Parkrun

jsmoke

jsmoke

jsmoke

Soldato
Joined
17 Jun 2012
Posts
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Anyone doing one tomorrow, what times are you getting, are you getting faster each run or find you've found a peak, no idea what I will be like but fancied giving it a go.
 
I probably won't do it tomorrow, just a bit too far to make it worth it.

My first was 30.05 and I got it down to 22.51 earlier this year. If you are doing your first one just enjoy it. The times will come down the more you train and the more weight you lose!
 
dont do park-run or race 5ks for that matter but track workouts will see me do 5K in under 20 minutes depending on if i'm doing yasso 800s or mile repeats etc..
 
I do a few every now and then when I get a chance. I've done 10 so far at different venues. Quickest time is a little under 20 minutes I think. I prefer ones on harder/muddier courses as its more fun and don't treat them as proper races.
 
I try and do Parkrun most weeks when I'm not going to a race or anything like that. It's just a good excuse to get out of bed on a Saturday and get the day started off with some exercise although 9am is a little bit on the early side for running. Also after a while you start getting to know people and it's quite nice seeing friends and acquaintances every week.
 
Well that was brutal, insides were on fire, legs so-so, I need some serious cardiovascular work, cycling doesn't really do that. I am thinking a treadmill may be a beter idea.
 
I've done 6 now over the last 7 weeks. Volunteered on Saturday to do a bit of barcode scanning as I was doing the Abbey Dash today in Leeds (It was cold & wet, but great fun). My times started at around 30 and are down to about 27. I'm really considering joining a Running club though as I'm seeing the same groups each week. It's a bit addictive though :)
 
I, along with a couple of people from work, will be doing my first Park Run on Saturday. I only started doing a bit of running back in July and mainly it's been once a week but I'm now able to run 5k so looking forward to taking part.

I'm slightly concerned about the whole barcode thing and making sure I don't lose it etc... lol
 
jsmoke said:
Well that was brutal, insides were on fire, legs so-so, I need some serious cardiovascular work, cycling doesn't really do that. I am thinking a treadmill may be a beter idea.
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Just do lots of easy running each week with a little hard track work and the 5K time will drop rapidly.

Cycling does work cardio but you have to be cycling really hard for it to pay off, and in the end you need the leg strength and muscle conditioning of running in order to run.
 
valve90210 said:
I, along with a couple of people from work, will be doing my first Park Run on Saturday. I only started doing a bit of running back in July and mainly it's been once a week but I'm now able to run 5k so looking forward to taking part.

I'm slightly concerned about the whole barcode thing and making sure I don't lose it etc... lol
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Dont worry about barcodes you can just print out as many as you want, if you lose it its fine just dont take a number at the end. Or if you do take a number just tell them you must have dropped it and you will go down as unnamed. Smaller
 
jsmoke said:
Well that was brutal, insides were on fire, legs so-so, I need some serious cardiovascular work, cycling doesn't really do that. I am thinking a treadmill may be a beter idea.
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Any particular reason you think a treadmill would be a better option? It depends what you want from running but being outside means you'll be exposed to different terrain than a constantly repeating treadmill and you're more likely to meet people - this might be good or bad depending on your motivations and point of view.

valve90210 said:
I, along with a couple of people from work, will be doing my first Park Run on Saturday. I only started doing a bit of running back in July and mainly it's been once a week but I'm now able to run 5k so looking forward to taking part.

I'm slightly concerned about the whole barcode thing and making sure I don't lose it etc... lol
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Good luck and enjoy it. Don't worry about the barcodes, it's better if you do remember your barcode but it's not the end of the world if you don't have one, it simply means the time will be even more approximate than normal. A tip which might help initially is to print out a couple of barcodes and put them in a clear sandwich bag, that helps with a) preventing them disintegrating due to sweat/rain/whatever and b) makes them a bit easier to find. If you decide you like it enough to keep going then you can either laminate your barcode, get plastic tags with your barcode printed or a wristband with your code on it.

I think it varies a bit from course to course what to do if you don't have a barcode so just follow the instructions but at my local Parkrun you're asked to take a token regardless and if you don't have a barcode you just drop it in a bucket at the end so that everyone gets the right time/position assigned to them.
 
I've used an old LoveFilm membership card and selotaped my parkrun number to it on both sides. Works fine and fits in my pocket nicely without having to worry about sweat and rain. :)
 
Fortunately in my line of work I have access to the kit to print and laminate my barcode, just not quite sure where to put it... guess I could tuck it into my compression shorts...lol
 
I'll be on my 45th Parkrun Saturday I've only missed 6 in the last year. My PB has gone from 24 down to 20min in that time. I have the wristband, it's good as it has ICE information on it, so I take it out when I'm running by myself as I don't have any other ID on me.
 
Thought I'd come in and update.

I did my first Park Run last Saturday, despite the cold and wet weather...a first for my running!

I'd already run the course with one of my two work colleagues, so I knew what to expect of the run, though was a little concerned as it's along a fairly narrow path along a river and I knew there's normally about 300 people running it.

Anyway, on the day it turned out to be no problem at all, everyone just seems to find their pace and keep left so there's plenty of scope to get past slower people etc.

I finished 141 out of 277 in a time of 29:06, not my fastest time for 5km but I was really please to be under the 30 minute mark. Also, although we has all said it definitely wasn't a race, I beat the two colleagues who ran it. :)

It was followed by a nice full English and a glass of fizz - woman from my work likes to celebrate in style - as it was in a way the culmination of a year of hard work by us all to lose weight and get a level of fitness. I have lost 4st 9lbs since January and only started doing any running in July! :)
 
valve90210 said:
Thought I'd come in and update.

I did my first Park Run last Saturday, despite the cold and wet weather...a first for my running!

I'd already run the course with one of my two work colleagues, so I knew what to expect of the run, though was a little concerned as it's along a fairly narrow path along a river and I knew there's normally about 300 people running it.

Anyway, on the day it turned out to be no problem at all, everyone just seems to find their pace and keep left so there's plenty of scope to get past slower people etc.

I finished 141 out of 277 in a time of 29:06, not my fastest time for 5km but I was really please to be under the 30 minute mark. Also, although we has all said it definitely wasn't a race, I beat the two colleagues who ran it. :)

It was followed by a nice full English and a glass of fizz - woman from my work likes to celebrate in style - as it was in a way the culmination of a year of hard work by us all to lose weight and get a level of fitness. I have lost 4st 9lbs since January and only started doing any running in July! :)
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Well done. People tend to stand in the start queue according to their pace. Then it spreads out and by the second half of the run your cruising along with people at the same speed. Southampton gets a bit manic we have the 2nd biggest attendance over 800 people sometimes, if you're going for a PB you need to get towards the front at the start.
 
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The start seemed a little chaotic but I think that may have been because the start line had to be moved back a little due the finish line having to be moved forward a little due to a broken down landtrain...

I wasn't really going for a pb, I just wanted to try to get under the 30 minute mark which I did so I was very pleased. I'll definitely do it again, and am looking forward to running it in the spring when I'm sure it'll be much more pleasant! :)
 
neilw said:
Well done. People tend to stand in the start queue according to their pace. Then it spreads out and by the second half of the run your cruising along with people at the same speed. Southampton gets a bit manic we have the 2nd biggest attendance over 800 people sometimes, if you're going for a PB you need to get towards the front at the start.
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The theory that people will set themselves up according to pace works for most but it's not at all uncommon at my local Parkrun to find a few people at the front who are near the back of the field by the time we've reached the first corner.

800 people must be quite some sight though, we seem to average somewhere between 200-250.

Well done valve90210 - good to hear you enjoyed it and will go again.
 
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