parkrun: A Different Perspective

At yesterday's parkrun, rather than running, I helped out as a volunteer. For those of you unfamilliar with parkrun, its a free, weekly, timed 5km run open to everyone and anyone. You can find out more here and find your nearest event here.

It was my first time volunteering at parkrun. I remember being told the first time I attended a parkrun, that if every runner volunteered three times each year, that would be enough for the events to remain free and ongoing, so I decided it was about time I chipped in!

Runners walking to the start of the race

parkrun is a simple set-up and there are several types of volunteer roles including timer, marshalls, photographer, funnel management and handing out positions chips. I was in charge of scanning in runner's barcodes and position chips at the end of the race (which would later be matched up to give them their times).

It was really interesting to see the event from the 'other side'. And it made me realise just how fast some of the runners are! The first child came in at just uner 11 minutes 30 seconds (children run a 2.5km route) and the first adult runner (the full 5km route) came in at 17:45 - something to aspire to! :D

And the best part? You get your name in 'lights' on the website!

I did it! :D

Last time I went to parkrun (4 weeks ago) I smashed my previous PB (31:52 from Nov) getting a new PB of 30:10, bringing a sub-30 5km within reach for the first time. When I started running almost a year ago, sub-30 5km was one of those 'I'd love to achieve one day' goals - and its been on my goal list for the past 9 months or so.


After my last attempt, I couldn't run Frimley Lodge parkrun again until today, due to my training for Bath Half. I only needed to take 11 seconds off - a seemingly easy task. I really pushed myself the whole way round - I did the first loop in 14:30, so was well on target, but my legs got tired and I felt like I really slowed down, I forced myself to pick it up again for the last km or so.


I've just seen the official results - 29:20. Needless to say I'm very happy I can now cross this off my goal list :) I guess I'll have to aim for a new time now - if I keep this up I may well be representing GB at the 2032 Olympics! :D

Another PB!

Went to the new ParkRun again today, for the first 'official' one. After last week's 'PB', I wanted to try and match the time. Because last week was a test run, a few of us took a wrong turning (due to a missing sign!), which ended up being a bit of a shortcut, but then we sort of doubled up on ourselves. The point being that I couldn't be 100% sure whether I'd actually run 5km - it could have been a bit over or under. So this week, (following the directions properly!) I wanted to make sure that I actually had improved on my PB.

I started off quite quickly, but managed to maintain that pace for the first lap (of the two lap course), so I ran that in 14:50 - on target for the PB. I slowed down a bit on the second lap, but kept making a conscious effort to up my pace (it seems so natural to slow down a bit, and sometimes I find this happens almost without realising it). I hadn't started my HRM at exactly the right time, so had to wait for the official results to come through on email.

Before last weeks unofficial PB, my 5km PB stood at 31:52, last week's time was 31:18 and today's time was (drumroll please!) 30:10!

I'm so pleased - almost 110 seconds off my PB, the first sub-10 minute mile race I've ever run and I now I know that a sub-30 time is well within my reach! :D

I also got a free Nite Vision reflective bib as it was the first race - which was a nice surprise at the end. :)

Length: 5km
Time: 30:10
Pace: 9:42 min/mile

New Parkrun, New PB!

Things have been a bit quiet on the racing front, as I have been focussing on my training for my first half marathon! But today I ran at a new parkrun event in Frimley Lodge Park and got a PB! I've posted about it on my training blog, Rachel's 13.1 Miles.

:)

5km - Basingstoke ParkRun

I've been meaning to go back to Parkrun for a while now, the last time I went (at the end of August) I managed to achieve my mini-goal of finally running a sub-35 minute 5km - my time was 34:26.


A few weeks after this I ran my first 10km - a bit quicker than double my 5km time, so I knew I should be able to get a quicker 5km PB. So I set my next goal at Sub-33 minutes.

Over the past couple of months I've been focusing on building up my distance, and hadn't run a 5km race in that time until today.


Why all the back story? So that hopefully you will understand how pleased I am with my time today of 31:52! :) I even got a mention in the ParkRun newsletter for my PB: http://www.parkrun.org.uk/basingstoke/News.aspx (Event 71).

If I wasn't there, I'd never have believed I could run that fast! :D