First parkrun time and your most recent parkrun time?

[OpheliaCrying]

If you wouldn't mind sharing that info, together with approx dates, it will give us all an idea of what sort of improvement is possible and over what time span.

[spectre]

I've timed my runs so that Run3 of each week coincides with the weekly Parkrun

16/12/2017 42.07

23/12/2017 week 1 run 3 39.57

30/12/2017 week 2 run3 40.00

06/01/2018 repeat week 2 38.38 (New Year and a 60th birthday party messed up our week for us so we stuck with week 2 for another week)

These times include the 5 minute warm up walk. For next week, we are going to do the warm up before Parkrun, so we can begin running at the start.

[OpheliaCrying Graduate in reply to spectre]

Good luck next week.

[loulou51 Graduate]

I don't know whether this is encouragement or not but I've been doing parkrun for about 3 years now after graduating. My times can be all over the place; my best time is 29:58 which was last summer and I think my worst time was about two weeks ago when I took about 40 minutes. I think what I'm trying to say is that although the trend is to improve there are times when a run just isn't happening properly. With my really slow parkrun I just settled down to chat to my friend and to enjoy the scenery.

[Atalaya Graduate]

My parkrun PB is 6 mins faster than my first ever attempt (nearly three years ago) but my first attempt is not my slowest.

I've run and walked with various family members to keep them company and these have been slow but very enjoyable.

For me parkrun can be very many things - a PB attempt, steady one, a really can't be bothered but get around anyhow because I want to get my t shirt, walking with a non sporty relative, a 'spirit of parkrun' parkrun (realising that a perfect stranger is struggling and being there for them) or even a 'coffee morning' parkrun which is just a catch up with a good friend - just in a park while we run instead of over coffee in a café.

I've no doubt that I could have improved more than 6 mins if I took it more seriously 😃

[Elfe5 Graduate in reply to Atalaya]

Love your approach Atalaya! Very inspiring thanks. 😃

[Realfoodieclub Graduate]

I think this could be slightly off putting for some, we try not to focus on times and paces especially for people going through the program. I was a slow burner, it took me ages to increase my pace, I’m still not the fastest but I have the confidence now for it not to bother me too much. You might get more response if you asked If over time your Parkrun pace has increased and if so how much,so the answer is more about time than pace.

[Gabby08 Graduate]

My first one was about six months ago and was just over 33mins. My pb just before Christmas was 27.46. That said, it took me 31 mins yesterday, for a variety of reasons, mainly the lashing hail stones and the fact that I was nattering to friends all the way round! I don’t think progress is necessarily always linear, nor is it always about pace. Sometimes I just feel like chasing down that 28 minute pacer. Other weeks, I want to trot round with my husband and my friends and their kids and their dogs and then stuff my face with cake at the end! On Christmas Day, my ‘personal worst’, I kept losing bits of fancy dress to the wind and ran at least a km extra, laughing the whole way round. Either way, I LOVE parkrun!

[SueKen Graduate]

My best Parkruns aren’t necessarily my fastest! They are the ones when I have run a nice steady pace without stopping, and get to the end not feeling completely pooped!

[swisstony4 Graduate]

First park run 1/1/18 - 31:24

Second run 6/1/18 - 28:56

Early days !!

[OpheliaCrying Graduate]

Thanks for the replies. I also love Parkrun and fully embrace the supportive ehos of Parkrun. That doesn't mean I'm not interested in improving my speed around the course when appropriate.

[spectre]

13/01/2018 Week 3 Run 3 - 38:04

Hmm not as big a time improvement as expected given we did the 5 minute warm up walk before the start. I think we weren't walking as briskly between runs.