I ran 4 miles on Wednesday but got slightly held up by barriers (I run close to the circuits being used in the World’s) but still managed to only be 21 seconds down on my PB and nearly beat my PM up my regular long hill which, if you have watched any of the cycling is the drag up from the right turn out of the Stray and up Otley Road. If it wasn’t for the idiot trying to overtake me (I was running on the side of the road due to the barriers) then turn left even though there was a barrier stopping him from being able to so he swerved back in front of me, I would have beaten it (I was a single second down FFS).

And it’s the ParkRun for me in the morning. I think it might be a bit wet.

parkun (small p, 1 word ;-)) tomorrow for me too. A hungover 3.5 miler up there, thrash myself round the run, gentle run back is the plan.
Sunday I’m marshaling at Junior parkrun, a gentle run up there and then a long ish run home, 10 miles or so.
Got a half in 2 weeks and worryingly this is about as good as my training will get for it!

parkun (small p, 1 word ;-))

Hangs head in shame.

Although I do hate proper nouns that insist on lower case (note – it’s ‘lower case’, not ‘small’ unless you are seven 😉 ) as they look horrible when starting paras/sentences with them ie:

parkrun organise free, weekly, 5km timed runs around the world. They are open to everyone, free, and are safe and easy to take part in.

These events take place in pleasant parkland surroundings and we encourage people of every ability to take part; from those taking their first steps in running to Olympians; from juniors to those with more experience; we welcome you all.

Yak!

Hangs head in shame.

Although I do hate proper nouns that insist on lower case (note – it’s ‘lower case’, not ‘small’ unless you are seven 😉 ) as they look horrible when starting paras/sentences with them ie

Hahaha, you are correct that is looks crap. But I’m an Event Director at my parkrun and am not a fully signed up member of the parkrun grammar police!

🙂

Talking of PARKRUN, went along today hoping to get somewhere near 25 at Nonsuch. Did 26:17 last time out but went much nearer the front which was better. Found a 25 minute pacer and stuck with her, even chatting away on the first lap. Final km I felt good so decided to try my legs and speed up. Just about caught the 24 minute pacer and got a 23:54 on my watch. I’m amazed and don’t really know where it came from, but I suspect hill reps and intervals with Sutton Runners have something to do with it.

Well done all for your achievements, keep up the good work! All very inspiring.

Did my first ParkRun this morning. What great events they are; real mixed bag of abilities and a real friendly and welcoming environment. It times each person (even though I suspect almost everyone would have some sort of Garmin) and it’s all free!

They really put cycling events to shame.

Agreed Moonan, parkrun has been awesome for running, and getting folk out. Bravo.

North York Moors Half Marathon for me tomorrow. Noodling about between Ravenscar and Robin Hoods Bay and back. The forecast looks pretty grim and it’ll easily be the most height gain in a single run for me. Given the course record is somewhere around 2h, I’m expecting it to become “character building”.

Very solid improvement there root, shows there’s loads more potential to be tapped if you stick at it 🙂

I was not aware of the ParkRun franchise. Although not really surprised to read some councils have started to charge for people to run in their parks.

As Nobinthefridge wrote – it’s a great concept that encourages people to get out.

The running community has been a bit of a revelation to me. It reminds me of when I joined a cycling club in about 2007 – unpretentious, welcoming and fun. Cycling events back then were cheap, and parkrun is a great example of a phenomenal event that just inspires people to get out there. A far more diverse field than any cycling event – 16 minute finishers, me in the midfield, then people crawling over the line in 50 minutes, all determinded to finish. I’m happy with my time but I was tracking a guy Who was 65+ I think, who finished ahead of me. He might have been an elite athlete back in the day? Brilliant. I was chatting with the 25 minute pacemaker from Nothern Ireland and a young lad for the middle part who I sort of raced to the finish. Great fun. People with their kids, dogs, mums, dads all getting out there for a soggy Saturday morning, some with hangovers, some recovering from unjuries or illness, all running with no snobbishness or looking down on those that finish slower, or have cheap shoes. Well, ultimately, all you need is a pair of trainers and isn’t that great? There is always someone faster so just enjoy it. I think I’ll volunteer sometime soon and offer encouragement to the runners.

Oh, and just one more thing. It’s a far more diverse ethnic membership than the cycling I know – a fair representation of a cross section of society in the London borough that I live in, and I for one feel that is a very positive thing.

I still love bikes too though!

Parkrun stats. Quite incredible really:

http://www.elliottline.com/parkrun/2019/9/29/parkrun-attendance-and-milestone-stats-for-28-september-2019-and-29-september-2019

The running community has been a bit of a revelation to me. It reminds me of when I joined a cycling club in about 2007 – unpretentious, welcoming and fun. Cycling events back then were cheap, and parkrun is a great example of a phenomenal event that just inspires people to get out there. A far more diverse field than any cycling event – 16 minute finishers, me in the midfield, then people crawling over the line in 50 minutes, all determinded to finish. I’m happy with my time but I was tracking a guy Who was 65+ I think, who finished ahead of me. He might have been an elite athlete back in the day? Brilliant. I was chatting with the 25 minute pacemaker from Nothern Ireland and a young lad for the middle part who I sort of raced to the finish. Great fun. People with their kids, dogs, mums, dads all getting out there for a soggy Saturday morning, some with hangovers, some recovering from unjuries or illness, all running with no snobbishness or looking down on those that finish slower, or have cheap shoes. Well, ultimately, all you need is a pair of trainers and isn’t that great? There is always someone faster so just enjoy it. I think I’ll volunteer sometime soon and offer encouragement to the runners.

Absolutely this, people like me (30’s, reasonably fit, white) will always find a way to exercise if they want, it’s the other people that parkrun is for.

And please do volunteer, this weekend I completed my 51st run and got my 62nd volunteer credit and can confirm it’s awesome. I truth, I almost enjoy the volunteering more than the running!

I’m trying to talk my local parkrun into using pacers once a month, tjat way I can volunteer, and run too!

I’m trying to talk my local parkrun into using pacers once a month, tjat way I can volunteer, and run too!

That’s a cheats volunteer credit, get out on the course and cheer people on!
Joking aside, how quick are you? There are some roles (barcode scanning being the obvious) that you can do after a run if you’re reasonably sharp. We have 3 at Dudley and will allow one to run if they can be back in under 24 minutes as the rush starts to arrive at around 30 minutes. You can also try first timers briefing or even doing some pre-event set-up.

Lol, I do volunteer too! Can happily chap out a 21 minute 5k, so that 24 would work for me.

I’d quite like to pace say 25 minutes, get a bit of banter going. 😊

I’ve just got my arse in gear to start running again. I used to do a fair bit a few years ago, but fell out of the habit. I was persuaded to do a parkrun last weekend (only my second ever, last one was 6 years ago! I have volunteered and run around the junior ones with my kids more recently though.

I felt awful, about 20 seconds slower than last time, and on that occasion I’d run the 8 miles there and back too! Still, it’s got me keen again, and I always found it was easier over the winter when the idea of cleaning up a bike seemed like too much of a hassle.

I think we may be romanticising a bit too much about Parkrun. Parkrun came along years after my competitive days were over and whilst I think its laudable for people to run around around a park every Saturday morning (who wouldnt want to encourage that) at the end of the day it is a “fun run” again, nothing wrong with that at all (and I have ran many of them) my gripe is that they should not be timed and those results should not be published. As someone who grew up and began running in the 70’s the overwhelming contributor to the decades of enjoyment and fitness me and my peers enjoyed was the UK club structure. That is why you will always hear me banging on about joining your local running club and contributing in some way to that, whether it be marshalling, marking out courses or providing transport but most importantly supporting the great work they do to deliver “structured” coaching for up and coming competitive athletes (as well as a great many who have no competitive aspirations)
We can of course have both but if my club wanted to put on a 5k “race” in my local park then they would have considerably more cost and “red tape” to overcome.

Hmmm, not really.

Huge amounts of red tape setting up a parkrun, local one just started, the amount of hoops they had to jump through was unreal, even havibg to buy a defib. Their local running club tried to kibosh it too, bizarrely.

Me, I organise a 5k race every year, for charity, and the actual stuff I have to do is fairly minimal by comparison.

Huge amounts of red tape setting up a parkrun, local one just started,

My Brother tried to bring one to his local park but I understand he had to stump up money to buy a laptop etc which put him off. Other than the cost I am not sure what other red tape there was. edit: I think this was prior to the Defib requirement

Interested in your experience of setting up a race. What are the insurance liabilities?

I run it on land adjacent to work, owned by Scottish wildlife trust, we have a partnership with them, so they allow us to use their land (although it’s all on public path) and my employers public liability insurance covers.

my gripe is that they should not be timed and those results should not be published

I don’t agree with the first part of that comment – I find the timing of it the biggest motivator for me. I look forward to seeing the result flash up on my phone to see if I have managed a PB. The second part I tend to agree with, only because of GDPR – surely they shouldn’t be publishing people’s name these days?

Unfortunately athletics clubs have to find this money from there coffers or as part of the entry fee as well as permits, first aid, toilets etc all the things people expect a race to provide. As well as prizes, timekeeping and medals etc.

I don’t agree with the first part of that comment – I find the timing of it the biggest motivator for me. I look forward to seeing the result flash up on my phone to see if I have managed a PB.

Exactly. Its a race and should be advertised as such.

Isn’t one of the benefits of park run the accessibility though? Many people who try one may not be keen to turn up at a local running club to have a go, possibly due to perceived ‘elitism?’

I would see parkrun as a route to a club too, especially if your times improve – people may then feel more inclined to join a club.

I would see parkrun as a route to a club too, especially if your times improve – people may then feel more inclined to join a club.

I would hope so but I am not sure the evidence bears that out (I will try to find it later) having both is great and all for encouraging people to simply be active but in my view there is an element of displacement.

To set up a parkrun you need to raise £3k for the timing equipment, tokens, signs etc which is usually funded by councils.

Unfortunately athletics clubs have to find this money from there coffers or as part of the entry fee as well as permits, first aid, toilets etc all the things people expect a race to provide. As well as prizes, timekeeping and medals etc.

My club makes about half of its annual budget from the two races it organises, certainly it’s time consuming etc but of course once you’ve been running it for a few years it’s less of a struggle. That said they’re not competing with parkrun, these are well-established mountain trail races – I can see how trying to charge even a minimum fee for a 5K run in the UK could be a problem these days.

@mogrim yes and there are a large number of “professional” race organisers as well who are making a tidy profit and exploiting people in my view. My concern is the “club” races which charge fees to cover costs only and are put on by volunteers but are seeing their numbers fall. In my opinion partly due to the Parkrun displacement and the myth that is being perpetuated that athletics clubs are elitist.

Exactly. Its a race and should be advertised as such.

Well it’s not a race in that there are no prizes awarded.

Well it’s not a race in that there are no prizes awarded.

There are lots of things it is not but if somebody shouts go, people race and there is a finishing line and times are recorded and advertised (on Power of 10 no less!) then I think most people would agree that fulfils the criteria of a race.

Re parkrun.
The other thing is that people who are less fit won’t join a running club. It’s not about the fast guys, it’s about the people who are easing themselves into exercise and need a friendly, non-judgemental place to do it.
However, our local running clubs love parkrun as they get a steady stream of new members from it.

Don’t think organising parkrun is easy, getting ours at Dudley set up was a right ball ache, and it takes real time every week to make it happen.

I also don’t agree that’s it’s a race, of the 250 people who turn up at Dudley each week maybe 5 could hope to win. The rest are out there getting some exercise and maybe trying to beat their PB, the are only racing themselves. Without the timing you lose that and some of the appeal. And yes, some will have Garmins but the majority don’t as they’re not runners, they’re people going for a run.

To get what parkrun is all about you need to look at the back of the pack and not the front. The people whose only exercise that week will be parkrun. The people who hate exercising on their own as they’re self conscious about how they look or how they run. They are who parkrun is for, not people are “runners”.

And of the 4 running clubs local to me, 3 have seen an increase in both membership and race entries since we started, those 3 all support the event. The one that’s seen a drop have no interest in the event and actively shun it. Guess what, they’re losing out on a huge amount of new runners who do a few parkrun’s and then decide to join a club or do a race.

We’re not an exception, lots of clubs across the country are saying the same.

There are lots of things it is not but if somebody shouts go, people race and there is a finishing line and times are recorded and advertised (on Power of 10 no less!) then I think most people would agree that fulfils the criteria of a race.

I think it depends on who’s running – for the people at the front it’s definitely a race, for those at the back it’s perhaps more of a challenge. (By the same token I think sportives are in many ways races, despite the squeals of outrage road race purists…)

But parkrun’s definitely made running a 5K a more “normal” activity, not just something weirdos in sleeveless vests and scandalously short shorts do. Which is good, even if it does mean some of the smaller running clubs are at risk.

Parkrun and couch to 5k are both routes into running clubs, IMO. Only anecdotal mind, speaking for myself and others in my club.

Agreed Lunge. At my parkrun (Harrogate) there is a blind lady that runs with a helper every week, mums / dads with young children (some in pushchairs), people with dogs. There’s even a little old lady (easily in her late 70s I reckon and she’s done hundreds of parkruns now – I think over 250). People jog/walk it, some people simply walk it. It is a fantastic event that regularly attracts 450 people a week, many of which wouldn’t do any exercise at all without it. If someone wants to call it a race then fair enough, let them think that, but for the vast majority that I see, it is a way of getting out and just doing something.

Personally, I chose to start doing the parkrun as a way of motivating myself to get out as I often found it too easy not to bother for one reason or another. I’ll never be the fastest for my age (52, PB of around 23:30) but I enjoy it and it positively helps with my fitness and motivation.

Interesting to hear all that. It hasnt changed my view which is that Parkrun gets a “free ride” which I think forces out other events. Many of which have been instrumental in bringing our greatest athletes through the ranks. Absolutely not anti Parkrun as a way of getting people into exercise but I would maintain it is a race and given the posting of times on this thread, almost everybody on here also thinks that. I would also maintain that all of the good things that Parkrun apparently offers were largely available via the old club structure and other races already. I have ran 000’s of races over the years, only a small number did I expect win or place. I was “racing” every one of them.

Aye, hard to disagree that it’s a race, though not sure of the relevance, really.

Any clubs that don’t move with the times in any sport will stagnate or die. Lots of my clubmates volunteer at parkrun.

The relevance is that it doesnt adhere to the same criteria as clubs who put on “races” many of who are priced out.

Its not clubs that “need” to move with the times they can simply wither and die and the coaching support and competition along with them. Club members have been “volunteering” for generations prior to Parkrun you know and Parkrun does not offer the support to younger athletes that our club structure does. It is a depressing thought to think that all we value is the volume of entrants and not also the sharp end.