Park run fail

[Cazza73]

Well I went out tried to run and failed couldn’t even do one lap out of the three. Maybe it was different to what I expected but it was very competitive lots of club runners lapping me and totally lost my confidence. Taken me till today to get it back a little. How can I run for 32 mins but not run through a wood for 5k!!!

[Bluebirdrunner Graduate]

Don't worry Cazza... Realfoodieclub wrote a post about this recently which you may find interesting.

healthunlocked.com/couchto5....

Keep on running regularly and gaining stamina and strength 😊x

[MarkyD Graduate]

It's very common to set off too fast at parkrun and tire yourself out.

My advice for all C25K runners going to their first parkrun is to set off from the back of the pack, and then do a 5 minute warmup walk. This lets all the club runners disappear into the distance, and then leaves the path clear for you to go at your own pace. OK, some courses are multiple laps, but once you've established your rhythm, you'll resist the urge to speed up when others come past you.

You're in week 9, and so can run for 30 minutes, but it probably was the new course and all the other runners that put you off.

[Bazza1234 Graduate in reply to MarkyD]

Yes - every parkrun has a "tail runner" --- many/most? beginner runners will run the 5K in somewhere between 40-50 minutes and the tail runner will follow them in. . Unfortunately, C25K implies that we should be able to run 5K in 30 minutes!! I have now done 109 parkruns and have only ever run one under 30 minutes - and for me, going out too fast over the first 1K or so means later walking Death!!

[misswobble Graduate]

It’s not all club runners at all The elites just do their thing and don’t bother us

it’s there for everyone to enjoy. 🙂

[Lisagood1]

I've been to my local park run twice, the first time I walked it all and the second time I did a light jog for some of it. This was before starting the programme ( I'm only in week 2) there wasn't any pressure to compete with some people pushing Prams or walking dogs and the tail runner was amazing! He encouraged those at the back to keep going. Try to relax and not to feel you're being judged because believe me, everyone there is on their own journey, try to enjoy yours. Good luck.

[Cazza73]

Thanks guys some good advice there. This one had no proms no dogs just lots of fast runners from clubs (all wearing their running club colours) so maybe this one wasn’t for me.

[Cazza73]

Oops no prams not proms etc

[Whatsapp Graduate]

I'll echo MarkyD in saying that the rush of blood at the start makes it hard not to get swept up and go too fast.

Your starting point is important. Go to the front, and you will find the fast runners. You will set off too fast with this pack and spend the rest of the run getting overtaken as everyone settles in to their own pace.

Start at the back and you may find it is a bit blocked to start and you can't get much pace for a few yards. The benefit is, that when it does open up you will be overtaking others, which is a nicer feeling than the reverse from the front.

So my suggestion is to find somewhere in the pack that will work for you. Look for those that you think would be about your level. This is a fun game in itself as appearances can be deceptive.

I guess what I am saying is that you need to run your own race. You are there for you. Each week is different and it may be the week you went it was being hosted by a local club. You may find in the worse weather that the numbers drop a bit and you will find less of the fun runners and more of the club runners.