Running

For you who have taken part in Park runs or even half marathons etc..

Which one was your hardest to complete?

[Buddy34 Graduate]

I have done 3 parkruns , 4th one will be this Saturday. I wouldn't say they were hard to complete. It was first time nerves of being the new person at the first one. But once we had the first timers briefing all the nerves just washed away . Now I feel like I'm part of it. 😊

[damienair Graduate]

I have done 53 Parkruns, a few 5K and 10K road races. I have not done any half marathons and genuinely have no interest to do so at the moment.

Generally I find the midweek training runs where I am running alone are the hardest. I find it much easier running in a crowd or with company. A 5K parkrun could be way harder than a 10K road race if you give the parkrun your maximum effort whilst chasing a PB. My parkrun PB is 25:36 and my 10K PB is 58:14. The parkrun PB attempt was so much harder than the 10K PB as I gave the 5K PB attempt everything I had.

Damien

[Hidden]

I've never done a park run or run a half marathon but have done 6 power walk marathons, 4 of those were the Moonwalk😀. I did find the one in 2015 tough because of the pesky old IBS.

I'm taking part in a challenge in Derbyshire in May called The Leaden Boot Challenge, it's easy to find on the internet but it's a marathon distance walk across the Dales, can't wait.😀

[backintime Graduate]

I have done a 7k event and a 10k event

at the time of each event I had run at least 3K further than the event distance but found each one very hard

I am pushing myself to do these to go outside of my comfort zone but the crowds, everyone running faster than me (I pootle along quite slowly), the new routes (neither was on one of my regular running routes)

My next event is a 13K trail - I have already run over the distance, but I will have to work on the hills

then I have a HM in March (for which I will have run over the distance before doing it, but for which there is a 3 hour cut off)

I'm not sure if I find events hard or it's just because it's so different from my normal routes or outside of my comfort zone but the two I have done have been hard for me

On the plus side, I have been running for 6 months, so running is still new to me and these are all learning experiences

[davelinks Graduate]

Have done 63 Parkruns at 10 different places, found Lloyd Parkrun & Crystal Palace Parkrun the hardest for me with their elevations, I try and keep to the flatter Parkruns, but hey! Some hills are good to do!

And feel good I can get out there and run at 64, a lot of it owing to the great c25k...

[ArthurJG Graduate]

Apart from a couple of times before I finished Couch to 5k, and once where with hindsight I wasn’t fit to run, I’ve only been forced to walk part of the way at two parkruns: Stonehaven and Camperdown.

[Oldgirlruns Graduate]

I’ve only done 4 parkruns - the hardest was the one which coincided with my graduation run. Problem? Running in a wind blowing at up to 40mph isn’t easy!!

[GoGo_JoJo Graduate]

🤔 interesting question, is your interest more in the joining in aspect or actual difficulty involved in the running?

I can't comment on the joining in aspect but having done 3 marathon distance runs, countless HM or more runs etc, the only ones I found hard were ones that got boring. My first 2 mara runs had a very flat section and throughout I kept thinking... this is so hard, just want it over.

In fact I even gave up once on a 21ish mile run knowing my husband was at home and had offered if I wanted to cut it short, to pick me up, so I did at mile 17 on a dull road. I wouldn't normally have the luxury of that option so would have had another 4 miles to home.

[Hidden in reply to GoGo_JoJo]

I used to run regular about 30+ years ago so I'm well out of the loop.

I suppose I'm just interested in other people's experiences with running in Park runs etc.

[Coddfish Graduate]

I have run over 160 parkruns in 35 different locations. Yes you’ve guessed it, I am a parkrun addict, more recently a parkrun tourism addict. My home parkrun is completely flat and on tarmac, and I find the hardest parkruns are those that are furthest away from that - “undulating” and/or run in fields. I don’t cope well if it’s uneven under foot and/or slippy. The hills give me a problem going down as well as up! But the thing I find hardest of all is coping with heat. Over 23 degrees or so and I have had it. That said, I love all parkruns, the course variety whilst the set up always being the same. I have run very large parkruns (e.g, Bushy Park) as well as smaller ones. I have run parkruns in New Zealand and aim to pick up one in Japan in a few weeks.

For events, I have done 4 10ks, 1 a very large one (London Vitality), plus I have done the (10 mile) Great South Run once and am doing it again in 2 weeks. All flat and tarmac.

I think the bottom line is knowing what sort of thing you like. That will probably come easier than doing something out of your comfort zone. For me it means flat, tarmac, happy to keep going for a long distance so long as it’s cool enough. I was not built for speed nor for a hot climate.

[IannodaTruffe Mentor]

The one and only organised event (apart from parkruns) that I entered.

Less than a kilometre from the start line, the 200 runners had to queue to climb a locked farm gate.

[Oldgirlruns Graduate in reply to IannodaTruffe]

😱