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 everyone. It’s a beautiful morning here, and very warm. So lovely conditions for a parkrun. I ran at Trim parkrun which is about 20 minutes away from where I live. I was running at a lovely pace for the first 3 kilometres, on the 4th kilometre I took a walking break before getting back to running again. I finished the lovely 2 lap course in a time of 30:05. I am still trying to cool down. 😀
No Ruby today. Ruby is amazing off the lead. But when running on the lead she can drag behind me a little. I bring her now when I want a nice easy run.
Morning Damien and everyone, from a pretty cafe in Kerity, overlooking the Atlantic in SW Brittany. Mr Cheeky and I walked here with Flossie after a gargantuan crepe breakfast earlier on at one of our regular restaurants in St Guenole. I could barely move afterwards.
Fortunately I had earned mine by doing a (not) PR earlier. It was also W1R4 of my NRC HM Plan which I extended a bit to make the distance. I have to say, I’m using ‘holiday’ mode a lot for my running so far! Any excuse for a bimble, and today was no exception, even though it was a fartlek run! I did increase my pace a little, promise! 😅
Good afternoon Damien, on a very warm 20C I ran my 85th parkrun at nearby Palacerigg Country Parkrun in a time of 33:19, #11 there, Dunfermline parkrun isn't on today due to a children's gala in the park but I met 4 runners from Dunfermline park run this morning, it was very nice meeting them and I will meet them again next week at Dunfermline on the occasion of it's 8th birthday.
It was nice to meet the 4 people from the other parkrun I go to and will see again next week for Dunfermline's 8th birthday, by the way there was a cake at the finishing line today, some kind volunteer had baked it to celebrate a runners 50th parkrun
After taking a 2-week break to catch up on my sleep (and be lazy), I returned to ParkRun today and went to Beckton.
From what I’ve heard, it’s one of the smallest parkruns in London, with the average number of weekly attendees below 50. I’m not sure why this is. It’s a lovely park and it’s near public transport. Today there was about 30.
The route was mostly flat, and online it seemed a mess due to the loops being different, but the event was well marshalled and easy to follow.
Sometimes, they offer free cake to all runners, perhaps to induce more people to come 😋 There was sadly no cake today
Hello Damienair and running people. I’m running a 10k race in the sun tomorrow so I put my name down for volunteering at parkrun . I was cone marshal at the turning point and unbeknown to me, the RD had told the runners to say thank you and gave my name. So instead of “Thank You Marshal” I got a personal thanks. My hat and tambourine also went down well.
That was a fun marshaling post Dexy! Did you dance like the tambourine bearing lady I saw at Marine Parade a while ago? I think she got more exercise than us runners with her moves!
Well done Dexy on volunteering as cone marshall at the turning point, I have seen where that is on several photos of Southsea park run, I wish you and UpTheStanley all the very best for tomorrow's 10K.PS Isn't Oldgirlruns taking part as well, I wish her a good run as well.
Hallo Al, yes I’m running tomorrow as well (or at least there may be some running as well as walking in this heat!) - honestly, the things Dexy persuades me to do!
I bet that you are looking forward to your 10K run tomorrow Oldgirlruns, I notice that the temperature at the start at 9 will be around 22C and rising during the morning so take your run/walk as Oldfloss says 'slow and steady,' drink plenty of water to avoid dehydration, enjoy your day, ✅👍
Good afternoon Damien and all. I’m lying here in a damp heap after the hottest parkrun I’ve ever known - and I’ve not even left Stratford today! I didn’t help myself by not having anything to eat or drink before I left home but I had a bit of a dodgy tummy.
I’ve got my new club top which is great as it’s just strappy - perfect for a warm run, so I wore that for a change. I ran to parkrun and went quite quick, which is unusual for me. I’ve not done much running this week as I’ve treated myself to a bit of down time and yoga instead, so I was probably well rested.
I went off in the middle of the group and the first 2-3km weren’t too bad but then I started really heating up and slowing down. I managed to keep going but I had to stop for a breather at about 4.5km. There was a bowl of water for the dogs by the river under a tap that’s used by the river boats. It looked ok and I was so in need of cooling down, I dunked my hands into it and chucked some on the back of my neck and face.
The finish funnel was a welcome sight at the end of the final lap and I had to stop and lie down shortly after to feel the cooler grass on my back.
It was only 21ºC but with 79% humidity it felt a lot, lot warmer. I had a good time (just under 28.5 minutes) even with the stopping for water and awful positive splits but it would have been even better if I’d drunk and eaten before I’d left and maybe just taken it a bit easier? I’ll never learn though!!
Had a great runny week everyone and take it easy out there!!
I didn’t quite do that but it was either the dog’s bowl or sticking my head in the river…and you’ve seen the news reports about the UK rivers…. I don’t think I’ve ever done such a hot parkrun, it really was sooo humid!
Parkrun #60 for me today. As with almost everyone else it was a warm one. I'm back in the East Midlands so running round lakes. Lots of wildlife around so keeping clear of the swans and their cygnets. I try to do things a little different each week so today I was trying out some new shoes - the verdict is that the jury is still out.
In terms of the run I locked in behind someone who I felt was going about the same pace as me but then he slowed a little at 3K. I should have gone past him as I was running a constant pace but was lazy and kept just behind him. But then around 800m from the end he significantly picked up speed and left me behind. Lesson learned - I should run my own race and not treat others as pacers because they might have a completely different strategy.
Overall it was a good start to the day and getting accustomed to running in warmer temperatures is good.
Well done on your parkrun. I did the same today, I tucked in behind a lady running at a nice 5:55 km/min pace, but after 3K I was getting tired and took a little walking break. But I ran a 5:30 min/km pace for the last km and I managed to pass her out towards the end. I think she was exhausted too as she had slowed down a little. It was a warm one.
I don’t treat others as pacers, but I have to admit I sometimes judge people with 100/250 t shirts as being experienced/fast, and I am surprised that they run/walk or just walk it. I have to learn not to judge. I’ve had injuries and run/walked it and don’t know these people’s reasons or stories.
What I’d also say is that I sometimes find it fun to overtake people. This is one of the reasons parkruns are usually faster for me than if running alone.
Hi damienair Tasha and I ran at a sweltering Albert Park this morning. Both coming through and pleased with our runs. My 25th run next week will be in Hartlepool and we look forward to that. Best wishes all.
No runs for two weeks now, but I had a lovely walk around StMary’s IOS with Mrs BC today, followed by a delicious Vietnamese coffee over ice 😋. So I shouldn’t grumble; but I will anyway!! Fourth trip to Minor Injuries Unit tomorrow, possibly for antibiotics ( the staff are brilliant here) and my ribs are still not right! If I have to be IC, this is definitely the place to be 🙂
Frustrating, but just making the best of it ….and the best of it here is amazing by most standards 🙂
The trouble is it is not like a leg injury where you work on it and see progress……just waiting for something to stop hurting in its own time is a …pain!🙄
Get well soon. I injured myself about 3 weeks ago and bruised a rib. It was so sore. I’m only just getting back to normal now. Todays run was the first time it didn’t bother me. It just takes time. Take it easy and rest.
Thanks Damien, that helps. We have a medic friend with whom we have a zoom session every week….week before last he said “that will be 3 weeks then!” …maybe only a week to go then!🤞
A very warm and humid Market Rasen for my 79th parkrun today, even though it was quite overcast and the breeze (when it blew) was quite cooling. I decided not to push it and came in at 32.39.
Hi Damien, volunteer duty today as I’m off on a 10k with Dexy and UptheStanley tomorrow! I was Barcode scanning and luckily we were able to do it out of the sun - There were a lot of very hot runners out there! Well done on your parkrun time, in this heat you must be pleased with your time!
Thank you. Yes I was happy with my run. It was a course PB for Trim parkrun for me. I’ll have to back and try and get a sub 30. Well done for Volunteering and wishing you all the best for your 10K tomorrow. Enjoy it.
Another warm morning at Lakeside today and the experimentation with short gentle jogs continued successfully with a time of 42.03 - my Garmin trace showed 14 little blips! No apparent after-effects with the hernia, but I did notice an effect from my lack of fitness! Still, plenty of time to work on that after the op...
I did my 3rd parkrun today at Beeston on a mostly flat course. First 3k felt really good I was flying and was surprised at how good the pace felt. I pushed too hard between 3-4k and had to dial it back between 4-5. I managed to (slow) sprint the last 20m. Finished with a PB of 26:24 which I was super impressed with.
Really well. Managed all splits under 6mins, and PB's at all distances 2mile, 1 mile, half mile, 1k but not the all important 5k. Missed it by 13 seconds. As it was Armed Forces Day I ran wearing my GSMNI dress medal, the original is a bit heavy, and a red bandana the nearest thing I had to a red beret which is what I wore back in the day. To be honest Mrs OMR has a red beret but I would have looked more like Michael Crawford than a Corporal in the RMP 😂😂Whilst running it occurred to me I won the award for the Most Improved Recruit for Fitness in my squad no 7411, almost 50 years ago now 😁 In those days I could run a bit. In a museum somewhere my glory shines on 😂
I am on week 4 of my treatment for metastatic breast cancer. This week I had imagined I might be able to run/walk as my most recent infusion had been immunotherapy, not chemo, or both (it varies by week and I know I can’t run within the first 5 days of having had chemo. I completely failed to account for the heat. Set off jogging, managed about 2 and a half minutes then walked the rest. Wished I had taken the trusty walking poles down, as I would have done on a chemo week, as they make walking 5k a bit easier. Got a fantastic (false) time for my parkwalk until I made the mistake of showing our friendly co-event director the mess at the end of the results and he applied a correction. Not been able to do much else this weekend. Still, that’s 230 done. I will somehow walk or crawl to my 250, cancer progression not withstanding.
This Saturday's parkrun was a bit of tourism: Cannock Chase.
Parkrun number 74 for me. This was the flattest one I've done so far (not counting the Pwllheli one which is totally on sand, and hard work).
We'd been staying overnight at a cheap chain hotel just off the M6Toll, breaking a southward journey. We'd reserved a breakfast slot of 10.45am and I decided to nip out for a swift parkrun.
I arrived in plenty of time, thanks to directions from the very helpful lady on reception at the hotel whose parents lived in the next town south from the park.
I walked over (with another couple) to where the marshals were setting up the finish funnel, chatted with a few, including the inevitable questions about my "odd" shoes. Getting close to the time, the crowd paraded about 250m to the start point which was well separated from the finish.
There were nearly 300 people there. I did my usual trick of lurking at the back. The run director was barely audible even though they were using a loudhailer. And then we were off.
There was a lot of bunching at the start which made the first 500m a bit slower. Serves me right for starting at the back!
It's relatively flat and mostly tarmac paths, with a few bits of gravel. The route has a small loop and a larger one, with "lap 1" and "lap 2" direction signs. At one point I came upon the tail walker ahead of me, which make me exclaim, "How did you get…? Oh of course…!" (as I suddenly saw the signs) which amused her.
One thing I've never seen before is permanent parkrun milestones, counting off the kilometres.
I gradually moved up the field, reaching a 10 year old lad wearing a red football shirt with "8 Kite" on the back. I was tempted to break out into the Beatles' song "For the Benefit of Mr Kite" but guessed that the lad wouldn't know what I was going on about.
He was obviously well known there as one of the marshals (who was ringing a bell) gave him something. I then overtook him, only to be overtaken by him and his friend about 300m from the end.
Some folks were obviously struggling with the slight slopes which were nothing like the ones we have in North Manchester, and caused me no stress at all.
I got to the end, received my token, stopped the watch, but (feeling suddenly superstitious) didn't look at the time. After I'd been scanned I did.
Near the finish line they had this bell (photo) for those who had achieved a PB. I rang it. I'd knocked 15 seconds off the time I'd done at Newborough Forest last year with TailChaser and family.
Official place: 82nd out of 287. Official time: 26:35.
Next weekend I hope to do Bedgebury Pinetum parkrun.
A red crank bell, mounted on a sandwich board, with the caption PB Bell.
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