Hello Everyone. 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.
Written by
damienair
Administrator
To view profiles and participate in discussions please or .
Good morning Damien, today was a case of was it on or was it off, the parkrun I WAS going to this morning was cancelled because of ice on the course, some others in the area were on but one was off because of not enough volunteers, I think it was because the usual volunteers thought it would be off because of the - 3C temperature forecast, hopefully next week all the parkruns will be on as the end of this cold spell is to end very soon,
Yesterday I ran a short 3K maintenance run in the park near to where I live, the paths had been well salted so there was no ice or snow on them.
I certainly am keeping nice and warm at home Dexy5 , for the first time in almost a week the temperature is now above freezing, apart from the cold the weather hasn't been bad where I live, just a little snow, but what caused the ice was the rain we had about ten days ago and quickly froze leaving a lot of ice, that ice should be gone soon as the weather is to get milder by Monday.
Quite amusing seeing the reason that many parkruns were cancelled on the parkrun cancellation page, see nowsters post.
Today, me and my friend Luis who’s also trying to do LonDone did Riddlesdown parkrun.
We met in London Bridge and got the train together and moaned about having to wake up early to do these runs further out 😂
We were pleasantly surprised when we arrived and found the whole area white and covered with snow.
The run was in a Nature Reserve which was really nice. The volunteers were all super friendly despite the cold weather and running in the snow was a new and exciting experience.
with most of the local parkruns cancelled we drove for 30 mins through freezing fog to Leamington and joined nearly 650 runners tackling the off-road country park tracks and field edges. Marshals were amazing, not only standing in the minus 5 degree temperatures but alerting runners to ice patches and cheering everyone on. True Hi-viz heroes.
I probably would have stayed in bed, but today was my 99th parkrun. I am hoping to celebrate my 100th at Stratford next week and plans are made for suitable silliness and post-run breakfasts. If I failed to complete a parkrun today then the plans would be wrecked, so it had to be done!! It was cold (and hubby was not very happy) but we got round and I got a course PB (still walked up the big hill) so can’t complain.
Looking forward to seeing the HU buddies coming to join us at Stratford next week. All are welcome (dressing up for a theme of black cats is optional, but do dig out tails and ears if you have them).
Far from it , still a Parkrun baby and just getting comfortable with two artificial hips. Still quicker than me though. They are lovely tops great for parkrun.
Pleased to be away from home for once. My local was cancelled due to the wintery conditions. However Hafan Pwllheli parkrun was on this morning.
Due to 2024 being a rough year, even though I'd been in the area a lot I hadn't been to the Pwllheli parkrun since the first weekend of December 2023. I approached this morning with trepidation.
Alarm got me up in good time. I got kitted up. No last minute visit to the loo, but instead my sister's dog wanted to go out.
No problems with the "tractor factor" on the roads this morning so I arrived in the icy car park at 8.53am. A quick change of shoes and the wearing of a pair of gloves later I was lining up with the 30-odd others who were trying to keep moving to stop them getting chilled (in a bad way).
A first timer briefing. Here it's pretty brief as the course is as simple as they come: run that way on the sand until you meet a marshal with a cone then turn around and come back here.
The tide is half way out. It's sunny with a bit of a wind. The distant snow-topped Snowdonian (Eryrian?) mountain range looks unusually close in the clear air.
I'm glad for having layered up. That said, some of the guys were in shorts.
The sand was medium soft at the start and people were scattering up and down the beach to find the firmer patches. It got firmer after about 500m and then was either firm sand or pebbles/shingle.
I took the photo here without stopping the run. It needed a little bit of fixing to make the horizon horizontal.
About 250m before the turnaround a man was going skinny dipping in the sea in just his speedos. Rather him than me!
At the turnaround point I stopped for about 45 seconds to say hello to Rich, one of the regular marshals/organisers.
Then the slog back. The final 500m (same as the first 500m) was a bit soft underfoot.
After the briefest chats with the marshals at the end (nobody wanted to hang about in the chill wind) I went back to the car.
Moving time was 31:21, but my official time was 32:06. Today, I'd rather be sociable than have a good finish time.
Parkrun on a beach. Distant snow capped mountains.
Hello Damienair and fellow parkrunners. We got a WhatsApp message from our RD at 7.15 to say that the prom was good to go for parkrun. However, the conditions had deteriorated by the time 9.00 arrived. A late start as he rightly extended his brief to inform all the runners that it was slippy out there so run at your own risk and save the PB for another day. 492 ran today, but looked much more.
Our surface is a mix of paving slabs and tarmac. I aimed for the tarmac because the smooth slabs were very slippy in my older shoes, especially in the shade of bushes and buildings. Thankfully no incidents.
My 2nd half was a Jeffing session and my time of 37:05 was nearly a minute longer than watch time, but these things happen occasionally. It was my best time this year , as it is the first one so plenty of room for improvement. I hope everyone managed to find a parkrun that wasn’t cancelled this morning.
The South East (mostly Brighton and upwards) got quite a lot of snow on Wednesday afternoon so many did get cancelled however I had an eye test booked in Hove at 10:30 so given that it was on we headed down to Hove Prom.
Arrived and quite icy but ok. Took it very steady and happy to finish in one piece. Not my quickest but a very enjoyable run.
Sadly, all 4 of my local runs succumbed to the icy weather, so no parkrun this week and I will be away sliding down hopefully very snowy mountains so will also miss the next 2 weeks. February can only be an improvement!
No PR for me today. Severn Bridge was on, albeit with an ice advisory again, but I didn’t fancy going on my own and we decided it was far too cold to bring baby out. Jenny stayed at home and I headed for the gym where I combined W4R3 of HM Plan (an intervals run) with (not) PR. Perfecto. I also did a spot of yoga and some weights.
Next up Shake-and-run ’s 100th next weekend, and the weather is under strict instructions not to put a spanner in the works. 🤞🤞🤞
This morning I was at my home parkrun in Navan. The ice was thankfully gone, but instead was a cold drizzle. I combined my Garmin Training Run with parkrun today. I finished in 50th place out of 158 runners and walkers in a time of 28:26. I still had another 1.2K to do afterwards. Then it was photo time as my parkrun friend Petula was celebrating her 250th parkrun. We all went out for coffee and sweet treats after the parkrun to celebrate. A good gang went out first and in the end it was just Ida, Petula and myself left behind until 1pm discussing our parkrun plans for 2025. It was a lovely morning with friends, exactly what parkrun is all about.
Lovely Medina parkrun today, sunny and frosty ,braved the shorts,only my arms stayed cold the whole run!! . Had a nice catch up chat ,enjoyable run, a bit over 36 mins so steady pace,last 2km faster with other friend Jane 👌
It was icy this morning at Portsmouth Lakeside - 0° before & after. There was a puddle of solid ice near the start which two volunteers bravely stood in front of, diverting runners left and right. There was another big turnout (397 finishers) leading to a bit of gridlock in the early stages, so it wasn't the day in any case for getting your skates on (unless they were ice skates? 😜) - hence I was quite happy with a time of 32.37. Warmer next week hopefully? 🤞
A very cold parkrun (run/walk) at Harrow. Terrific volunteers. This was a last minute drop-in and I was able to park walk as a volunteer. My planned parkrun cancelled. My junior has cancelled again due to the freezing temps.
Good morning Damien and all, only 24 hours late! Long day yesterday as Katnap and I did an Extreme parkrun to Tramore Valley in Cork, Ireland. Just on our way home now after two nights in a Premier Inn.
I think I’ll do a separate post on this but just to say here our thoughts on the parkrun and how it went.
We flew out on the 5.55am Ryan Air from Stansted. Starting at 9.30am, the parkrun is a 20 minute bus ride from the airport in a park on the outskirts of the city. It is an undulating two lapper with a cheeky little hill at 1.5 and 4km. However, the surface is one of the best I’ve run on - a nice, grippy tarmac. Toilet facilities are great and there is a cafe 10 minute walk away (we didn’t use it but the core team do). Lovely, friendly team who welcomed a much bigger than usual attendance with open arms.
In balmy temperatures 10° warmer than at home, and wearing shorts once again, I went a lot quicker than expected and got a sub 28 minuter for the first time in ages. Me and another Fordy were spurring each other on, especially up that hill!
We had the best full Irish cooked breakfast afterwards, combined with a pint of Guinness, in a pub in the centre. Too tired to work any of it off today - long run will have to wait until tomorrow!
My goodness TailChaser , did you sleep at the airport on Friday? Definitely the right move to go to a warmer parkrun but you must be rather tired after that. Dedication to Fordy Extreme and parkrun is endless. Glad all went to plan.
Wow TC. That really is extreme parkrun tourism. Super well done to you and everyone else. I’ve not had the pleasure of doing any Cork parkrun courses yet. That’s a job for next year. Must have been a fun day out.
Yes. However most pubs are struggling now. The price of alcohol and food has increased greatly which has resulted in people not going out to pubs to socialise as much. In my circle of friends we take turns and have little impromptu dinner parties with drinks instead. I think more and more people are doing similar things. Pubs are going out of business every week. It’s an unfortunate situation, costs to run a venue have increased, margins need to be maintained, so prices increase, hits people’s pockets too much, so they greatly reduce demand and cycle continues until they go out of business.
Content on HealthUnlocked does not replace the relationship between you and doctors or other healthcare professionals nor the advice you receive from them.
Never delay seeking advice or dialling emergency services because of something that you have read on HealthUnlocked.
