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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Good morning Damien, I'am not going to parkrun today but at around 9 o'clock I'll run run 3 of week 6 of C25K, last week I ran run 5 so it's week 6 run 3 today,
I am not sure if (not) parkruns have finished, usually I get a notifcation on a Tuesday of the previous week, none this week, if you are at parkrun this morning, enjoy.
Enjoy your run Alan. I’m sitting in the car park of a newish parkrun in Dublin called Dodder Valley parkrun. I’ll be walking down to the start line soon.
I thought that as well RunaroundSue, usually when I login on a Tuesday my (not) parkrun result from the previous week which I know is on the (not) parkrun website, last Tuesday it wasn't there and still hasn't appeared, hmm, don't know why??!! 😑
Thanks RunaroundSue and Chinkoflight, I went to my profile page and registered my 135th (not) parkrun time of 35:11 which I ran last Wednesday morning.
Morning all, I did my usual local Lowestoft PR this morning. It was the kind of weather where a year ago I would have definitely decided on volunteering rather than running but I’m in pursuit of my 50th run on my bday next month, so needs must! The winds were strong and gusty and the rain was freezing. The RD didn’t mess about with too much chat at the start and we were soon off! Heading south was brutal but I tried to keep a good humour about the whole thing! I finished in 38:43 which is 48 secs slower than last week, which given the rain on top of last week’s wind, I’m pleased with. Im now off to get dry and warm, just in time to take the kids swimming later! 🙄🤦🏻♀️
Well done on your parkrun. I had that stormy freezing wind to contend with too, it was character building stuff 😀. At least it wasn’t raining for me. Well done 👍.
I decided this morning to do some parkrun tourism. I have only 2 parkrun courses in Dublin left to do, it was 1, but a new parkrun started up a few months ago. So I went and ran my 119th parkrun at Dodder Valley parkrun. It was in a lovely flat large city park and was a 2 lap course.
I wanted to run it all and if possible run it in under 35 minutes. I left my doggie Ruby behind today and also decided I would not look at my watch, instead I would run at a comfortable pace and if I needed to I’d slow down but not walk.
I loved it, other than running into a freezing cold head wind at times. My hands and fingers never warmed up. I did it, ran it all, no walking breaks. My watch said I ran it in 33:14 with an average pace of 6:38 and my official parkrun time was 33:18. I’m delighted with that. Happy running everyone.
Well done Damien, you achieved your goal easily, and I bet that feels great! I hope Ruby forgives you. 🥹🐕❤️ I walked Flossie on the beach after PR today which she loved. 😀
Great run for you today Damien at Dodder Valley Park parkrun Dublin, you are very pleased that you did not walk, well done, nevertheless I bet you missed little Ruby not being there with you, by the way as I mentioned earlier I didn't go to parkrun today, instead I reran with Laura run 3 of week 6 of C25K which I first ran on Monday 28th May 2018, that's the run that she tells you at the end "you are now OFFICIALLY a runner" 👍🏃♂️
Touristing today as Stratford was cancelled. We took at look at the course last night and it was pretty waterlogged. There were also a very precarious tree leaning across part of it. We’d already prepared our alternative with Shake-and-run , so at 7am the cancellation message came through and we confirmed our visit to our NENDY (nearest event not done yet) of Arrow Valley with her.
Although a lovely park, it was pretty miserable: windy and soaking fine rain, I was pretty underdressed for wet weather. My lovely Winter Series hoody was soon soaked through - I tied it round my waist as I didn’t want it getting any more wet by leaving it at the start.
It was very busy and there was a lot of boxing in for at least the first km. More or less two laps of a big lake, it’s probably lovely in the spring/summer. It used to be famous for the ‘Puddle of Doom’ but maybe it’s just as well that they’ve moved the course away from the puddle!
We gradually increased in speed as people dispersed but it was always pretty busy. My lungs are still recovering from my cold so I was never going to be fast today. Thankfully my lovely bouncy shoes coasted me along. Katnap speeded off towards the end but none of us were too far away from each other. Coffee and croissants in the tented cafe afterwards we were soon back in the car and drying off.
No parkrun for us next week as we’re off to the National Running Show and hopefully a run with my new club afterwards! Have a great runny week everybody!👍👍👍🙌
Thanks for the info about Arrow Valley, that was our second choice for our Bromsgrove weekend in December but it was cancelled due to ice, as was our first choice Woodgate Valley. Maybe this year
I’m pleased you’ve managed to get to Arrow Valley at last TC! I believe a lot of the paths have been widened recently but it does get a bit narrow in places doesn’t it? Next time I’m staying with my brother I’ll try and do it again, he’s only a few minutes drive from the start so it’s easy to get to!
Yes OG! How long has that taken! 😂. We really didn’t fancy a very muddy Leamington and this was much nicer. The paths are very nice, you can tell many of them are fairly new but I was amazed at the numbers considering the conditions. I think there were a few cancelled in Birmingham and there were a lot of the Evesham running club crew. Let us know when you’re next up 👍
We’ve had some blue skies today too, alongside very heavy hail downpours. And it’s getting colder by the minute with floods everywhere! 😩
I haven’t done any real tourism for ages. But then again I do my local 6 PRs regularly to the point I often forget which is my home one! 😅 It’ll be nice if the 28th goes ahead though! 🤞🤞
Well done on doing your NENDY and on your Tourist parkrun. Im planning on doing my NENDY next weekend which will be Malahide parkrun. It is also the last parkrun I have left to do in Dublin. Enjoy the running show next week.
Marine Parade again for me this week. Lots round here were cancelled due to flooding, and as it was also MP’s first birthday it was a no brainer.
On the drive there I wondered what on earth I was doing in the heavy rain and hoolacious wind, but as I was parking it brightened up and the rain suddenly stopped! 🙏🏻.
Not a massive turnout, unsurprisingly, at 176 (over 300 last time I went), but it was a cheery crowd. My time was ok at 37:38 (37:37 Garmin) and I was happy with that as the wind was buffeting around from every direction.
Took Flossie on the beach after, and Mr Cheeky messaged to say he was making bacon and egg butties! Yes please. 😀
Glad you managed to find a parkrun not under water Cheeky! Flossie looks as though she’s enjoying her run on the beach, I hope MrCheeky had a canine treat ready for her as well! What a star he is!
No 5k for me today. It looks like we will have snow on Monday and low temperatures, so I decided to fit in my long run. The programme said 4 miles, but I ended up doing 8k.
There is something weird going on. My last three long runs (2x8k and 1x10k) , over the same route have been recorded at exactly 6:55 pace. I have turned into a metronome! 34 minutes was the best 5k. Monday is supposed to be fartleks or intervals; maybe that will help to break the sequence on my next long run. The main thing is that I enjoyed it and the lower temperature, and the fact that I managed to get myself up and out earlier this morning, meant that there was plenty of room for me to have my post run coffee and brownie in comfort. I hope that everyone had a great morning.🙂
My 200th parkrun at last!Unfortunately I didn't run it at Marple as we haven't been able to face the mud and rain since New Year. One or other is ok but not both together.
So we went to Hyde again which is mostly tarmac with a section alongside the brook where the paths can get a bit soggy with leaves in places, but at no point are you in danger of plunging knee deep in mud 😀
There needs to be a 200 teeshirt RAS! Really well done on reaching that amazing milestone though. 🎉🎉🎉🎉 Won’t it be lovely when we’re complaining about hosepipe bans and being too hot again? (Hmm, maybe not!).
Thank you. I did get a shout-out at the briefing. A friend was denied that a few years ago as it wasn't an official milestone. But I think it was just that particular Run Director, not official policy.
Congratulations on your arbitrary Sue! There is a 200 t-shirt on the parkrun tourist FB page that can be booked. We saw it at Stratford once. Not sure I’d fancy it though!
Thanks Tailchaser. I don't really need any more t-shirts! I added a 1 in front of the 50 on my red shirt and thought about adding a 200 under the 100 but I don't wear the black one much.
I Tailwalked today in the pouring rain, which stopped as soon as we finished. It was definitely a good move to avoid Marple yesterday, the "lake" alongside the path is the biggest I have seen it and as for the muddy football field - best avoided.
With Stratford upon Avon parkrun course under water Katnap , TailChaser and I headed out of town to do a bit of parkrun tourism. Arrow Valley is a 30 minute car journey, expertly negotiated by Katnap so we arrived in good time to park up and find the start in time for the briefing. With the weather affecting lots of local events it was quite a gathering with 412 runners and a lovely bunch of volunteers.
It was the first time I’ve found myself boxed in behind other runners and was initially confused about how to negotiate my way out, but soon the path opened up and I was able to get past without having to venture onto the tricky muddy sides of the path. A double loop course with a shorter second route, I’m sure the views across the lake are amazing but today I was focussed on looking were I was going and trying to ignore the damp and murky surroundings. The post run coffee and pastries were a much welcomed refreshment and very reasonably priced. As someone who is closing on her 50th parkrun and needs to keep going so that meet up plans are not disrupted, I was super happy to be able to complete my run today and very grateful to Katnap and Tailchaser for the lift and the company.
Very well done on your parkrun tourism. I'm sure the post run refreshments went down like a treat. Looking forward to reading all about your 50th parkrun.
Back to my local parkrun venue after skipping a week.
Rain! But not heavy. I can cope with that.
I arrive just in time, having paid a last minute visit to the loo before setting off.
Apparently last week the rain played havoc with the mobile phones being used for scanning and timekeeping, and the results were mightily delayed whilst they were unscrambled.
A few tourists, but not from that far off. There was a lady with a dog who started about 50m back from the main group as the dog was extremely excited. A few familiar faces were missing: in particular one lady was apparently in Belgium this week (though not doing parkrun).
We got the countdown and the shout of "Go" and we set off. I did my usual trick of keeping a lid on my pace at the start so that I wouldn't fade in the later laps.
At one point a man ran alongside me to ask me about my shoes! And at one point I was asked if I was a regular and when I said I was, what the usual first finishing time was for this course.
Today was slow going. I got lapped just at the start of the third lap, and at that point I tagged along with a small group of the lady with the dog (which was barely trotting) and her friend with a blue top and neck-length loose hair all cut to the same length (you tend to notice these details when you're running behind someone for five minutes).
Eventually that pair tired a little and I pulled ahead slightly. As I passed the start/finish point at the end of one of the laps the Run Director tried to encourage me on, but got my name wrong and was corrected by several of the other finish line marshals. He got it right on the following passes.
Somehow I found the energy reserve to increase my pace a fair bit over the final 250m.
And it was over! I grabbed my finish position token, stopped the watch and wandered to the scanners.
Afterwards, I did a little chatting until my post-run glow succumbed to the damp and chill, at which point I headed back to the car.
Official time: 29'26", position 20 out of 62. And that's also Run Every Day January run 14 chalked off.
Well done on your tourism today damienair, I hope you’ve thawed out! Oh my word, today was a very typical Oldgirlruns day on our seafront - gale force winds and horizontal rain! Our parkrun Directors decided today was going to be a takeover day so they were doing a lot of the usual volunteering roles but there were some going spare and I decided to take one of those on the grounds that I didn’t fancy spending my usual parkrun time of 48 minutes out in the weather! As I walked home I got hit from behind by a monumental gust and found myself being pushed into a run - I’m no lightweight but if I hadn’t managed to grab a passing lamppost I’d have been on the floor! Good job there was no one around to see this grey haired woman clinging to a lamppost in the middle of the day😂! Stay dry folks!
Haha good save OGR! I think you had the same weather I’d had on the way to Weston today - the rain had cleared by the time we started running, obviously wanting to make its way to you! Sorry about that! 💦💦💦
Yes - but I was tucked in the (sort of ) shelter at the start/finish line so out of the worst of it! Pity Dexy who was time keeping and not quite so sheltered!
hello everyone, in November someone suggested that all the RDs and core team take over the funnel one weekend in January , and then have a team breakfast. Today was the day. Torrential rain and 49mph gales. Did it stop us - oh no.
193 people ran, walked and staggered. Personally, if I hadn’t been time keeping I would have stayed in bed, but there are some tough cookies out there.
Hi Damien and fellow runners, I went to my local park run this morning as one of our club members was celebrating his 50 runs. It was cold and wet and windy and after not feeling well for the last 6 weeks I was nervous about running 5k. I stayed slow and steady getting up the hills and really started to struggle on the second lap but I finished it so was happy with that. I used my Xmas present Garmin watch and linked it to Strava so happy I know it works 👍🏻
Planned to do Bournemouth parkrun today with a work friend but the train got cancelled and we quickly decided to drive to nearby(ish) Fareham. It’s all on gravel paths so no mud he said! However there were many deep unavoidable puddles which came above my ankles. I thought I was going to do a Vicar of Dibley in one puddle but luckily that one was only knee high. It was so crazy it made me laugh all the way round. Never thought I’d actually enjoy those conditions. Very glad I didn’t wear my new trail shoes though, phew.
What, get my new trail shoes all wet and muddy?! 🤣🤣🤣🤣. Perish the thought. No golf balls to avoid but saw a bunker that looked more like a swimming pool. Beautiful location though 👍🏻
Very well done on doing that soaking parkrun. Peppa Pig would have loved jumping up and down in those muddy puddles. Nothing much you can do but laugh. 😀
Hi Damien, your Dublin PR sounded a great running venue. I was volunteering today, bagged the jobs I love, First Timers welcome and Tokens. What a day, little daylight, driving rain and a cooling wind. Extra bonuses today, a lovely helper doing their Duke of Edinburgh award, and the beaming smile of my granddaughter ( aged7) and her M and D who turned up this week unexpectedly to run round together. Giving her a token was such a treat. Not forgetting the 199 other people who made it to Sixfields. So inspired I've just come in from a short 3k run because the sun was punching ever so briefly a #chinkoflight through the watery and grey sky, photo attached no filters!
Well, it was a treadmill 4k, but at least I did it. Since having COVID and then mum dying I've done one 5k only. It's slow but I think I'm making progress. Roll on spring then I might have more motivation
Sorry to hear of your loss Archerygoddess . It is a difficult time and you’ll know when to get out there again The weather has also kept a lot of us indoors .
Sorry for your loss. I know what it's like trying to build back up those running legs again. It is so hard trying to get back to it. I managed to run my first full 5K yesterday without taking any walking breaks in months. I find this time of year is hard as you really have to push yourself out the door. But it is worth it when your fitter in the Spring and Summer.
Hoping that my Parkrun would be called off, but no such luck. Standing water in puddles deeper than my shoes, but at least the rain held off. In the end I did 41:55 for 5.14km. I was running/slogging/walking round the biggest puddles, but some were inescapable, nearly got in the shower shoes and all when I got home. I think I’ll volunteer for Parkwalker next week and go in Wellies!
Our Parkrun, not only calls out all those non milestone important runs, 200 etc, but we get a laminated certificate too with our picture and the date we accomplished the run, one of the organisers is a spreadsheet nerd who really enjoys the facts and figures.
Well done to those doing the RED January, I’m trying to do something every day, but not all runs.
Wow that sounds a great Parkrun team. You could always make a bit of a splash and run in wellies, might even get a shout out and laminated photo. No such thing as spreadsheet nerds, just assiduous people who like accuracy and order😁😉✅
I drove past my Parkrun on Saturday. I was taking youngest to Uni. Doing parkrun and jogging back, then warm down , then shower would have meant leaving too late. My heart sank as I saw my running buddies. My daughter remarked - do you get to wear a pink tabard? She might be tempted one day!!!
Eventually did my not parkrun today. Saturday was a no no due to being out drinking Friday night for my youngest's 30th and very high winds which was a bit disappointing, not the party though: especially because of my aborted run Tuesday due to high winds and torrential rain and no run since. Sunday was out as I golfed so walked nearly 5 miles. So up away at 7am Monday, the wind was still there but dropped a lot. Actually ran for 35 mins and a distance of 5.49km but the 5k time was 32.25 not a PB but I got out and listened to coach B with a 35min joyful run, which made me smile anyway. The splits were the right way round with a slower start and a faster finish obviously nothing to do with a tail wind in the return leg 😂
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