parkrun

[downthepub]

I seem to have hit a plateau of between 28.30 and 29.30. Really annoying me that I can't get consistently into the 27min bracket. Not particularly fussed about my times, but I'd like to be comfortably within 30 mins.

[john2443]

Looking forward here I think, Rizzo!

[RizzoTheRat]

That's better

[GTO-3R]

I helped pace someone at 25 mins last Sat as he was desperate to get under 25 for the first time. Managed to get him round in 24:37 and he was over the moon! First time I've paced and it was a great feeling to help somebody achieve a goal and the joy it brought both of us. I'll definitely be doing it again in the future

[KTF]

GTO-3R said:

I helped pace someone at 25 mins last Sat as he was desperate to get under 25 for the first time. Managed to get him round in 24:37 and he was over the moon! First time I've paced and it was a great feeling to help somebody achieve a goal and the joy it brought both of us. I'll definitely be doing it again in the future

Does your local event have regular paced runs? If not its worth suggesting it as they are always popular. Plus people get to take part and get a volunteer point.

[GTO-3R]

KTF said:

GTO-3R said:

I helped pace someone at 25 mins last Sat as he was desperate to get under 25 for the first time. Managed to get him round in 24:37 and he was over the moon! First time I've paced and it was a great feeling to help somebody achieve a goal and the joy it brought both of us. I'll definitely be doing it again in the future

Does your local event have regular paced runs? If not its worth suggesting it as they are always popular. Plus people get to take part and get a volunteer point.

We do generally have them whenever possible at 25 & 30 mins. My running club is very active at our local Parkrun so there is usually someone who will pace

[KTF]

At my event we have paced events on the first Saturday of every month (switching between odds one month, evens the next).

Anyone can pick a time and pace it so there are always different times each month for people to have a go at pacing. Now its regular and popular we now have people volunteering the Saturday before to be a pacer.

[99dndd]

warch said:

That's the unique appeal of parkrun for me, apart from the friendly atmosphere. I was desperate to do Ludlow in 26 minutes, now I do that every week, and have nearly managed to crack 25 minutes. It's like getting a high score on an old arcade game.

Very well done on 28:57 you've absolutely destroyed your previous PB there

Cheers, I was a little shocked when I saw the time as I didn't feel like I had anything more to give last week.

I suppose the attraction of a 'community run' rather than a race is that you're free to set your own targets and work towards them. I may have finished 207th, but I beat my target so I've 'won.'

All the best with cracking 25.

[john2443]

A bit of a parkrun adventure coming up on Saturday...Rouen, my first one not in England.

Looks flat and fast with not many people and lots of them aren't quick, so could be my highest place finish ever (except they don't give finish positions on the results page, it's a run not a race, particularly in France!) Previous best was 7th (out of 19!)

I'll report back on what it was like running on the right


It does give me the opportunity to post a parkrun / geek joke.

If the French call Saturday runs Le Five k and juniors was started there what would they be called?

(Note Franglais required for this to make sense!)

Le Two k

[john2443]

Report on Rouen parkrun - very fast, flat, 1 lap, no tight U turns at the end which resulted in my fist sub 23 this season. I'd recommend it if you're in the area and looking for a PB, although with only 31 runners unless you're lucky to be at the same pace as someone else it really is a time trial, apart from the first 200m I ran it all solo.

The Event Director has the distinction of being the only Frenchman to have swum 1k in zero degree sea temp without a wetsuit . He used to swim across the Thames to get to Fulham Palace parkrun when he lived in London! He's either a hero or a complete madman!

Rouen's a lovely city, lots of shops and markets to keep SWMBO happy while you run

[The jiffle king]

John2443 - Thats a nice write up and the Frenchman sounds crazy to swim in that temperature!!!

When I first went to Bushy Park it was like this many years ago where it was a time trial and not a race. I was at Maidenhead a few weeks ago and it felt so inclusive that those running quicker times were still praised, but it was the slower paced runners who got most encouragement

My friend who is a park run director recently told me that the faster runners will look after themselves and treat it as a tempo/time trial. The ones he worries about are those who are unfit and have not done enough prep and treat it like a race

Edited by The jiffle king on Sunday 3rd June 10:14

[Halb]

the swim thing sounds cool, that's the sort of thing I'd like to have a crack at. Penny Flash has a body of water but it's scummy!

[GTO-3R]

Managed to knock 25 seconds off my pb on Sat with a 21:02. Obviously very happy with my time but couldn't help but feel disappointed at being so close to breaking the 21 min barrier! Brain was willing but my legs had other ideas for the final 100m

[The jiffle king]

GTO-3R said:

Managed to knock 25 seconds off my pb on Sat with a 21:02. Obviously very happy with my time but couldn't help but feel disappointed at being so close to breaking the 21 min barrier! Brain was willing but my legs had other ideas for the final 100m

Nice running and bet that it makes you even more determined to beat 21 next time. You'll then be after sub 20 ... then sub 19....

Its all possible, just training, staying healthy and eating well

[GTO-3R]

The jiffle king said:

Nice running and bet that it makes you even more determined to beat 21 next time. You'll then be after sub 20 ... then sub 19....

Its all possible, just training, staying healthy and eating well

Cheers jiffle. I was at 21:29 at the start of the year and set my goal as under 21 for this summer but might have to re-address it and go for 20:30 instead!

Sub 20 is my major goal though, even if I only do it once

[99dndd]

I was slower than last week, 30:03.

Apparently Chinese food and beer is not the best preparation.

I've set my target at 27:10, which will be 10 minutes quicker than my 1st parkrun on 28-04-2018.

[boyse7en]

I usually run with my 11yo daughter, but this week she wanted to run on her own with my Garmin to help her pacing.

She managed to punch in a pb, knocking nearly a minute off her previous best to get a 26.15. I've obviously been too easy on her these previous runs!

This was my first real paced 5k in quite a while (as in not running with someone a bit slower) and I got a post-injury pb of 23:44. I'm kind of happy with that, but I'm still a long way off my best pace and can't really see it ever coming back.

[MOBB]

My pb of 26.05 is now a year old grrrrr. Over winter I was struggling to get much below 30 and was starting to get a bit disheartened.

Managed 26.48 last parkrun so getting close again. Got a charity run on Friday evening where my pb is 28.40 or so so planning to try to go sub 26 as it's a flat course

2 years ago my first parkrun was 38 mins so I should remember that and be happy :-)

[john2443]

I noticed at the weekend that some smart alec ran 2 events that are very close together - the first in about 18 mins, then popped down the road and ran the second in a similar time which gave him 45 mins on their clock - and boasted about it on facebook that you didn't have to wait til New Years Day to do a double.

What he failed to realise is that there's a duplicate report run by HQ and both events get an email questioning which one he ran at! His second one has now been deleted.

We learned about the report when someone mis typed a non scanning barcode at another event, we knew the runner and had seen him at ours so there's no way he could have run at the other one!

[downthepub]

Bit behind in posting this, but we did Wormwood Scrubs Parkrun at the weekend. An enjoyable run, but a bit odd starting in the shadow of the eponymous prison!

Relatively small numbers, 98 finishers, with 3 hi-vis heros (albeit sans hi-vis) manning the important jobs. Apart from Aarhus in Denmark it was the most informal event I've been to. Course is a couple of circuits around the Scrubs, 100% grass underfoot with some mild undulations. Shard and Post Office tower in the distance along with the Trellick tower nearer by for fans of brutalist architecture. Saw a great example of why there's a dogs-on-leads policy for runners, saw a loose small grunting(!) dog veer in front of a lady who didn't notice until the last minute and she took a tumble. Seemed alright thanks to the grassy course, but not a great situation at all.