Parkrun - anyone do this?

I was going to post this in the Sports forum, but it's actually not just about sport - it's about community, well-being, fitness, travel etc etc

I was just wondering if anyone else on the forum took part in the weekly Parkruns? If so, what lead you to get involved?

For those not familiar, Parkrun organises 5k runs that take place every Saturday at 9am all around the world (sometimes a town can have 2/3 different events and there's some stunning venues).
They are free to enter and you can walk/run/go around with a dog/pushchair - they are timed and you get a barcode that is scanned as you finish the run and you then receive a text/email with your time, an age-grade performance stat, overall position etc

It's not about racing, its more about challenging yourself. A lot of runners have incredible back stories. There tends to be about 270 in the runs I go to, but I've seen some with much higher number of participants. You get a contingent of running clubs, but also plenty of individuals and even families running together - it's quite an uplifting experience. There is even a run in my hometown on Christmas Day.

Does anyone else take part in these?

I have done about 10 of these so far at a couple of different venues and I was introduced by a friend who took up running because he had to give up football through injury.

I didn't think I'd enjoy it that much, but I've found it really enjoyable - it's nice to set a new PB time each week, but if I end up going slower it doesn't matter. The key reasons I have for doing it are:

1) It really sets you up for the day - I usually get home fairly late on Friday nights after badminton club and without the Parkrun the next morning I'd be still in bed at 10am, but by running I really feel I've achieved something before the day has even begun.
2) It offers me a useful constant in managing my alcoholism - I know full-well that if I drink during the week, I will not be fit enough to run well at the weekend (something that doesn't apply to my badminton) - so if I plan to run, I will not drink at all during the week as a way of preparation.
3) As a single man, it's nice to get out and mingle with new people.

Cheers
TTG

Am tempted, there's one very local to me, I've lost 2 stone this year, but am very unfit lol

wolfman28 said:

Am tempted, there's one very local to me, I've lost 2 stone this year, but am very unfit lol

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Good work on dropping the stones!

Fitness is a funny thing - once you get past that initial first few practice runs where you generally feel like you're going to collapse at any minute, the fitness suddenly kicks in and you find its suddenly much easier.. but equally, it's surprising how quickly fitness can revert and go backwards if you happen to have a week or two of not really doing much exercise and/or eating/drinking poorly.. but then again, it doesn't take too long to build that fitness back up again - it kinda yo-yos fairly easily - it's just that initial base level of fitness that feels hard to achieve - but you should go for it.. I'm hoping to get more into it come the Summer again.