I’m due to do a Park run in 11 days time. I’m up to running for 30 minutes but only covering just over 3km. Do I increase my pace or time?

[Bren_uklancs]

Slow pace

[cheekychipmunks Graduate]

You almost certainly won’t be able to get to 5k in 30 minutes by then - if you can, then wow!

Parkrun has no time limit, so if I were you I’d work up to doing 5k at your own pace, then tackle it on the day and see how you get on. Don’t stress it though. You can always walk at park run if you need to. 😀

The main thing is, don’t push yourself so hard you get injured. And most important of all, have tons of fun! 👍😀

[ELSW73 Graduate in reply to cheekychipmunks]

Take it steady, and then when you do your 2nd, 3rd, 4th park runs you can focus on doing better than you’ve previously done. You’re not racing anyone else - just yourself. And you are beating the hell out of “Week 1 You”

[MarkyD Graduate]

Don't increase your pace. You won't be able to run faster at your first parkrun, and so keep it simple.

parkrun is over a 5km course, and there will be all kinds of runners. I recommend starting your parkrun with a 10 minute, brisk, warmup walk. This will get your heartrate ready for running (and probably you'll cover about 1km). It also allows the fast runners to get out of your way, and will help you resist the temptation to try and run as fast as the folks in front of you.

After 10 minutes, start your 30 minute run. As you said, you'll cover about 3km in that time, and so at the end of the run you'll be 4km into the route.

What happens next depends upon you. Maybe you end up walking the rest of the route, but maybe you still have some energy to keep running (the atmosphere should help). Or you maybe want to go to a walk/run strategy, walking until you've recovered your breath, and then running again. just make sure that whatever happens, you run over the finish line. Folks will be there cheering you on.

[UnfitNoMore Graduate]

Neither... do a walk/run and have fun

[IannodaTruffe Mentor]

Have you read the guide to post C25K running healthunlocked.com/couchto5... which explains some of your options after C25K but one golden rule is not to try to increase pace and distance in the same run.

You need to increase your duration of runs, but not every run. The 10% rule, which is again explained in the above-mentioned guide, is used to only increase your weekly training load by that amount.

There is no time limit at parkrun, so don't pressure yourself to do more than you are ready for.