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Why I #loveparkrun
Laura Cowen | @lauracowen
I don't work for parkrun or represent them officially in any
way.
What is parkrun?
Timed 5km run
Every Saturday
9am England/Wales (and many other countries)
9.30am in Scotland
364 UK parkruns
Weekly, timed, 5km run.
Every Saturday at 9am in England/Wales and many other countries,
9.30am in Scotland.
You take your personal barcode. At the finishing line, you
receive a second barcode. Get a txt message and email telling you
your time.
Never on or crossing a road
Run, not a race.
756 parkruns worldwide. 364 in UK; the rest are spread across 10
different countries across the world.
Volunteers run the events
Started at Bushy Park in London with 13 runners and 4
volunteers
How I started parkrunning
I never wanted to run. Had no interest. Not even that keen on
exercise except for walking into town.
Friends posting annoying photos on Facebook of parkrun while I
was sleeping.
Interview with Paul Sinton-Hewitt, founder of parkrun, on the
radio last summer.
17th January (cold, muddy), Winchester parkrun.
2 wks later, Greenwich parkrun.
Then Winchester one again most weeks.
In April, in Raleigh, North Carolina, so we did the local Durham
parkrun.Man there from Stockport on business in Atlanta - driven
through the night
Sicily with my parents in June - drove 3 hrs to Sicilian
parkrun.
Accepted I was hooked.
What I love about parkrun
stats!
Get to the end without stopping or walking.
Then collecting parkruns.
If you get a personal best (PB) time, that's noted too.
Free t-shirts at 50, 100, 250, 500 parkruns
18 parkruns and volunteered at 9.
after first couple of weeks, getting up on a Saturday am not so
bad. Friend claims better times when he's a bit hungover. Go back
to bed after.
friendly and sociable - especially if you volunteer
all ages, men and women, children alongside, children in prams,
dogs on leads
paced by a 60 year old some weeks, then as I got faster, an 11
yr old.
What I learnt about myself
I actually enjoy running that was a surprise
not crazy marathon distances with all the training that involves
but quite like running 5-10k distances
I love sprinting main/dessert course tummy
My body can do amazing things I didn't believe back in
January
6mths - dropped 10 mins from my PB. 8 of those mins were just
from parkrun each week. Started at 38'11 in Jan couldn't imagine
under 30' but managed it in July.
I'm quite determined. Improved my self-confidence. Feel great
after a run, even if tired.
It's calming.
It's sociable going for run with friends.
I'm a sucker for gamificationStrava is a blessing and a
curse
What I learnt about running
Build gradually.
I knew I could run 3 miles/5k very slowly so I just gave it a
go. Got faster.
Getting fitter both physically and mentally. June started
running more.
Didn't understood that to do a lot of running, you need to be
quite fit:Muscles you need to be strong when running (eg ankles,
calves, quads, glutes) aren't the ones that get stronger by
running.
Making use of strong abdominal muscles and glutes (bum) means
have better posture and control over your movement.
Too much running and not strong enough in July and overstressed
shins.
I'd assumed that it would hurt whilst running but didn't hurt
until afterwards.
So, don't go mad, like I did. But parkrun once a week is a nice
distance and it's not a race.
Volunteering at parkrun
Being injured gave me opportunity to get to know the local
parkrun volunteers and volunteer myself.
Volunteer-run; different sized parkruns
I've marshalled, given out finishing tokens, time-keeping,
scanning.
other roles like pacers, tailrunner (you come last on purpose),
photographer, run director (resp for the run that week), event
director (resp for the event overall every week).
25 free t-shirt
How to get involved
Find your nearest parkrun
get some trainers
fine to walk if you're worried about fitness
register - just once - and print barcode
get up, go, run, #dfyb
volunteer sometimes if you want - don't have to. Obvs good
to.
Don't worry about other people's times. Only competing against
self and only if you want to.
If you've not run before and feel really unfit, try the Couch to
5k app or the NHS similar Couch to 5k podcasts, or similar.
#loveparkrun
#loveparkrun
Laura Cowen | @lauracowen
