Yesterday I attended my first ever Parkrun, not as a runner, but as a marshal just so that I could suss everything out and get a feel for it before I run it on 6th May I enjoyed it very much & have volunteered to marshal again next Saturday. Feeling a bit curious about the route, I returned to the park today with OH, First Born & her fiancé so that I could run the route & not have any surprises when I officially run the route in May. First Born & I ran it whilst the other 2 walked it. There were 2 really steep hills which First Born aced till she got to the top of the 2nd one & she had to walk it. First time around (the route is 2 laps around the lake) I whizzed up both hills, 2nd time round was a tad slower but I got there without stopping. I had to take a comfort break after lap one and I actually remembered to stop my Fitbit & then restart it again! I completed the course in 39 minutes 42 seconds with which I am very pleased (the whole course is just over 5k) because I took a few seconds out to stop & photograph the lake & route and a second time to check I was going along the right path.
(Photo is part of the route I ran this morning)
Written by
Dhiny
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Good for you! Great idea to get the hang of it first. The lie of the land sorta thing. Good to volunteer! It's fun isn't it. I like the tail runner job
Ours is flat, which can be a bit relentless. That one in your pic looks like ours.
I am sure that you will enjoy it - there is no need for any kind of stress at parkrun. You will find all kinds of people there - young and old, fast and slow. I did my 98th parkrun on Saturday ( and I am 70) - and deliberately ran it 7 minutes slower than my PB ( I was playing around/experimenting with nasal breathing) . When I first started at parkrun I got a bit caught up in trying to run my fastest - but these days I only "have a go" when the conditions and me are right Most times I treat it as a social occasion and team up with a slower runner than myself and run alongside them. The thought that at age 70, I run 5K with younger people slower than me is a good feeling - and something that I would never have even dreamed about 5 years ago when I was 10Kg heavier
I will be running it with my daughter who is dyspraxic & runs much slower than me. I will run alongside her at a slower rate than I usually run. The aim of the run is to enjoy it & complete it regardless of time. There will be time enough for me to whizz around it 😀
And if you go on to your home parkrun's page you can put it in as a FREEDOM RUN...That is where you can keep a record of your efforts on the course outside of the official parkrun.
I really enjoy the volunteering...Try other roles too. It gets me out of my comfort zone... I dished out the finishing tokens last week while My daughter was token support with me. This Saturday I was funnel manager and bricking it, but all went well.
Everyone is really friendly. Mr Pip has also been volunteering from when he was on the injury couch...Everyone is really friendly and explain what to do.
I found Freedom run yesterday so entered my details. I will eventually volunteer for all the roles but thought I'd get marshalling ticked first. My OH volunteers too & has volunteered for next week with me. He walks the course 😊
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I completed the course in 39 minutes 42 seconds with which I am very pleased (the whole course is just over 5k) because I took a few seconds out to stop & photograph the lake & route and a second time to check I was going along the right path. 
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