Slowest Parkrunner, feeling demoralised

You're doing brilliantly and setting a fantastic example to your child. Good on them for volunteering too 👏

Well done for keeping at it!

That is amazing work! Well done.
You'll get under 40 before long.

Little bit more practice and milder weather helps. While no one wants to run in heat, a warm April or May does seem to bring out the quicker times. We just have to plod through the miserable winter months for it to pay off.

@slet Bloody brilliant

Councils and landowners don't want the grass churned up too much which can limit the course map. Add in excess water and uneven ground (can't see the bumpy bits when there's a giant puddle) and they have to plot a route around all that.

Look at the facebook for poor Exeter Riverside parkrun. The excess rain has totally messed up their winter. I think they've had to tweak the course a bit as well as cancelling several events.

@Benvenuto that's a good point about the possible lack of control over the route - I hadn't thought of that but it would make sense. Definitely put me off though, it felt like a school cross country run with the fast ones way up ahead while I was puffing along at the back! <shudder>

@rookiemere- that’s my experience too. I’m aware that we have club runners at my local runs - but that’s mainly because they give up their time to volunteer. Sometimes the whole club is there for a “takeover” but there are also regular volunteers who are very good runners and want to give something back to the sport. Like all of the other volunteers they are generally lovely & I’m very grateful to them for giving up their time. My local runs (adult & junior) are lovely - as are the ones I’ve visited as a tourist.

Also on that note thanks to @ACynicalDad(& all other event directors) - being an event director is a lot to take on!

@SirChenjins- out and back courses like ones with multiple laps can be a bit challenging as you have different speeds of runners sharing the same space. Single laps are better as the fast people just run ahead & don’t really have much contact with slower runners (you can’t even see them if it’s a route with trees). It is worth bearing in mind that the Event Director and team might not have had much control over the route as they have to negotiate with the local council about where they can route the run & there may also be fairly limited space in the park.

@slet- it’s really lovely to hear about your progress. Pleased to hear you hope to continue!

Ooohhh.... see...now by missing it... that's the slippery slope to maybe enjoying it 😅.

I tend to tourist a lot and do the parkrun app challenges to make it more interesting

@SirChenjins ours us the same. thr children’s one much worse than the adult one, but both unpleasant

@SirChenjins I have done lots of different parking and would say you have been extremely unlucky. The whole ethos is meant to support everyone no matter how slow or fast and it’s definitely not a race.

We are in Northumberland on holiday and the one we did yesterday at Druridge bay was particularly lovely as the race director had dedicated this week it to his late wife who passed away last year.
He - as most run directors do - made a point of saying everyone was welcome and there was a tail walker as well as runner, indicating walkers are definitely welcome.

@ACynicalDad Sadly I found my local park run to be very competitive - lots of local running clubs all with their club bibs on, right at the front, and off at a sprint. The course doubled back on itself at the half way mark, so as us slow coaches were half way round they were finished and watching us from positions at the start line. Some were cheering us, in what they probably thought of as a supportive way, but it took me right back to the hell that was PE at school. I gave up after a while and now exercise outdoors in other ways. I'm just wondering if that's typical of sll park tuns, or was I just unlucky? It felt very competitive and definitely skewed towards the running clubs - there were lots of them!

@ACynicalDad thank you for your extensive parkrun volunteering. That’s an amazing achievement.

I’m a parkrun Event Director (kind of head run director who set up the venue) and we really don’t care if someone is slow, I want as many people there as possible. I get mildly excited when we hit 300 runners in a week, because more people are participating. I loved it when the guy who hadn’t run for years hit 100 runs all at the event I started. When the lady ‘confesed’ our parkrun helped her mental health having miscarried on a friday night that wad why we’re out cycling the course at 7.30. We’re here to make lives better, be that for someone that’s racing to win (but generally that’s boring) to someone getting out of bed and getting fresh air and social interaction, you’re what parkrun is for and be really proud of yourself. Spring is springing, summer will be better and by the time your son completes his DofE (I presume) you’ll be an addict in a milestone shirt! Just don’t stop when he does!

If you don't enjoy it...why are you doing it? You don't have to do it.

I'm always one of the last to finish but l actually enjoy going.

Kids don't have to be in arms reach at junior parkrun. They can run the whole thing by themselves. It's why they have to do it in parks with minimal risks and loads of marshalls for the entry and exit points.

two I hadn't thought about that and how funnel ducking affects the later runners!

At least you’re doing it, honestly the time doesn’t matter. You’ll naturally improve your time the longer you’re running. I’ve been running for 3 years and still don’t do 5k in under 30 minutes! Well done for doing it at all, be proud of yourself and don’t worry about your time.

I didn't think the arms length of an adult rule applied to Junior parkrun I think that's just at normal parkrun.

This. I stayed in bed because it was cold, dreary & raining.

Well done for getting out there. Keep at it, you'll speed up quite quickly

I can see junior parkrun being stopped. Every week there are facebook posts about the issues of parents/children not following rules.

And there certainly shouldn't be uniformed clubs running. Rules state under 11s must be within arms length of an adult.

Its all official running clubs with their uniform/tracksuits, and parents volunteering (standing at the sides yelling at kids to go faster).
Its a 2-loop parkrun, with the competitive kids finishing 2 loops before the other kids have finished one, so there is a time when a group of 15-20 sprinting kids are elbowing everyone else out of the way to get past. Its really not fun and borderline dangerous.

When I ran in arms length with my then 5yo in about 50 mins, we used to end up with times about 5 mins out from each other despite being no more than 20s out from the final sprint. There were fewer walkers and 45 min+ runners then which exagerated that gap.

When I'm timekeeping, I don't sweat a second on a click vs my co-timekeeper as the gap is so minimal. It's one of the things I've learned to chill out about.

That is the point of Parkrun…. It is for everyone and for them to have fun at their own level. We can’t all be athletes. It made me giggle when you said elderly gentleman with a limp was quicker than you….. everyone is faster than me but so what? You are up, and out, getting fresh air and moving. That’s a whole lot better than sofa surfing with a pot of coffee and a book. Be proud of yourself, enjoy yourself. Heck, I’m proud of you because I’m too keen on sofa surfing and drinking coffee…..