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.
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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A very wet and cold day for our first spring Park run this year. Just no.2 son & myself today. Hubby was winning his Dad of the year award taking the other 4 boys and the cocker to an end of season soccer carnival. The only one who got to stay cosy at home was the Rat terrier who really does hate the rain.
I bumped into one of our club runners at the start who was running park run “slow” today so I stuck with her. That’s the reason that I leave run club to hubby & no.2 son as their slow is not my slow 🤣 It made a miserable park run very pleasant though to have some company for a change. I love park run & our running community.
I was aiming for sub 30 & no.2 son was aiming for sub 22. Results were 29:51 & 21:19 so job done on a wet and cold day.
Excellent running both of you and great that you both achieved your goals. It was raining here too. I ran with my Cocker Ruby and we both got soaked. Have a lovely weekend and hope the other boys have a great time at the soccer carnival.
well done both, great result, you must be super proud!!How strange the weather was so different, here in Lincolnshire it was really hot and humid . It was my 50th Parkrun and it was a bit of a hot one!!
Good morning Damien and fellow parkrunners! I’ve had quite a heavy week with the Spitfire 10k on Sunday, 2 hour (17k) HM training run on Wednesday, 7k club run on Thursday and a lot of walking at Chatsworth Country Fair yesterday, so my hips were feeling it this morning. I decided to go for a steady run at Market Rasen, finishing in 32.56, 65/98 runners (still well down on usual numbers) and 2nd in my age category. Now for a relaxing afternoon in what looks like being the last of the sunshine for a while!
Wow, that's a lot of running during the week. Very well done and very well done too on your parkrun today. Enjoy the sunshine. It is well and truly gone here. A few days of rain ahead.
I really couldn’t face the training. My ideal run is 1 hour, after which I start to wish it was coming to an end. Maybe I should finally try to get that sub 60 10k as my next goal!
Well done Sandie. I think most parkruns have lost runners over the break. In our case it’s the 35+ minutes group. How many runners did you have pre-pandemic?
I have, really looking forward to it, well I think I am! I haven't done it before and hoping the inclines aren't too bad because I haven't done any hill training. But I'm really looking forward to it because apparently you get a medal and a Teeshirt!! Did you say you'd done it before?
If you have where do we park because it looks like a lot of roads are closed off from 8am? Nothing on the website yet to tell us.
Woohoo 🥳 I’ve done it twice before, last year in a monsoon 😂 Strava says my elevation gain last year was 0m so no need to worry about hills! The medal is rather nice.My hubby dropped me off on Nettleham Road and I walked to the start, but there will be instructions about where to park before the event
Awful wet morning here today. It has been so dry for so long which is very very unusual in Ireland. The 40 shades of green which we are so famous for due to our mild wet wet wet climate struggled this year and the grass has tinges of brown and tan, and the grass in some places has been scorched. But over the next few days we are going to have a lot of rain. I was in two minds as to making up my mind to run this morning. But I went for it. Myself and my doggie Ruby ran at our local parkrun in Navan. I'm glad I did, it was so nice catching up with parkrun friends and I ran along beside my friend Ida. I took it nice and easy and was happy to finish in a time of 34.21. A long way off my PB, but after being sick a few weeks ago I struggled to get back running. Two weeks ago my parkrun finish time was just under 38 minutes with a few walking breaks. Today I was over 4 minutes faster and ran it all. Nice to see improvement. Ruby and I got soaked but we loved it. Happy running everyone.
Good morning Damien, this morning I ran my 56th parkrun at Dunfermline parkrun in a time of 33:33, lol, all the 3's, the weather was quite warm, luckily the sun didn't shine, if it had I would have been very sweaty, my back was a little sore last week but its OK now, next Saturday I intend to run at a bran new parkrun only 4 miles away from where I live, on Friday I walked the course, it's all trail so I will be running in my trail shoes.
Well done Alan. Glad your back is better and hope your hip niggle is completely gone too. Enjoy the new parkrun next weekend. I am going to do another new parkrun in Dublin too. I have just 3 different parkruns in Dublin to do to complete them all. It will be my NENDY too.
I'll tell you about running the course next week Floss, I did walk it yesterday using the Mapmywalk app, I was wearing a pair of good sturdy walking boots, the first and last 700 metres are exactly the same, it's not often a parkrun starts and finishes at the exact same place.
At the start it's slightly downhill, turn right where the loop meets, so the last 700 metres are slightly uphill, at 1 kilometre the course veers slightly to the left up a gentle 1 kilometre straight track, mainly smooth but with some rutted bits which I will have to be careful not to trip, then there is a short part where the slower runners like me will meet the fast runners coming in the opposite direction as somewhere at this part of the course there is a sharp U turn, yesterday I walked a bit further than where that U turn is because at the end of the walk Mapmywalk stated that I had walked 5.6 kilometers, next week when I run there will be a marshall exactly where that U turn is, next Saturday I won't be wearing my normal blue running shoes, instead I will wear my trail running shoes as the course is all trails. 🏃♂️
Well done on your 56th parkrun . A new venture for you next week , watch you don’t trip. I see you were on a bike ride this morning at least you never got wet . Well done.
Hi everyone. I was so excited to make the trip to the Severn Bridge again this weekend and make use of one of their pacers. They aren’t there each week, so I thought I’d see if I could get a PB on my most likely course.
But Mr Cheeky needed a lift to pick up a rental truck for his rowing club’s trip to France tomorrow (he’s towing all the boats) and unfortunately (for me) it was close to Eastville. I didn’t have time to go anywhere else, so with a grump on, I did Eastville PR. I do love it there, but a hilly run wasn’t what I was after today. At least I could take solace in the fact that it would be cooler. 🙏🏻
Well it wasn’t. 🙄, and the humidity was sky high. 🥵 I snailed around slowly and came in a good minute or two slower than normal.
On the plus side, Jenny did Harrow PR and gazelled around in 27:52! I’m so pleased for her. ❤️
Yep, ticking off those runs Sandie! No 94 done and dusted! 😀
And yes, Mr Cheeky was very grateful. (I’ve already checked when he needs picking up next week and it doesn’t affect my running I’m relieved to see!) 😅
Good afternoon Damien and all. My first Stratford run in what feels like ages! It was lovely to be back, although I’ve done a lot of training runs on the route recently.
Katnap ran with me for most of it and I took it pretty steady. It was warm though, a bit muggy too as we’d had a lot of overnight rain. He sped off towards the end though to try and get his funnel PB.
I had enough puff left at the end to overtake someone who’d overtaken me, which is always nice 😁. Finished slightly over 30 mins, so happy with that.
Big10k tomorrow. Legs are wondering what I’m doing to them as I’ve done 50km this week. I keep telling them it’s not for much longer but they’re still complaining!
Nice to know Katnap does the same to you as he did to me last week 😂 Wow! I thought 40k in a week was a lot, but 50k 😳 Sprint repeats for me tomorrow 😬
There’s lots of Parkruns with smaller numbers. Have you got the 5k app? It’s got a map and you can look up all the Parkruns near you and see what numbers they usually have.
Yes if you have a choice of events , check out their results pages online and it will give you an idea of last tailwalker’s place and time. I ran with over 980 at Bushy Park but about 50 at Hanworth.
Some parkruns are very quiet. My local parkrun had just 50 people today. I'll be honest though, I much prefer busier ones, I love the pre-run buzz and it's great running along in a crowd. Well done on your 5th parkrun. Travel around and try out a few different courses which are close to you. You might even pick up the parkrun tourist bug.
Good morning all. Having run 34k over my last 3 runs, including a 10 mile pb on Wednesday, I thought that a gentle trot was needed today. My physio agreed. 5k in 33:52 was just about right, and I pinched a point back off VO2max too! It was quite hot so no point on pushing things. There are lots of families around on the walkway, but everyone seems to be in happy mode. Good to see.
Hello Beachcomber , What's all this!? A 10mile PB when I am sure that you convinced your happy readers that PBs were a thing of the past! Well done to you all the same! It must have felt very special after all the challenges that you have had.
Just 7:04/k time JP, but an improvement. I am definitely trying to keep things slow. Long slow runs seem to be working in terms of keeping me off the dreaded IC. Now a question of not getting carried away pre GSR.
I may have peaked too early! Physio says keep the pace down and all should be well. I mentioned a possible HM in September….her answer; “quit while you are ahead!” I felt rather than saw the double tea pot!
It will definitely be a pb 10 mile race for me, even if I walk it! I have only done 1 real race, a 10k, the others have been virtual. So nothing to lose but what is left of my dignity 🙂
As I was walking down to parkrun I was surprised it was so hot and humid , but just as I and our young DofE volunteer were about to do the first timer’s welcome, it started to rain.
By the time we set off running it was pouring down. Puddles appeared from nowhere and it was great. We were absolutely soaked to the skin. I set off fast, walked a bit on the way back, but knocked 5 seconds off last week’s time by sprinting in and overtaking 2 people. Competitive? Me? One of the runners was a regular but I’ve only just found out he has the barcode A00020. One of the original Bushy Park parkrunners. 🙌🙌
UpTheStanley was RD today and he was worried about the speaker being so wet, and the volunteer vests would need drying out before storage , so I said I’d walk home to get the car to take it all back home. I took the opportunity to quickly strip off all the wet clothes and put completely fresh running gear on for the motley crew breakfast. A soggy pile left on the bathroom floor.
Great fun all round, and breakfast went down well.
Good run for you Dexy5 despite the rain ☔ which you didn't seem to mind, you mentioned sprinting just towards the end of the run, this morning at parkrun there was this lady cheering the runners at about 50 metres from the end, she already had ran in around 23 minutes but instead of cheering me on she actually started running with me, she asked me to sprint and see if I could keep up with her for the last 50 metres, I managed to do that, of course just at the finishing point she veered off as she had already completed the run, I was a bit whacked after that sprint, my time was 33.33, if it hadn't been for that 50 metres last part with that lady my time would probably have been around 34 minutes.
Well done Dexy on your parkrun, I got soaked too. A perfect parkrun day with a post parkrun breakfast with friends.
OldflossAdministrator60minGraduate in reply to Dexy5
A successful soggy run... well done you! We have had rain later this afternoon here in Wales.. but thanks to your suggestion, I did my ( Non) Park run yesterday in the sunshine! First 5K in an age! xxx
We were supposed to get rain today but, apart from what would appear to have been a shower overnight (raindrops on car) not a sign. Looking like Wednesday now before there’s any in the forecast. It was 20c at the start of parkrun and 22c at the end, increasing to 26c this afternoon 🥵
I did the pilgrimage to Bushy today. Got the 05:41 train 🫣 and it was well worth it. Beautiful flat course but my time was nowhere near my PB, my excuse being that it was very hot and humid. Home again now and probably going to sleep all afternoon 🥱. Great atmosphere - will definitely do this one again.
The Diana Fountain, Bushy Park, close to the start of the parkrun
Well done to you for getting on a train that early Mudita11 ! Isn’t Bushy great? I thought the wide start was similar to Southampton but far more challenging. Is it still dry and dusty?
No dust thank goodness! Wouldn’t have liked that much. I loved it today. The RD warned us about possible aggressive deer 🦌 as it’s their mating season. I expect that 1200 humans stampeding through their home sent them into hiding temporarily as I didn’t see any 🤣
30th parkrun today at a very warm and humid Lowestoft. Unfortunately I didn’t enjoy much about today’s run, other than passing the finish line! I just felt very fatigued. I’m not sure if it was the heat or if I wasn’t hydrated enough or something else but hey ho, I got round eventually! Onwards and upwards!
Still nursing the heavy cold today that distracted me at last week's parkrun. It seemed quite mild so I wondered before I left whether I needed a towel to mop up afterwards - decided not necessary. Little did I know what was to come!
Started fine at an easy pace - after about 5 minutes it started to rain, for about 5 minutes. That's fine, I thought, quite refreshing. Unfortunately after another 5 minutes it started again and tipped it down for the rest of the run! Big puddle in our underpass.....
By the end we all looked like drowned rats, but it was the marshals I really felt sorry for - at least we were running! Time was a bit immaterial but for the record 34.52.
Missing parkrun next week as away for a few nights(😔 but 😀 for the break)
A downpour like that wouldn’t have helped your recovery Jonathan but I just loved running in it today. It sounds like it took a while to get from us to you.
I bet your underpass was fun!
Agreed, the volunteers were brilliant in standing out there for us - I think everyone has forgotten to check out the forecast after this summer.
Well done Jonathan. I was like a drowned rat too. Those colds are a bummer. I got one after holidays which knocked me down. 6 weeks later and I only feel right again now. Enjoy you weekend away next week.
Hi there. Some great park runs for folk this week. It was a, ( NOT), Park Run for me... still coming back gently, BUT, following a suggestion of Dexy5 in this months Bridge Quest, I am logging my first 5K in an age as a, (Not) PR.
Glad I did because the weather yesterday was glorious and today, rain this morning and windy!
Just me, the sunshine and the sea... I ran one way towards the Rock and back towards the castle.... I love this...just me... !
Pleased with the time, as I started up the hill and ran a way before I finished up on the beach!
I have just come back from a short bike ride, I meant to do it at 8.30 but as it was raining ☔ I went that bike ride when the weather improved at 11 o'clock.
Good evening Damien. Parkrun number 43 for me today.
It's been an utterly cruddy week for us. Let's just say that the nadir was us spending twelve hours on Wednesday night/Thursday morning in A&E because my dad's cousin had taken pills again.
After we'd got back from Cambridge on Tuesday, my only other run was "speed intervals" which I'll cover in another post.
Anyway, this morning was overcast but very mild, about 18°C. Some of the regulars were there, including my "rival" who hadn't run for seven weeks.
We all (71 of us) lined up, the usual spiel from the Run Director, and a countdown to the start.
I was near the back as usual. Something felt a little different about me today, and I decided to push forward almost immediately.
Soon I'd overtaken my rival and was still going strong. This was still the first lap, mind.
I continued to gradually move up the ranks, then reached my level. I'd been pick a runner ahead to followwith something notable about them (usually a pattern to their top that stood out) and, without consciously doing it, pass them a few minutes later.
Not long after the start of the third lap I was lapped by a lanky, loping, youngster. I did some mental arithmetic and guessed that he was going to finish under 20 minutes. He didn't even look as if he'd broken a sweat! I still had two full laps to go.
I continued to think about my form and keeping an even cadence, and not pushing too hard. That is, until the very last couple of hundred metres, when I pushed into a fast finish.
Afterwards I chatted briefly with the first finisher who seemed to be interested in my shoes. He'd finished with a time of 19'07", almost 2½ minutes ahead of anyone else.
And then a chat with my rival, who was just pleased to have finished, and a couple of folks who I follow on Strava. One had got a PB today but missed out on breaking through the 30 minute barrier by a handful of seconds.
I was so engaged with the chat that I didn't notice the tail walkers coming in.
My time today was 27'30", a PB for this venue, beating last week's by 13 seconds.
As usual, the new watch reads the run as being over 5km. My splits were surprisingly even: 5'26", 5'01", 5'11", 5'20", 5'15", 4'39"/km (280m finish).
Maybe this pace target plan is starting to show results.
530 people today, but when you are number 525 there are no problems with crowding! My first PR for 2 months. A second 5K jeffing me this week. Only just under 46 minutes but great to be back. Although this month will have me missing 2 weeks of PR as University starts for the kiddywinkles and they need Uberdad taxi and removal services.
Well done. I had a jeffing parkrun 2 weeks ago. But still great to be doing it. Best of luck being an uberdad courier over the next 2 weeks. I wish I could ship off my 13 year old. 😀
Parkrun no.2 for me yesterday. This time at Brixton Brockwell Park. I managed to come in 1m45 quicker than last week at Harlow, despite the hills here in south London. I was 4th in my age category but second from last overall - they are a very young crowd here!! I had my music which helped as I ran round alone 🏃♀️😂
HiI did my 50th Parkrun yesterday and was determined to get under 26 mins and I got 25.23 so I was delighted!! PB pre covid is 25.09 so not quite back to where I was but definitely getting closer!! Ordered the 50th Parkrun Tee shirt already!!
Ah fantastic. Huge congratulations to you on your 50th parkrun. It’s a great milestone. Super running. I’m a long way off my PB which was 25:36 so your still way faster than I ever was.
awww thank you. Im hopefully getting back close to where I was, Covid really did take its toil, but being sensible with my training and being very determined is now helping to get me back on track 💪🏃♀️
My home event had its first volunteer takeover and broke its record for the largest number of volunteers so I took advantage of that to do some tourism up to Crathes Castle. I knew the hills had a reputation for being challenging but I haven’t practised enough on hills so I treated it as a training opportunity, didn’t worry about my time and just took it easy so I’d be able to run rather than walk the hills. I probably ran at least half of the uphill bits so was happy with that.
Gorgeous place, NTS so parking is free for members. On the subject of numbers, my parkrun touring buddy is currently walking rather than running but she still got her highest ever finish position- 50th out of 52!
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