Park Run

[gingerjon]

6 hours ago, Maximus Decimus said:

I saw the seemingly bizarre news recently that Parkrun has been banned in France for a couple of years and it is still going to be.

Apparently, due to concerns over insurance, for normal competitive runs, runners have to get a medical certificate off their doctor to say they're OK to run. This obviously causes issues with Parkrun which is much more casual.

I read the update a couple of weeks ago. It's quite a remarkable level of detail but, essentially, boils down to the fact that the parkrun volunteers, and parkrun itself, would likely be liable if a serious medical incident happened and the runner involved had not completed the required certification.

It's not banned though. They have chosen to not follow the rules as they are too onerous and to continue without following them too risky.

https://blog.parkrun.com/fr/2024/05/16/parkrun-france-update/

[JonM]

11 hours ago, Maximus Decimus said:

Apparently, due to concerns over insurance, for normal competitive runs, runners have to get a medical certificate off their doctor to say they're OK to run. 

Yes, same in Italy - and the letter from your doctor has to include an ECG and spirometry results. Not just running - same is required for 5-aside football, basketball and any other recreational sport. However, they seem to have accepted that parkrun is ok as a non-competitive event. There is also a different culture to France- the Rome Marathon, for example tells everyone they must bring their certificates, but they don't check them, and the attitude is well, if you have a heart attack and die and you got a fake certificate, then on your own head be it.

[JonM]

It's not insurance, BTW. It's the law.

[Maximus Decimus]

10 minutes ago, JonM said:

Yes, same in Italy - and the letter from your doctor has to include an ECG and spirometry results. Not just running - same is required for 5-aside football, basketball and any other recreational sport. However, they seem to have accepted that parkrun is ok as a non-competitive event. There is also a different culture to France- the Rome Marathon, for example tells everyone they must bring their certificates, but they don't check them, and the attitude is well, if you have a heart attack and die and you got a fake certificate, then on your own head be it.

Imagine that over here. Can't get a blimmin doctors appointment in the first place so there goes competitive running!

[JonM]

3 hours ago, Maximus Decimus said:

Imagine that over here. Can't get a blimmin doctors appointment in the first place so there goes competitive running!

Well indeed.

[tim2]

Still struggling for energy but getting round - just. Last week I was at North Yorkshire Waterpark near Scarborough and this week at Talkin Tarn near Carlisle. Thats 376 total at 134 events.

Managed a short run yesterday and will go out again tommorrow. I also need to lose some weight...

[Maximus Decimus]

On 17/06/2024 at 23:13, tim2 said:

Still struggling for energy but getting round - just. Last week I was at North Yorkshire Waterpark near Scarborough and this week at Talkin Tarn near Carlisle. Thats 376 total at 134 events.

Managed a short run yesterday and will go out again tommorrow. I also need to lose some weight...

Ever since I did the half I've been eating like I don't have to worry about it...

I've booked in another half for September (weather dependent!) but my mojo is a bit low at the beginning of the plan. So I'm basically gaining weight while unenthusiastically doing my runs.

Suppose I better do something about it!

[Copa]

I’ve only run 4 times in 5 years and they’ve all been at parkrun. I did a parkrun 5 years ago in Canberra and another in England last year.

I’ve done two parkruns in Canberra over the last two weeks with times of 29 and 27 minutes. I’m now on the lookout for some proper shoes.

We have quite a few parkruns to choose from in Canberra and I’m thinking of trying the run with the dirt road in a nature reserve as the variation of the ground seems to work better for my feet.

It feels good to get back into running.

 

Edited July 9, 2024 by Copa

[Maximus Decimus]

4 hours ago, Copa said:

I’ve only run 4 times in 5 years and they’ve all been at parkrun. I did a parkrun 5 years ago in Canberra and another in England last year.

I’ve done two parkruns in Canberra over the last two weeks with times of 29 and 27 minutes. I’m now on the lookout for some proper shoes.

We have quite a few parkruns to choose from in Canberra and I’m thinking of trying the run with the dirt road in a nature reserve as the variation of the ground seems to work better for my feet.

It feels good to get back into running.

 

After running for about 16 months, it takes over.

I dropped a laptop on my big tor yesterday, and for a while was debating whether to go the walk-in.

My only thought was how long I wouldn't be able to run for.

[sentoffagain2]

7 hours ago, Copa said:

I’ve only run 4 times in 5 years and they’ve all been at parkrun. I did a parkrun 5 years ago in Canberra and another in England last year.

I’ve done two parkruns in Canberra over the last two weeks with times of 29 and 27 minutes. I’m now on the lookout for some proper shoes.

We have quite a few parkruns to choose from in Canberra and I’m thinking of trying the run with the dirt road in a nature reserve as the variation of the ground seems to work better for my feet.

It feels good to get back into running.

 

  Our young un has started running again after 12 years he is in his early 40's and started doing  park runs.Last week he ran 5km in Sherwood Forest and has entered for 3 half marathons before a full one next year.It helps keep fit and ditching cola for water has lost 20lb.

[tim2]

My recent travels have taken me to Conyngham Hall, Knaresborough (29 mins, hilly with trails) and Thonock Lane Farm, Gainsborough (28 minutes, all on grass but flat). The cakes and sausage rolls in the cafe at Thonock Lane were amazing and the cafe in Knaresborough was really good too (£5 parkrun special for a latte and bacon roll). As you can see, post-run food is a big feature for me.  

[Copa]

Around 6000 at Bushy Parkrun this weekend. The footage online looks crazy.

[JonM]

On 31/08/2024 at 22:07, Copa said:

Around 6000 at Bushy Parkrun this weekend. The footage online looks crazy.

Two days later, they still haven't processed the results. Perhaps not too surprising as they only had 3000 or so barcodes and the volunteers had to try to do the rest by hand.

[tim2]

On 02/09/2024 at 15:42, JonM said:

Two days later, they still haven't processed the results. Perhaps not too surprising as they only had 3000 or so barcodes and the volunteers had to try to do the rest by hand.

It's posted now. 6204 participants and over 100 volunteers. The organisers deserve a medal for sorting that out.

Joanna Turnbull will have the record for the highest finishing number of 6204 for some time I suspect.

I went to Leicester Victoria and did my best time this year of 27.33.

I think the next highest parkruns event munbers are in the 800s. Woodhouse Moor in Leeds is one of them.

Edited September 3, 2024 by tim2
Clarification on 800s

[JonM]

2 hours ago, tim2 said:

I think the next highest parkruns are in the 800s. Woodhouse Moor in Leeds is one of them.

Some of the south African ones have been over 1000 people (many of them walking IIRC.)

Southampton has had over 1600, Norwich had 1360, Poole, Clapham, Tooting, Cardiff, Milton Keynes, Heaton Park, Cannon Hill and Huddersfield have all had over 1000.

[tim2]

5 hours ago, JonM said:

Some of the south African ones have been over 1000 people (many of them walking IIRC.)

Southampton has had over 1600, Norwich had 1360, Poole, Clapham, Tooting, Cardiff, Milton Keynes, Heaton Park, Cannon Hill and Huddersfield have all had over 1000.

I meant event number not participants.

[JonM]

8 minutes ago, tim2 said:

I meant event number not participants.

Ah, yes makes sense.

Woodhouse Moor was the fourth one to start and I think the first one outside London. Tom Williams who started it stepped down from his job at parkrun this week.

[tim2]

Despite staying overnight very near Hove Promenade parkrun, I was working so couldn't run it. As a sidenote, Hove Town Hall is the ugliest building ever created.

[Maximus Decimus]

Ah running, the joys of it.

In all my years of running I've been pretty lucky with injuries. Once, I was running over a bridge and my calf popped but other than that I've been good.

This summer I seem to be having a succession of minor ailments that are definitely taking away from my joy. Firstly, I dropped a laptop on my toe which set me back a week or two. This coincided with the start of the summer and a weight gain of about 12lbs.

Since then, I've suffered with Plantar Fasciitis in my foot and now that's subsided a lot, I've been getting a stiff back. I wouldn't say it was painful but it's definitely annoying and I've tried to run past it but it isn't getting any better but worse and noticeably so the day after a run. Not only that, but the weight makes the running much more cumbersome. I'm slower and feel like I'm plodding. 

Long and short of it, I'm on the verge of stopping running albeit temporarily. The plan is to stop for a month or so while I lose weight and my back recovers and dare I say to get my mojo back a bit.

Only problem is, will I actually start again? It's like breaking a diet to go on holiday, fully intending to start up again. 2 stone later and 2 years later...

 

 

[tim2]

Happy 20th birthday, parkrun. Lots of media coverage, capitalising it and calling it a "race", but impressove nonetheless.

I celebrated by going to my closest one at Poolsbrook.

Two weeks ago I ran in Newcastle at Jesmond Dene. Next week I'm back in the North East at Windy Nook, then the new one at Withernsea Prom near Hull, then somewhere near Bolton, then Warwick then back home before heading to Upton House in Dorset and back to a recently started run near Roker.

[Copa]

I ran a Park Run on the Central Coast of NSW recently. Some beautiful runs up there! They also have a mix of 7am and 8am starts. Here in Canberra they’re all 8am starts.

I’ve heard stories about foreign tourists arriving at the start just before 9am because they have not realised it starts earlier in Australia.

I also did my first ever parkrun with pacers. I broke 25 minutes for the first time ever which was around a 1 minute improvement over my previous record. Using a pacer helped significantly. I realise now I start too slow and should try to pick up the pace in the first few kilometres. A better warmup would probably help with this.

[tim2]

On 08/10/2024 at 23:50, Copa said:

I ran a Park Run on the Central Coast of NSW recently. Some beautiful runs up there! They also have a mix of 7am and 8am starts. Here in Canberra they’re all 8am starts.

I’ve heard stories about foreign tourists arriving at the start just before 9am because they have not realised it starts earlier in Australia.

I also did my first ever parkrun with pacers. I broke 25 minutes for the first time ever which was around a 1 minute improvement over my previous record. Using a pacer helped significantly. I realise now I start too slow and should try to pick up the pace in the first few kilometres. A better warmup would probably help with this.

I may be misremembering, but I think the one I did in Darwin started at 7am.

Edited October 10, 2024 by tim2

[Copa]

13 hours ago, tim2 said:

I may be misremembering, but I think the one I did in Darwin started at 7am.

It makes sense as they can avoid the heat of the day.

Near my home town there’s a very popular and long established trail/road running group that starts at 6am every Saturday morning. Mid winter dark starts are for the committed! These days some of them run the 8 to 15km (they have a huge range of runs) 6am run and then complete an 8am parkrun.

[tim2]

The last two Saturdays have seen me visiting Windy Nook parkrun near (maybe in?) Gateshead and Withernsea Prom near 'ull. (1,2,3,Gerr!)

Windy Nook is a very hilly trail run with steps (3 laps, aaarrrggggghh!) and I didn'tt feel great even on the downhills! Still, it was a fantastic small community parkrun (around 50 were there but it's sometimes fewer) where quite a few of us went back to the Community Centre for free coffee and cake.

WIthernsea Prom was similar in feel - it was raining but it was a great event (about 100 runners). Flat out and back, three laps. Ran much better and will go back when the weather's nicer.

388 parkruns at 141 locations. Should reach 400 in January and 150 locations shortly afterwards, health permitting.

[JonM]

On 10/10/2024 at 09:05, Copa said:

Mid winter dark starts are for the committed! 

Pfft. My wife and our next door neighbour do all their running with a 6am start, come rain, snow or wind, although they do occasionally not go out when it's icy underfoot.