parkrun

[KTF]

I might get him something (probably make up a silly certificate or similar) but it will be presented the week after as who knows when it might happen

Am currently bunged up with a cold which could tilt it back in his favour on Saturday

[RizzoTheRat]

egor110 said:

When he does beat you are you going to get him some celebratory cake ?

And force feed it to him before the run

[Smitters]

Does anyone have any insights on setting up a junior parkrun, such as venue finding (and must-haves/would like to haves), for example? No sense in me approaching land owners only to find I've not met a basic parkrun requirement. I checked the PR website, but it supposes I'm quite a lot further than I am in the thinking and planning than I am, given the level of details it asks for. TIA.

[KTF]

If you fill in the form here then it will get logged and you will be assigned an ambassador who will explain the whole process to you:

http://www.parkrun.com/about/start-your-own-event/

Better to get it in the system and tracked than go down the road on your own then find it isnt suitable.

[john2443]

Smitters said:

Does anyone have any insights on setting up a junior parkrun, such as venue finding (and must-haves/would like to haves), for example? No sense in me approaching land owners only to find I've not met a basic parkrun requirement. I checked the PR website, but it supposes I'm quite a lot further than I am in the thinking and planning than I am, given the level of details it asks for. TIA.

I think it not crossing or being on roads is probably the only requirement.

It's better if there's a café near the end, not quite as important as with adults, but it helps build a community if there's somewhere to hang about afterwards.

Useful if there are loos and parking - although it's encouraged that people walk/run/bike to get there, some people will drive and you don't want to be upsetting the locals by blocking everywhere up.

It is worth contacting HQ for info and also someone else in your area might be thinking of setting one up as well.

[KTF]

See here for an overview of the activation process and details about what to think about when plotting a course, etc:

http://wiki.parkrun.info/index.php/Thinking_About_...

There is lots of other information on the wiki as well.

Edited by KTF on Friday 10th February 11:13

[Smitters]

Thanks both - useful info. A wiki - that is exactly what I need! Cheers.

[ukaskew]

KTF said:

See here for an overview of the activation process and details about what to think about when plotting a course, etc:

http://wiki.parkrun.info/index.php/Thinking_About_...

There is lots of other information on the wiki as well.

Really interesting stuff there just as a casual observer. Always wondered about the logistics of it all. Seems like a pretty tightly run ship as well, £5k (reduced to £2.5k after sponsors chip in) is good going to set up and maintain an event. That kind of money can disappear in many public/private organisations before anyone has lifted a finger trying to getting something much smaller off the ground, even excluding staff costs.

[john2443]

ukaskew said:

Really interesting stuff there just as a casual observer. Always wondered about the logistics of it all. Seems like a pretty tightly run ship as well, £5k (reduced to £2.5k after sponsors chip in) is good going to set up and maintain an event. That kind of money can disappear in many public/private organisations before anyone has lifted a finger trying to getting something much smaller off the ground, even excluding staff costs.

Those are + VAT, so £6000, half to be raised locally plus half from HQ.

That's just the set up cost. Local event costs (eg supplementary kit)are from donations and HQ costs from sponsors - there are about 15(?) staff, so a reasonable wages bill plus replacing standard kit that HQ provide to events (scanners, timers etc) and buying/renting servers.

I think the total budget is something like £2m a year which is still pretty cheap - about 10 million runs per year, that's 20p per run compared to the £20 I paid for last weeks 10k.
Not quite comparing like for like, but gives a comparison.

[Trabi601]

Biggest challenge for Junior runs is getting volunteers on board, as you need lots more than you do for a senior run - believe it's a requirement that the kids are never out of view of a volunteer / marshal.

[ukaskew]

My aim has been to drop 10 minutes from my first ever parkrun (which was my 3rd ever run) within 12 months. Started on April 23rd last year with a 34:11, stalled on a 25:03 for some time now but today I knocked nearly 50 seconds off my PB to do a 24:17.

No speedwork, parkrun is my fastest weekly run by a huge margin, the hilly 10k trails I do on a Sunday feel like they are paying off massively. Aside from those two weekend runs I do a very steady 3 miler in the week. Thrilled with my progress on that limited training.

So close! Really need to do it soon as I struggle in warm conditions. It was so, so cold today with snow falling, perfect.

[john2443]

Trabi601 said:

Biggest challenge for Junior runs is getting volunteers on board, as you need lots more than you do for a senior run - believe it's a requirement that the kids are never out of view of a volunteer / marshal.

Yes, the routes needs to be visually covered by marshals all the way round because you might have 4yr olds running on their own, whereas at 5k under 11s are with an adult. (OK, we could debate whether anyone U18 should be running on their own, 11 was picked because over 11s take themselves to school so it seemed sensible that if they could do that then they could run on their own)

[egor110]

ukaskew said:

My aim has been to drop 10 minutes from my first ever parkrun (which was my 3rd ever run) within 12 months. Started on April 23rd last year with a 34:11, stalled on a 25:03 for some time now but today I knocked nearly 50 seconds off my PB to do a 24:17.

No speedwork, parkrun is my fastest weekly run by a huge margin, the hilly 10k trails I do on a Sunday feel like they are paying off massively. Aside from those two weekend runs I do a very steady 3 miler in the week. Thrilled with my progress on that limited training.

So close! Really need to do it soon as I struggle in warm conditions. It was so, so cold today with snow falling, perfect.

I work most sats which is a bit of a bummer re park runs , however i don't find my hilly runs help re speed i just seem to be able to run up steep hills a lot longer now .

Anyone know if rizzo's teen rival beat him today?

[KTF]

Assume you mean me

Sadly he was victorious this Saturday although it was a hollow victory as I am bunged up with cold so had a shocking second mile/lap (it's a 3 lap course of 1 mile per lap) which allowed him to get past and away. 6:36 / 6:52 / 6:36 splits so an end result of 20:21 for me and 19:56 for him.

Even if my second split was closer to the others am not sure I could have kept him at bay as that only 16s I would have recovered out of his 25s lead. He was as he flying round and I was a bag of snot at the finish.

Should really have skipped it and had a rest but there were points at stake. The sooner it gets to the end of Feb the better as I have been running every parkrun since Dec 1 plus the holiday bonus ones in order to maintain my third place on the points table. Not that parkrun is competitive or anything but it's tiring racing every Saturday.

[RizzoTheRat]

My Mrs committed the cardinal sin yesterday, changing out of her run kit afterwards and found her finish token still in her pocket. Got the token back to them but she's a bit gutted as missing one means she won't hit her 250 by her birthday in the summer

KTF said:

Sadly he was victorious this Saturday although it was a hollow victory as I am bunged up with cold

So are you taking him a cake/certificate for next week or did you make sure you coughed all over him to give him your cold?

[KTF]

If you email the event then they should add her to the results. Takes seconds to do and most will do this as they like a full set of results.

Well he said he was coming down with a cold at the start but I don't think that was quite true given his finish time Given the state I was in at the finish I am fairly sure he has one now though

Next week I will be back to prove that it was a one off due to the cold...

[RizzoTheRat]

Met up with one of the core team to give to token back he said he'd talk to the results bod about putting her in. Figured putting her result in was less hassle for them than losing a token so hoping it'll get updated

[ukaskew]

Any tips on being a pacer? It's something I'd love to start doing but would like to practice it unofficially a few times first. I'm thinking 26 minutes, which is near enough my natural steady pace now and nearly two minutes slower than my PB, so nice and comfortable.

On a practical level, how do you manage it? The starts are normally quite bogged down so it may not be possible to hit target pace for a little while, which means immediately that aiming for 8:20 pace will be too slow come the end. I have a Garmin Forerunner 235 but don't currently monitor it when actually running, any tips on what I should configure to help me out?

[Cybertronian]

ukaskew said:

Any tips on being a pacer? It's something I'd love to start doing but would like to practice it unofficially a few times first. I'm thinking 26 minutes, which is near enough my natural steady pace now and nearly two minutes slower than my PB, so nice and comfortable.

On a practical level, how do you manage it? The starts are normally quite bogged down so it may not be possible to hit target pace for a little while, which means immediately that aiming for 8:20 pace will be too slow come the end. I have a Garmin Forerunner 235 but don't currently monitor it when actually running, any tips on what I should configure to help me out?

Definitely practice a couple of times beforehand, both on your own on the route and in the actual event roughly where you aim to start from to factor in the few extra metres and crowding at the start as you've pointed out. Also factor in any GPS dark spots like trees where the pace may slip.

The cardinal sins of bad pacing are going a little too slow for majority of the run, and then sprinting the end to make up the deficit, or going too fast throughout, and then slowing for the end. Aim for steady splits and to finish in 25:50 to 25:59.

Is the course pancake flat, or does it have climbs? You'll have to take the climbs a touch slower and make up the loss on the other side, as race pace on the climbs will probably be too much for those following you.

It's entirely up to you whether you're chatty and encouraging (don't expect many to reply!) or silent. Some like the encouragement and use it; others prefer to suffer in silence.

Finally, don't be surprised if many of your initial followers drop off. The last time I officially paced 25 minutes, I had maybe 15 follow me initially, but only 2 managed to stay with me to finish in 24:58.

Edited by Cybertronian on Thursday 16th February 07:11

[PeteB0]

We're pretty lucky where we currently live in that we have a parkrun within a few hundred metres, but we move next week (to an otherwise much nicer area) to somewhere where a 15 minute drive will need to be factored in.

A wedding tomorrow (on a Friday!) means we'll be away, and therefore missing our last 'zero possible excuses' Parkrun. But it turns out that the wedding is at Hampton Court, and therefore, within a few hundred metres of the Bushy Park run... Sensible drinking required!