The title says it all. I'm two weeks in after graduation and a fully signed up member to Parkrun however i haven't actually made it to one yet. I keeping planning to go but then chickening out at the last minute.
I know they're all freindly and no one minds any one lagging behind but just for my own reassurance I was wondering if anyone coudl give me an idea of a rough time for a 5K run?
I've can run 5K comfortably (although having tried any further) and i can do it in 30 minutes. Would that be an average time? or do you think i need to try and speed up a bit first?
Thanks for your help, Alison
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alliec
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I've been looking at the stats for my two local parkruns recently. Timings vary from about 17 mins (mind boggling!!) to 35/40 mins. So at 30 mins you shouldn't have any worries about trailing behind. Go for it
I still haven't plucked up courage to go to mine yet. The slowest in mine (around 60 runners) seem to range from 33 minutes to 38 minutes. I'd be between those times I think. At 30 minutes I think you'd be way ahead of the slowest runners. Each parkrun has a results page so you should be able to check.
The Parkrun is not a race against other runners as such, its you against the clock, once you have run one you have then set your own time to try and better. If you are running 5K in 30 minutes thats a good time too. So don't be nervous, just get down there this Saturday and enjoy yourself, they are a friendly bunch of runners. Hope you've linked C25K as your running club. Enjoy and good luck.
Hi, yes you can go back and edit your profile to put C25K as your running club- I did. Good way of advertising it.
30 mins is very respectable time and I'd doubt you would be last at the majority of Parkruns. as others have said- check the results page of your local parkrun to give you an idea of times. You will probably find that while it is not a race, running with others and being encouraged by the marshalls may push you to be faster than normal.
My fastest Parkrun was 41:40 my slowest 53:10. If you go to the website for your Parkrun you should see a link to their latest results page which will show you the range of times in all its glory.
At 30 min you ain't slow! If you are still worried that they will have packed up and gone away before you finish (!!!!!!) find a marshal before you start and tell them that its your first time and that you might be a bit slow.
Go soon and have fun. Don't injure yourself afterwards when kicking yourself for not having tried one earlier!
Ahhh we all need to be afraid, very afraid, there were 2 kids ran it in 35 minutes according to Parkrun mag this month. Aged 7 & 5!!!, There are more budding Mo's out there it seems.
Parkruns are all about running with mainly inexperienced and largely non-runners. Its also about having fun and meeting people. If you want to race you should try an organised event. Runners world events page has lots to choose from. Obviously you can race at a parkrun but the emphasis is on just having fun, i have done a couple recently and will be again on Sat. The best i can do is about 34 minutes so just go for it and enjoy yourself, Ed x
Don't forget that these Parkruns would not happen if people didn't volunteer to do a duty once in a while. So once you become aquainted put your name down for a duty, you'll have lots of fun, it will help you bond with the other runners quicker than just running and then running away!!
I keep saying I'm going to try it, but ours is getting scaringly fast - hardly anybody seems to go over 30minutes anymore and it seems to be more and more club super-fast runners. Hoping it will improve in spring when new people decide to give this running business a go and then some slower people might turn up again...
You have spurred me on to take a look at mine and put my name down. I haven't graduated yet so not sure if it's a bit too soon to have a go. Maybe after Christmas?
Glad you asked that question, I've been having exactly the same worries. I've only managed 37 mins for 5k so far and didn't want to go to my local parkrun and crossing the finishing line ages after everyone else. Like others have advised, I looked up the results for the past few weeks and while I'm slow I don't look to be very much slower than a few others, so now all I have to do is get there and see how I do Your speed is much better than mine so I'd be really surprised if you have any problems. Go for it and enjoy! Let us all know how you get on FF
Hiya.... The times you mention above are very respectable. On parkrun they do age grades so you can see how you measure up against people about your age. (You need to sort on the age grade section of the results).
I did my second parkrun on Saturday with 50 mins walk run. It's a start. The volunteers waited for me and were wonderfully encouraging. Parkrun is a fabulous community. I love it. And I really only have started running again because of volunteering at my local parkrun most weeks. You can't help but get fired up and find them there running shoes buried somewhere in the house!
My daughters do Park Runs in various places, and there are usually plenty of people doing more than 30 mins. Some people speedwalk rather tha run, too. And I gather they always have a ‘tail walker’ whose job is to be last, so that none of the runners is actually last!
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however i haven't actually made it to one yet. I keeping planning to go but then chickening out at the last minute. 
Guess who's signed up for a race :)
Please, if you have a little spare time.
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