AIBU to back out of park run

[Davepartyof3]

AIBU to back out of park run because I’ve realised how far it is and I’m super unfit.
I am fairly slim but my fitness is that I could run to the end of the road. Will I be the only person who is basically walking it?!

5km would be way below a normal power walking speed.

I just checked all the final finishing times for my local parkruns, they varied from 51 minutes to 1 hour 7.

I think that's a lot more representative than the 35 minutes.

If it helps, my Parkrun (flattest in the uk) has times from 16 mins to over an hour. It's for all

There can be logistics involved in significantly outlying times- at one of my local parkruns, the car park is locked at 10:30. Parkruns often have agreements with councils/ local facilities over access such as additional parking or storage and have to abide by those conditions to keep their permissions.

That said most parkruns will be expecting times roughly around an hour mark, and as previously stated it's worth looking at the results page. I know a regular parkrunner in the 95-99 age group who regularly takes 55-70 mins.
The Tail Walker will be last. Park Walkers were introduced last October to help encourage people to get active, or return after long gaps where they're not confident to run.

I've come in at 55 mins with people behind when introducing my 5yo to 5k. I've walked in at 45 mins. I tend to run around the 30 zone when I'm on form, and pbed faster. There's been times where I've done one lap or left the course. Whatever time it's taken, for whatever reason, it's always been a lovely community event celebrating people being active together.

That's not true of parkruns I run at or volunteer for. People with that attitude tend not to volunteer. Or only for the roles that leave them free to leave as soon as they've run. Not really a problem.
Nothing has " been changed to parkwalk". It's always been open to walk, jog or run. The new role of parkwalk volunteer is to explicitly welcome, support and encourage walkers to support the ambition of opening parkrun to even more people. The tailwalker has a safety role in being the last one on the course.

I know, I don’t know what I was typing. In my head I was thinking a park run is 10km,
despite typing 5km.
please ignore everything I have said 🤣

@ThePenIsBlue your maths is extremely wrong I don’t even know where to start.

you’d not be walking at 10km per hour it would be about 6km per hour.

sorry to be patronising but if you run at 10km per hour then that means you literally cover 10km… in one hour. The OP is needing to cover 5km (the length of parkrun) in just under one hour.

🤦‍♀️ did you not read one of my many follow up replies almost immediately where I said I’d had in my mind a 10km run, not 5, despite typing 5. I obviously know running at 10km an hour you’d cover 5km in 30 mins. I’d had 3 glasses of wine and shouldn’t type 🤣

There is a FB group Walking at Parkrun so take a look at that for inspiration too.

@ThePenIsBlue no I didn't I only read the one you tagged me in. That's the point on the tag is is alerts the poster that there is a message for them. You didn't tag me in the others and I didn't carry on reading the whole thread sorry

Do you have a child? You could accompany them on the 2 kids one as a start however as above you definitely won't be the only one walking

Ours has tons of people walking it, I often walked after having my son and pushed a pram. Might depend on how big it is? Ours is near a big city and so a fair number of people, no one would bat an eyelid we've had people hobble on crutches

I encouraged my sister to do her first Parkrun and walked it with her about 6 years ago. It took an hour. The sense of achievement and improvement to her mental health was amazing. Her times since have varied from 1hour 4 minutes down to 47 minutes and currently back up again to 54mins. All the volunteers are really supportive.

Go for it.

I’m a regular Parkrun volunteer at a popular Parkrun tourist destination. In the winter our final finishers are usually around 40-45 mins and in the spring/summer/autumn just over an hour or so. I get there early to help with set up and then stay to the end however long that might take. I love every minute, it’s a huge part of my weekend, I’ve got to know the regulars but love to welcome newbies too. My kids run, their friends run and, although I don’t run, I feel its something we will do as a family for a long time yet.
Go and give it a try, I think you might enjoy it x

I've always walked the park run. Loads do.

It's really really unlikely you'll be the only person walking it.

There'll be other walkers, or people who are run/walking, and then the tail who always comes last.

It's been tailwalker (rather than tail runner) for years now. The introduction of a new volunteer post of parkwalker (ie someone who goes after the runners but not last) is recent, and seems to be optional

Parkrun as an organisation is very happy that the average length of time for a parkrun is getting longer - they see that as a sign that it's encouraging more people into activity and they positively welcome walkers.

Don't let reports of the odd grouch (who thinks parkrun should be something other than the inclusive event it wants to be) put you off

Go for it - don't keep putting it off

I mentioned 35 minutes. This was at a fairly well attended Park Run within the M25.

5K your way initiative completely passed you by?

Support to those living with cancer is not a strawman, it's an established part of parkrun

Well I've reinstated a login I haven't used for donkeys years just to reply to this...... 😂
OP.... I so hope you're up and about, having a banana and a cuppa and getting ready to take part in your first parkrun!
I'd love to come back later today and see that you've been, and for you to tell us all about it! Please don't let any fears about speed put you off, I'm a parkrun RD and volunteer coordinator as well as a 200+ parkrunner, and we LOVE new people, regardless of whether you're a speedy front runner or taking it steady at the back, enjoying a walk and chatting to other participants!
Any volunteers worth their salt don't give a monkey's chuff whether you finish in 15 minutes or an hour and fifteen minutes - if you volunteer but have somewhere to be and are in a hurry, then you just volunteer for a role where you can get an early finish, there's something for everyone. Anyone grumbling about slower participants isn't welcome to volunteer.
And I don't know where your are in the world, but if you're UK based and are ever in the West Midlands, please drop me a line as you'll be very welcome indeed at my local event, where we have, amongst our little "family" everything between regular 16 minute first placers, and walkers and walk/runners enjoying the fresh air at the hour+ time scale.
All are welcome, and I really hope you give it a go!

I wasn't dissing support to cancer patients more the posters arguement.

@Davepartyof3 I don't think you've come back since your OP. Its hard to tell if you have actually done any running. You may well plan to walk it - which is absolutely ok in itself- but I do find it slightly amusing that you seem to think being thin means you're likely to be better at it than if you were fat.

I'm fat and old and go most weeks, I like to think I'm still faster than all those thin people who don't actually run.

I could really do without too much encouragement at the end, particularly from faster runners who have finished, but it is what it is. Check the times and see there are generally walkers as well.

My top tip if you're nervous about it, is to find where the course is and have a go in your own time. See how long it takes you and if there are any uphill bits. That way you'll know what you're doing when you go for the real thing.

@Davepartyof3 my first ever park run was in a September and I came last, took me 49 minutes. I went every week and by the following July I ran race for life in under 30 mins. Go for it! You can do it and it will be so worth it in the long run 🏃‍♀️ (pardon the pun!) 😁

I read it as dismissing the argument that your attitude is really shitty to those overcoming barriers to exercise, specifically those living with cancer who you sought to categorise as a strawman.

When in fact they are a key group of parkrunners.

And attitudes such as yours have no place anywhere near 5K Your Way or any other aspect of parkrun

Because anyone can be walking, for any reason, and they are all worth just as much support as faster finishers

Nope that poster was using threats to deal with me and another calling me a cunt and that has no place in parkrun either.

I am not the only one who thinks there should be cutoffs but many have been hounded away for having an opinion and want nothing to do with parkrun anymore and has lost many great volunteers who if it wasn't for them parkrun would have died years ago.

I am just getting ready to head out and volunteer at our local parkrun.

You absolutely can walk and lots of people do, it is no problem at all. I do understand that people may feel conscious of being the last or volunteers waiting for them (you really shouldn't, we're just having a natter at the finish line) however, if that's the case like has previously been mentioned why not look at the results online and see what the average finish time is, you might be surprised. Also check all local runs, we have 3 local to me and I could tell you which is the fastest and you could avoid that one.

Why not let us know which parkrun you are thinking of and if anyone on here knows about it we can confirm the usual last finishers.

I'm heading out shortly and honestly I couldn't care less if we have walkers or not, it's actually nice to see new faces. Have fun to anyone heading out this morning.