PARK RUN'S NINTH BIRTHDAY..............AND RUN... - Couch to 5K

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PARK RUN'S NINTH BIRTHDAY..............AND RUNNING UP THAT HILL.

IannodaTruffe profile image
IannodaTruffeMentor
15 Replies

Yesterday I had planned to attend Park Run at Killerton, but the thunder and driving rain at 7.30 kept me firmly and cosily in bed. It wasn't that I am just a fairweather runner, of course, but I have decided that I can only fit one Park Run per month into my running schedule and the day before I had received the Park Run newsletter, telling me that next weekend is Park Run's ninth birthday. This is what it says...

“On the first Saturday of October 2004 13 parkrun pioneers came together for a free, weekly (can you say that about the first one?), timed, 5km (actually it was about 50 metres short back then) run. Who would have thought that just under nine years later over 400,000 different people would have run 10,000,000 miles at 25,000 free, weekly, timed, 5km running events across five continents!”

Now, I have only attended one Park Run but I love the ethos of this event, where a world wide community has got its act together to produce this welcoming, supportive and totally inclusive celebration of running. So I didn't go yesterday, because I definitely want to be there next week....for a party!!

If you have never been before, then I urge you to go and to become part of an international movement of people enjoying their ability to run in the open air. It is free and only requires a very simple online registration before you go. It would also be great if we all put down our club as NHS C25k, it is there on the official lists, just to shout out to the world about this brilliant scheme to get fit and active.

I know that I had said I would look out for Sallycycle at Killerton and that Cloudchaser was probably going to be there, but, ok, I wimped out and missed out on meeting my fellow C25k travellers. However, I do hereby solemnly declare, that I will attend Killerton Park Run, on Saturday 5th October, come rain or shine, for better or for worse and I will loiter outside the tearooms afterwards in the hope of meeting any of you who might make it to the party.

Now, it only takes one other C25ker from each ParkRun event to make a similar statement of intent and we have the beginnings of a nationwide (worldwide?) social, sub event.

Maybe we could all do the conga............

I did run, eventually, yesterday, after the rain had stopped. Yeah, SOFTY, I know. My aim was a slow distance extending run, so I set a 12k+ route taking in some hills and footpaths that I had not previously run. Starting at 4.30 in the afternoon just does not feel right. It wasn't too warm in Devon yesterday but the humidity was high and I decided almost straight away to ditch the 1.5 k loop at the start, because I was a wimp....no other explanation.

The first new challenge was Posbury Hill. This is a rise of 94m over 1.8k with a little levelling off in the middle. I have walked it before and thought it was long and steep, but by keeping pace down, so that breathing was easy, but also shortening stride, to try to maintain cadence, I made it to the top. Smiling all the way. As I looked out across the red ploughed fields, to the mist lifting gently out of the sodden trees, in the copse at the summit, I thought that I would never have bothered to go for a walk, at 4.30 on a day that most sane people had written off as too damn wet, but here I was, enjoying my home environment like never before.

At last I am beginning to discover a slow pace, in which the running slips into the almost effortless. The times were, as expected, unspectacular, but I made it to 11k (another distance target ticked off), even ran up the hill to my finish point and thoroughly enjoyed my run. Now I may not be Kate Bush, but I can recommend Running Up That Hill.

Don't forget Park Run, next week. DA DA DA DAHH....

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IannodaTruffe profile image
IannodaTruffe
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15 Replies
c4ts profile image
c4tsGraduate

Well done for going out eventually and conquering the hill. I am now so jealous about next Saturday and the Park Run, as I have signed up to do the Bramham Park 5K on Sunday 6th October so really do not think I am up for doing a 5K two days running.

IannodaTruffe profile image
IannodaTruffeMentor in reply toc4ts

Ah, go on, you know you want to....

OldNed profile image
OldNedGraduate

Great post; well done. Sometimes you just have to get out and do it.

IannodaTruffe profile image
IannodaTruffeMentor in reply toOldNed

Better late than never

Narmour profile image
NarmourGraduate

Was this the killer hill that has been taunting you all this time? congrats, it's always good to beat an old foe. 11k as well is seriously impressive. *Claps hands*

IannodaTruffe profile image
IannodaTruffeMentor

Unfortunately, Narmour, Breakheart is yet to be conquered. Posbury Hill was a road run of 1.8k, while the steepest part of Breakheart is just 50m rise over about 300m on grass, about 18.5% according to Google Earth. This was just a warm up act, Breakheart will be beaten before the year is out.

So, thanks for the congrats, but not quite as impressive as you might have thought......yet.

waletta profile image
walettaGraduate

No it is impressive. Very impressive! Have I read the posts on the forum right? I could do a park run even if I have never run for 5k on the trot, so long as I finish the course one way or another? How long will they wait for me to finish & will I feel silly? Or maybe I should wait until I know that I can actually run 5K? (When I get back out & about of course.)

IannodaTruffe profile image
IannodaTruffeMentor in reply towaletta

Walletta, have a look at the parkrun page for your local run and check out the times that people have run. At mine some folk were coming in well over 40 minutes and they had walked part of the course. They were still cheered in over the line and had big grins on their faces. The folk at park run are as supportive as on this forum and are in no way condescending. It is a great way to get an accurate timed 5k run, setting a marker for the future, and set up your weekend. You will enjoy it, I promise you.

Horrorhiker profile image
HorrorhikerGraduate in reply toIannodaTruffe

I'm definitely planning to do a parkrun as soon as I've graduated. (I'm on wk4 run3 tomorrow). Due to my shifts etc, my next available one will now be November realistically. Do they run right over the winter, even if there is snow etc? Do they ever get cancelled in you experience?

Great post by the way. I stumbled upon the website a couple of weeks ago and since then my missus has been moaning that I'm obsessed. It's a shame when you're looking on the web for 5k runs to aim for, the parkrun doesn't come up higher in the search results. (didn't for me anyway). Cheers.

IannodaTruffe profile image
IannodaTruffeMentor in reply toHorrorhiker

As far as I know park runs continue throughout the year. Cancellations occur occasionally due to weather and also if the venue is being used for some other event. The park run webpages are very well put together and have most of the info you could need. If you can't find an answer then just ask here. As you have discovered, this forum is a wonderful place full of motivation, inspiration and second hand endorphins. You can always volunteer at park run to suss it out, if you are not too sure about doing the run.

Enjoy your running.

Horrorhiker profile image
HorrorhikerGraduate in reply toIannodaTruffe

Cool thanks. I was thinking about volunteering actually. I might do the run first when I've graduated, and then put my name down.

Thanks again for the info :)

waletta profile image
walettaGraduate in reply toIannodaTruffe

Thanks Iannoda, I took a look & I could only find the average which was about 26mins. A bit daunting but I read your reply to Horrorhiker too & I think I'll register, go & watch one & hope that inspires me to volunteer &, if it's anything like C25K & this site, hopefully I won't be able to stop myself. You make it sound really worthwhile. (you'll like this "not a lot" but I just corrected my typo which said C24K -which by the way I'm not up to yet either.)

IannodaTruffe profile image
IannodaTruffeMentor in reply towaletta

Excellent, waletta, you shouldn't feel any pressure and the whole thing only works because of volunteers. If you go to latest results tab on your home park run web page, you will see the times of everyone who ran last Saturday. Those at the top will be finishing at around 17 mins (get you head round that!), while, on my local run, the last guy in was at 52 minutes, with plenty of others in the same vicinity. It may be different on your run, but it is set up to encourage people to run, and I know you want to do that.

Enjoy your running.

waletta profile image
walettaGraduate

I found the tab eventually. The fastest was 16.39 & the slowest 38.17. Still a bit daunting. Baby steps as they say. Yes I'm still going to sign up & go for a look etc.

A friend in work asked for the web site details for C25K as she's quite keen & when I was talking to my husband last week, instead of him saying "I not going running", he said "what would I wear on my feet". I call that progress.

Had to walk down my cycle track (note its now "my" cycle track) to catch my train to work & actually thought that it wasn't as good as running it. Anyway thanks again. Off to sign up now.

IannodaTruffe profile image
IannodaTruffeMentor in reply towaletta

That's the way to do it! Keep spreading the word.

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