Slowest Parkrunner, feeling demoralised

Just to add to your post @Thewonderfuleveryday, funnel duckers cause minor issues in the thick of results but they really mess it up towards the end and as someone who processes results they are the bane of my life. Everyone after them ends up a time out if someone ducks out before they get their finish token and nobody notices. It starts off no big deal, maybe I get 30.30 instead of 30.25. But towards the end you could be losing 5 or 10 minutes because the gap between finish times gets bigger.

I don't think people realise the rolling impact of ducking out the funnel and I wish they would either just wait, take a token and pop it in the bucket without getting scanned. Or just swerve the finish funnel completely if they don't want a time and the queue looks too long for them.

my yes. If you think back to the first runners their times get clicked as 18:03, 18:47 and 19:01 walk to the end of the finnel and get tokens 1, 2 and 3. THEN they get scanned and the software links their time to their position and to the person.

And so on until all the times match a finish position token and a person. It only gets slightly messed up (by seconds) if people duck out of the finishing funnel.

I've seen congested finish lines on Xmas day and post London marathon when it gets a bit nuts in pleasant weather. Even then people are only losing 20 seconds or so around the 'popular' 30 minute mark.

@MyThreeWords yes that's exactly how it works, I was amazed when I started volunteering and it was all explained. Well done for running, I hope you had as lovely a day weather wise as we did it always seems to make everyone that bit more cheerful.

Ah, thanks very much. @Littletreefrog . It makes sense now. I got past the sign that said 'finish', at the beginning of the taped funnel without delay, and then queued for my token, and then flailed about looking for a scanner.

I thought that the token was the bit that recorded your time but it must be that it records your position relative to other runners, and the guy at the actual finish clicks a time for each runner that is then allocated to your token - and then allocated to your personal ID when you get your barcode scanned. So if your token says you are 232nd you are allocated the time of the finish-post guy's 232nd click?

Gosh, it's a clever system, beautifully run by kind volunteers. So much easier for the runners than the old analogue days of the fun runs, when you had to register on the day, collect a huge paper number, pin it to yourself and then at the finish line hover by some person with a clipboard while they transcribed it.

Did you have to queue to cross the finish line? I am a token hander outer and can spot newbies because they are the ones generally trying to get over the finish, to me and then to the scanners in super quick time whereas in reality your time is logged as soon as you cross the finish. If you have to queue for your token and queue for the scanners it doesn't matter your time is your time when you crossed the finish line. I've never been to an event where you have to queue to cross the finish but then again I haven't been to the super big ones.

Fortunately I don't recognise a culture like that at the numerous events we've been to locally and around the UK and Ireland on over 250 occasions.

If I did see that, I'd be reporting it to the RD to record as an incident for the safeguarding team to look into.

I attended my 50th different event today. Lovely friendly marshals and seeing somewhere different on a weekend away. Met up with a local friend too who we hadn’t seen for ages. Reasonably pleased with my time helps by a lovely pacer. Love parkrun. Well done on your PB @slet and your first parkrun @MyThreeWords .

Me neither. You could always try a different one, if there's one within a reasonable distance.

I live literally overlooking the finish line of a junior park run and I don’t recognise that at all. What a shame your local one has become like that.

I love the absolute generosity of Mumsnet. This is the goddamn spirit embodied.

OP, today I haven't actually got dressed yet and have only rolled off the bed for additional toast. You rocked today.

We stopped parkruns as well as our local junior one is basically a free timed training session for competitive runners, complete with coaches yelling at children and children breaking down crying because they didn’t beat their pb…

my did you have to queue to cross the finish line or was there just a queue to pick up tokens and get scanned?

The time you cross the finish line is the time you get, although sometimes they get do congested and a bit of a tail back. It all matches up with the order of tokens, even if the finishing funnel is long / slow. Once you have your token it doesn't matter when you get scanned in.

Well done everyone. It is a lovely if glacial day in Scotland today and I was particularly slow because there were some bits that were simultaneously icy and muddy. It has also been a roller coaster of a week culminating in DPs going into a care home next week, so just getting there this morning was my main achievement. Sometimes just putting one foot after another is just what I need.

That sounds fantastic, @slet. Congrats on the PB.

The lovely weather really helps, doesn't it. It was really cold here at 9 am. Frost on the ground. But the sky hung with that 'spring is here' feel and made my heart sing.

You’ve got my respect for doing a Parkrun….my knees (and my bulk!) won’t let me!

I finally did my first-ever parkrun today, thanks to getting inspired by this thread (so THANK YOU @slet !)

I've done 'fun runs' and the like, decades ago, but nothing at all since, except running alone and on the treadmill.

It was lovely. Nice sunny day, lovely friendly atmosphere, and I think plenty of people slower than the time that you were so hard on yourself about, @slet.

I think you need to be a regular to get the most out of the event. I was trying to run seriously right from the start, but others understood that it was too congested until the path opened out after half a km or so, and they sort of 'unfolded' then and loped past me.

At about 4k I felt properly sick, which was a good sign that participating in an event had given me the stimulus to run a lot faster than my usual saunter through the woods.

A bit frustrating at the end, as I was a middle-finisher, arriving at a time when the system was under maximum pressure, so that it was at least 2-4 minutes until I was logged as finished. I know that doesn't strictly matter as it is all for fun, but it is hard to let go of the greed for the fastest possible time.

Well done @slet pushing yourself out of a comfort zone is hard but can be so worthwhile! Enjoy the cake and coffee when you get to 10 😀

Really happy to read this update. Finishing in 43 minutes would have meant 50 participants finishing after you at my parkrun today so I do think your parkrun may be a little on the unusual side. Having rewards in mind is a great way to approach it, I do it myself even though I've been running for years.

Well done OP, thats so inspiring.

Woo Hoo! I’m really pleased for you.

Well done! I went to a new one today, I was about 5 mins ahead of the tailwalker and it was all very friendly and enjoyable.

Another course PB, you’re doing brilliantly.

post PR coffee and cake is a great way to treat yourself. And by the end of summer you’ll have your 25 milestone T-shirt and then you’ll be a fully fledged park run cult member.

43 minutes is great well done. I tail walked today and finished in 59 minutes. You will get faster (not that it would matter if you didn't) by going consistently and as it starts to warm up. My DS has dropped 15 minutes since he startedblast April but his times slowed over winter and he is just starting to get back close to his PB now the weather is improving.

Onwards and upwards! Just think, in a few more weeks you’ll be breaking sub-forty! And coffee and cakes will be well deserved.