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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No parkrun for me today as we are away providing childcare for granddaughters, but I did manage a (not) parkrun yesterday morning. It was sunny but icy and chilly at 1°, so some caution (and leggings for only the 3rd time this winter) was advised. A very pleasant run coming in at 30.58. Happy parkrun everybody!😀
Very well done Jonathan on your (not) parkrun yesterday and enjoy your time with your Grandchildren. Teach them bad habits to annoy their Mum and Dad. 😀
Hi damienair & other park runners, (not) park runners,
All seven of us attended park run today. We’re on holiday down in the beautiful Margaret River. No.1, 2 & 5 ran it. No.3 & 4 had unsuitable footwear for trail running so were left at the finish line. No. 5 started off with Dad & finished with me. Dad had to stop due to his calf playing up again. No.5 did not have the best run as Dad had puffed him out running too fast at the start so he was struggling. It was hot and dusty but we made it. no.2 son 21:33, no.1 son 24:30. no.5 son and me 33:36
Parkrun #40 for me today and something a bit different. I decided to volunteer and was allocated as a parkwalker. It was interesting to see parkruns from a rather different perspective. Therefore today was my slowest ever parkrun and I finished just in front of the tailwalker.
Today marks the anniversary of me starting parkrun. My first one was on 22/1/22 and since then I've ran 40 times and volunteered 8 times so I guess you could say I'm hooked. The times when I've missed parkrun are either the day before I've run marathons or when there weren't events because of the Queen's death. For me it hasn't always been plain sailing as I've had a number of niggles along the way. An important lesson I've learned is not to try to go for a PB each week. It is far better to be out running (and running slowly) than not being able to run because of injury.
Very well done on your 40th parkrun and also for volunteering as a parkwalker. Your hooked for sure and well done too on all your volunteering stints. Your a true parkrunner.
Hi Damienair, I hope you're well on this very cold (-5°C) foggy and frosty morning. No stopping the enthusiastic Sixfields Upton Parkrunners today. Extra Marshall's needed for a couple of seriously icy stretches to avoid near the start, and I did my volunteer stint at First TImers Briefing today. I like this role because you meet PR Tourists, a few today because of cancelled PR's locally, and the literally first timer 5k'ers both enthusiastic and apprehensive at the same time. Doing the first timer briefing gives me the option of running too, with the downside of having to warm up running having been standing around for half an hour having helped to set up.
Today I really felt the benefit of the extra distance running this week, starting with an 8k. So a steady pace at the start to warm up, with a 'target running top' to keep in sight, Marjon Ladies Rugby Club!(Plymouth Uni) They stretched the gap but then jeffed a bit and the elastic stretched and shortened for the next 4k until their pace slipped and my metronomic slow short strided shuffle took me past. I was feeling very comfortable and properly warm now so stretched a little. My finish time (not official but I start 40m short of the start line) 38:52 with the last km the fastest split at 7:26. Very happy with that in the conditions.
Lots of cancelled PRs round here due to 🥶🥶🥶🥶, but I kept an eye on Eastville’s FB page. No update as of 8am, so I winged it and Flossie and I drove in to volunteer anyway. I wore trainers just in case it was off, so I could have a trot, but no other running gear.
It was on! B course (😱) due to very icy lake path. Goodness there were seemingly millions of runners today. Nearly 600 anyway. And everyone was so smiley and appreciative of us frozen volunteers 🙏🏻 It was great fun and being the B course they all passed us 3 times!
I decided to have a little 3k trot round the park myself after, in totally inappropriate clothing. Big down jacket, woolly scarf and gloves and no sports bra. It was brilliant and I warmed up a treat! 😀
Congratulations to you and Flossie on volunteering at Eastville parkrun, I am sure Flossie enjoyed being a "bark marshall" as much as you did, that's nice that you had a short 3K trot after the main run to warm yourself up.
She always gets lots of attention Al! There was another dog bark marshalling too, but apparently her dad (who was running) had to take it on his 2nd lap as apparently she was getting restless and barking! Flossie knows the drill, so sat patiently. 😇 🐕
Flossie’s duvet is man made, unlike Molly’s natural one, but it did the trick yesterday BC. 🐕 I could have done with more layers myself! 🥶🥶🥶🥶 The little trot helped though 🙏🏻
So near but so far. On an icy day with 'take it easy and be careful warnings' given I set off with daughter no. 2. With no intentions of pushing it I came in with a time of 30.06, just 6 seconds from beating the magic 30. All was not lost though as this was a new PB for 5k 🎉🎉🎉🥂🥂🥂🏃♀️🏃🏃♂️The splits definitely show an improvement 😁 Take care everyone ❄️❄️
Thank you damienair. Gutted in a way though as I had gloves that were not screen friendly which I forgot so wasted seconds getting them off once I crossed the line 😂 parkrun times are always 30 or 40+ seconds so rely on Strava for start and finish accuracy
Usually parkrun times are very accurate. Delays on time occur before crossing the start line. Next time move further up at the starting point and go out at your pace, you’ll be ahead of the crowd at the back which will give you back about 30 seconds.
Good afternoon Damien, with many parkruns postphoned today because of very icy conditions I did manage to get to Palacerigg Country Parkrun which have 3 various routes to choose from, the first two were icebouund but the third was mainly ice free with only a few patches, so I took my time and completed my 69th parkrun in a time of 34.20, it's all trail so I had my trail shoes on for the run, weather was dry with a temperature of +1C.
Yes Damien not too long to #100, I was reminded today how international parkruns are, a few months ago I met a lady at Palacerigg parkrun who recognised me from a few weeks earlier running at Springburn parkrun in Glasgow, I saw her again at Springburn 3 weeks ago on New Year's Eve, I wondered where she was running today, lo and behold she ran at a parkrun in Christchurch in NEW ZEALAND, parkruns are truly international.
well done ALMorr another parkrun under your belt. I did a 8.20 walk this morning not as cold 2 degrees. Thawing gradually. In the - all week, Hope u got out on your walk today.
Thanks Doris8, well done on your 8.20K walk this morning.
Today for my weekly Sunday morning walk 🚶 I walked just short of 10k, about 9.80K to be exact, the walk was along very quiet country roads so my shoes didn't get too muddy, the weather where I am in Central Scotland is a lot milder than recently, tomorrow I am taking a train journey to the coast, the same place that I ran run 3 of week 9 of C25K but I won't be running, just another nice walk along the prom
Just back from running at Malahide parkrun in Dublin. It was the very first parkrun in the Republic of Ireland. So it is a pretty busy one. There were a few super tourists there from the UK wearing parkrun merchandise and cow cowls. I left this parkrun specifically as my last one to do in Dublin. I’m officially Dublin Done ✅. My 120th parkrun.
My 13 year old Son Oisin joined me this morning and I was amazed that he pulled himself out of bed so early 😂. We got there in plenty of time to get a quick toilet break and soak up the atmosphere at the starting area.
We took up positions at the back of the crowd and initially we were boxed it but the pace was nice and comfortable. I just kept a nice comfortable pace throughout the run and just wanted to finish without having to take any walking breaks. Mission accomplished. It was so lovely running around a large park in a large crowd. Oisin finished well ahead of me and I was delighted to finish faster than last week and break through 33 mins. My finish time was 32:50. Happy running everyone and have a great weekend.
P.S. Look what arrived in the post during the week. Unfortunately no 100 parkrun T-Shirts are available, but I got my Volunteer 25 T-Shirt. I will wear it with pride this summer.
I wouldn’t bother with the 25 T-Shirt myself but I’m definitely wearing my V25 with pride. Hopefully the numbers on the back don’t disintegrate like the milestone 50 shirt did.
I still have a long way to go to be LonDone (4th today out of 61).
I'm planning to go to Dublin for Easter and might do Poolbeg as it's near the beach. Just saw Malahide is near the beach too. Which one do you recommend? Thinking of going for a quick dip after
I wouldn’t dip in at Poolbeg. Unless your well inoculated. 😂 God knows what’s flowing out of the Liffey. Poolbeg is a lovely parkrun, very different and I’d do that one. Malahide is lovely but similar to many nice parkruns in large parks. No sea views.
Thank you. Just googled and it's indeed not advisable to swim near the bay. I'll do the run for the sea views and go somewhere else if I feel like swimming
Nice one Damien! Keep dipping in to check if it’s in stock, it’ll probably be there eventually - took me 5 months to get mine! It’s always worth getting the Volunteer shirts: if it makes one person feel guilty enough to put themselves forward, it’s worth it!
Blooming cold this morning, but amazingly clear views of the mountains bounding Cardigan Bay.
A quiet week here, with only 19 people "finishing". Not as quiet as last week here which only had 14 people.
As it's New Moon, we had a spring high tide at 8am. There was some packed sand, but there were also patches of fluffy softness and shingle. It's never the same two weeks in a row.
My plan today was to try to remember not to start off too fast as this course feels like you've already done a full parkrun by the time you've got to the halfway turn around point.
As we were just getting ready to start a lady's dog was getting very excited, and was barking in anticipation.
The first 100m was spent trying to find the firmer sand. One of the dog runners had a refusal at the first 150m, with the dog deciding that that point was the ideal time to have a pee.
A fair few stranded clear jellyfish along the beach, ranging from large coin sized to melon sized.
I overtake and am overtaken.
The half way cone eventually comes into view. I toy with the idea of switching to walk/run from this point, but decide to keep running for as long as I can.
A guy in a Canada maple leaf logo hoody approaches on his outward journey, then a few minutes later passes me going on the return journey. It appears he'd turned up late. Flash [censored]! Another one overtakes me wearing what looks like work clothes and boots. Now that's just taking the mickey!
I plod on, with the start/finish point gradually getting closer.
And then I drag my sorry legs over the line, stop my watch and grab the finish place token. "007" it says.
I hang around afterwards chatting for about 15 minutes, but the glow fades and I start to get chilly, so bid my farewells and make my way back to the car.
I'm really surprised at how fast I was today. I did once do it 20 seconds faster in the summer!
In contrast Newborough Forest on Anglesey (with Katnap and TailChaser was fun and fast. The first half is gently uphill with one little scramble up a sandbank, and the second half is all downhill.
Pwllheli always feels a slog, especially in places where there's a noticeable side slope on the beach, making for a lop-sided gait.
Hello everyone . My first run at parkrun since Christmas Day and once again was in fancy dress as someone was celebrating their 250th run. She was in a tigger onesie and I was a cat, and it was a perfectly cold day for those extra layers. -1C along the prom meant a hard frost making the surface quite slippery. Fortunately no incidents as UpTheStanley was RD and could do without the extra paperwork.
I took it very carefully, and ran below 5k pace. On the return leg the sun had melted a lot of it but I jumped over the shadows where the frost hadn’t melted. The finish line was particularly icy so no sprint finish for me.
I had a great run and was pleased to see I was first in my age group, probably because we were all being a bit careful.
Hi damienair and running friends 🙂 I’m continuing my recovery from injury and I’m pleased to report it’s going very well 🤞 I’m also doing strength and mobility exercises every day which I’m sure is helping, together with the whizzy insoles I got in November.
Anyway, onto today’s effort: I’m doing the London Winter Run 🏃♀️🏃♂️🥶☃️ in a couple of weeks, so I thought I’d try running the same distance (10K) this morning. I worked out a 5K route along the seafront, which ended at Parkrun with less than 5 minutes to spare before the start!😳 I trundled round Parkrun in just over 35 mins, making my overall 10K time just over 1 hour 13 minutes. I’ve very pleased with all that and it’ll be good to have some positive results to my physio when I see him next Wednesday 👍
My 47th PR at Lowestoft this morning. The weather was very cold but beautiful as you can see from the photo. A vast improvement on the two previous weeks! I enjoyed it much more without the wind and rain. A steady a 37:35. My aim for the spring is to try and get back somewhere near my PB (35:45).
Reading everyone’s tales of running in icy weather has made me feel very guilty for looking out of the window at icy pavements and a thick fog and going back to bed! As I was away skiing for the last 2 Saturdays, I’ve now missed 3, but I will definitely be at Stratford-upon-Avon parkrun next week for my bestie Shake-and-run 50th 🥳🥳
I did exactly the same! Ice is the one thing that’s an absolute no go for me. There’s no need to feel guilty. We all have different red lines for what kind of risk is too much for us.
The freezing fog definitely didn’t help the temperature (or visibility come to that!) The skiing was fab. Still time for you to book you know. Massive snowfalls in the Western US 😈
The section of trail I ran on today drains really well, so there was very little standing water to freeze. Seems that the next week will start warmer.🙂
The skiing was great, with 30cm of snow arriving overnight on out first day 👏🏻👏🏻. We didn’t frequent many bars, as we were quite a way from the centre and the last bus was at 17.55 🙄 but, with 10 adults, we could have opened a bar in the chalet with all the booze we bought from the hyper market in Dijon before we went up the mountain 😂😂
Hi damienair and everyone. The cold theme prevailed up here too. We had torrential rain yesterday afternoon. It swept away the last of the snow and ice, so I was optimistic about getting a run of some sort in this morning. A hard overnight freeze dispelled that illusion! We took Molly for a morning walk to “inspect the wicket”; it was lethal on the outlap, but on our walk home, after our coffee and treats of course, we noticed that the ice was melting quite quickly.
I thought that there might be a Goldilocks zone between the ice retreating sufficiently for a run, and the return of freezing temperatures in the early evening. So at about 3:30 I went out for an 8k CB guided run along a section of my normal route. There were ice patches around, some I didn’t see because the low sun shone directly in my eyes…..but I remained upright. My best 5k was 33:51 but, under orders from CB, each of the last 2ks were the quickest at 6:38. I got a few odd looks from unrecognisable walkers who looked to be dressed for an arctic storm! More sensible than me! 🥶
I have to say that my running feels to be improving slowly but steadily with these guided runs….I may be in danger of becoming a convert.
I was out yesterday in just a t shirt, leggings and a fine dusting of mud. Glad it’s not just me getting hot on these cold days. People were also looking at me as if I was mad! I love a CB guided run. There’s a reason he has so many groupies here!!
Timely reminder JP. I got cramp in my quads when I was out for a pudding evenings tonight! I know why. My normal walk home was replaced by hopping straight into the car; no cool down! Should have L Plates on!
Sorry, I didn’t catch that last sentence BC - can you say it a little louder please? 😂😂😂
Great run for you. It sounds like you got the best of your conditions. And yes, your running is coming on in (careful) leaps and bounds. I’m so happy for you! 👏👏👏👏
Ah, you noticed my confession. I thought that I had got away with it! Must have been a touch of runner’s high. Ok, you were right! That didn’t hurt too much.
A coach yelling in my ear, telling me what I must do would never have worked; I am not wired to take orders I am afraid. Molly is the same; a quiet word, a touch of gentle persuasion, work wonders. If anyone yells at her, they have on their hands 40 kilos of determined dog who sits down with her…”not doing that and what are you going to do about it?”face on. Must run in the family 🙂
I can imagine! 😂😂 I must admit I don’t like taking orders either, although I like to be advised what to do. If anyone gets their bossy pants on with me, well they know what they can do with their orders! 😅
It’s why I like NRC; it’s helpful relevant advice and they’re all nice coaches. 🙏🏻 I ran naked today though (no, not THAT kind, sheesh!) and left NRC sleeping. Back to Coach B in the morning. 😇
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