rack up a load of volunteer credits as well!
Good morning damienair and VRBS! Sorry to be so late in reporting. We’ve been looking after our friends’ Jack Russell cross for the weekend while they are in London, so, after a quick shower and some breakfast we headed off to the seaside for the day and I completely forgot. Anyway, I decided to go to Doddington Hall parkrun again this week. It’s an out and back along an old railway line, flat and on tarmac but with muddy and leafy patches in places. I started off too fast and my first km was 5.40, then settled to a more sustainable pace and by the turnaround point I was on 14.55 and thinking I might be finally back in sub 30 territory. Then, at around 3.2k, I felt something twinge in my right thigh/hip, which had caused me problems in the summer, so I walked for a little while to check it out, then slowed down to run the rest, finishing in 31.49. Oh well, so near, but yet so far! Thankfully, all seems fine 🤞🏻
Well sorry to say no runs at all for me for a week now - on the ‘Sickness Bench’. It’s a really nasty cold that hangs on, but just done a PCR as no one knows what they might have nowadays.Reading all the brilliant posts and seeing photos has given me a lift, “I was that soldier” I’m thinking and will be again !
I did my 15th Park run on Saturday, got a PB for that course, 33.46. I'm kicking myself a bit because I did a slow fourth k as I was having a nice chat with someone and could have possibly beat my PB overall if I'd ran that split quicker. But it was enjoyable to share the joy of running with someone, so worth it!
Very well done and your right, it's lovely to have a chat with someone whilst running. parkrun is a lovely way to meet new people and make new friends. You'll have plenty of opportunities to beat your PB.
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