W5R2 * 2 = Southampton Parkrun

[HelenaShaw]

I decided to incorporate my Week 5 Run 2 into a Parkrun this morning. I was so slow that I managed to do the whole run twice! 

I was running with the tail runner the whole way round - she was extremely supportive - many thanks!!

That last (4th!) 8 minutes was extremely difficult, but somehow the cheers and support of the other runners at the end kept me going past the end of the 8 minutes to the end of the run, and somehow I found a sprint at the end!

I was 773rd out of 778 in a time of 48m - there is a lot of room for improvement there, but I feel great for finishing, and the park was so beautiful this morning in the sunshine that there's nowhere else I wanted to be!!

Helena

[Ullyrunner Graduate]

Good for you tackling parkrun early in the programme - good luck with run 3!

[Madge50 Graduate]

Fantastic you! And yay! Go parkrun, go parkrun, go parkrun - I'm a convert (can you tell?😄😄😄😄) 

Mx

[agedsnailspace Graduate]

Well done you!

If you thought it was fun today, just wait til you get your first pb...

Saturday's will never be the same again.

[Hidden]

Well done , parkrun is so supportive for all abiliies 😊

[Hidden]

Wow...congratulations ! parkrun is addictive and now you've got a time to aim for there will be no stopping you !

[Hannah27]

Hello! I have been looking for fellow Southampton runners... the idea of doing parkrun still scares me! As I am not close to doing 5 K yet and it sounds a bit competitive with people knowing eachothers times etc.. how did you find it on the whole? And would u recommend it to newbies like me?? xxx

[AnneDroid Graduate in reply to Hannah27]

If you're worried about people knowing your times, Hannah, you can just turn up and run along with everyone else but not hand over your barcode at the end.

However, can I suggest it would be a better plan just not to worry about that as it's great to know your own time because then you can see your improvements week to week. Also, NO ONE will judge you for being slow. All I've met with has been encouragement. Other runners are either not thinking about you at all, or if they do find out you're a beginner they will just want to encourage you. Also if you lurk at the back you'll find yourself with other beginners and there's a nice camaraderie in that.

[HelenaShaw Graduate in reply to Hannah27]

Hi,

I got nothing but support and encouragement every time I went to the parkrun at Southampton, and I managed to improve my times throughout the C25K and after I'd finished C25K. I'm still very slow, but the other people are so wonderful they make it so worthwhile. The people I got to know over the weeks there (mostly tail runners!) all used to congregate at the end and cheer me over the line - so brilliant!

I'd definitely recommend it - there's no problem alternating walking and running as much as you want to - hope you have as much fun as I did / do

I do my parkruns at Moors Valley each week now as it is slightly closer to me, and they've been amazing there too.

Please let us know how you get on

[anna91]

First of all; absolutely well done! What a great achievement. It's very inspiring that you enjoyed it even though at times you were struggling. Second of all; hello from the neighbouring city of Portsmouth! Can't wait to join in the park runs when I'm at a higher level