Parkrunners anonymous keep on running

[OhOneOhTwoOhThree]

As the last thread was filling up, here's a nice new one for parkrunners old and new

All parkrunners are welcome here!

We had a young girl tripped and injured by a dog off the lead at our parkrun a few weeks ago. I've seen really good runners with dogs on short leads but I've seen many, many more awful ones who are a danger to the runners around them. The buggy runners with dog attached are some of the worst.

But if they're taking part in parkrun they should be on a lead at all times. It annoys me that there's always someone to ruin it for everyone else.

Yep. All dogs on short leads and all under 11s under the direct supervision of an adult. The more often people ignore both of these rules, the more likely both are to be banned.

If I could put my 9yo child on a short lead I could take two minutes off my PB

You're right about the children one, all the dogs we have have been on belts and lines. We do have a couple of grumpy old men older men who walk around the route and refuse to put their dogs on leads or move them even vaguely to the side of the path most Saturdays :(

Kristina thank for the advice re. trail runners, I've had a look at the results and I'm not sure my local pr has one. However I ran the route this morning in 34 mins flat, so think I should be ok. I have to say it felt longer than that though and I thought I'd be coming in closer to 40 mins (I use Runkeeper on my phone in a zip pocket at the back of my running trousers, so have no idea of my time or pace while running). Just need to register now, and work up the courage to go on Saturday!

Just go for it kitty. You will be a long way from last at under 35 mins, that's good for a beginner. Lots of people who have been running for years would like to get under 30!

softkitty you must do it - I did my inaugural parkrun last Saturday and it was a lot of fun. I'm by no means fast, but it was fine!

I've registered! Going to print out my barcode at work tomorrow and secure childcare for Saturday morning, then I'm there and shitting myself that I'll be last .

Well done kitty. Please report back ASAP

And no you won't be last. Although there's nothing wrong with being last.

You are still beating all the people who are still in bed

No such thing as last at parkrun. It's not about how fast you are, it's about being there.

So glad you're giving it a go SoftKitty, you're going to love it

I think I may have convinced DH to do his first ever parkrun this weekend too! He's been running for a while now but has always refused to go. We're heading over to Buckingham for their inaugural run. It's going to be busy I think.

I've printed off my barcodes and secured childcare for this Saturday, so barring a leg falling off, I have to go now don't I?!

Yay!

Hooray :)

parkrun is awesome.

As it'll be my first one, is there anything I need to do when I get there or do I just literally line up and run? I'll be on my own and won't know anyone there .

At our parkrun who ever is in charge on the day will make a call for anyone new to parkrun or new to our parkrun and have a little chat before the pre run chat for everyone. Someone will come and talk to you if you're looking lost if it's anything like ours SoftKittyWarmKitty.

We have a briefing for first timers at 9am ( we start at 930)

Defo turn up early , half an hour before it starts. That's 830 if you are in England . You need time to warm up etc. the run webpage will tell you if there are loos and when they open ( ours don't open until 10 sadly )

Go up and say hi to a person in a hi vis vest with Parkrun on the back. Failing that, look for someone with a friendly face wearing a red 50 t shirt or black 100 t shirt.

You don't HAVE to speak to anyone, but you will have more fun.

If you start near the back you can have fun passing people after 20 mins.

Whatever you do Don't run fast. If you get slightly faster each week , you can always get a PB. Again, this isn't compulsory but is more fun . And you get to brag to your friends and family, as well as here on this thread .

I thought I wouldn't know anyone last week but in fact I did recognise a few familiar faces! Sadly I don't think I can go again tomorrow as I have to get DS3 on the bus to KIDS and the bus may well turn up before I'd be back from Parkrun, so I can't risk it. Hopefully next Saturday though.

We don't have a new runners briefing but I've been to some where they do. I think with 500+ runners each week, it would just be too hard to find the new ones before the main run briefing and as everyone has got into the habit of starting straight after the briefing, we wouldn't have time after.

I second Kristina's suggestion of finding out someone in a hi vis jacket or a 50/100 t-shirt and asking them. They should be able to help you out. I've been asked many times when wearing my 50 shirt and I've never minded. Remember there is nowhere to store bags or coats usually so it's best to turn up just wearing whatever you're going to run in. I tend to take a jacket and leave it in the car. You'll need your bar code but not until the end so tuck it safely in a packet somewhere. If you can wrap it in sellotape or get it laminated, that helps with scanning as it won't get so crumpled or sweaty.

I'm off to run the first ever Buckingham parkrun tomorrow. Looking forward to running around the park in the sunshine with all of my friends. I'm always amazed how many people I know there from so many different parts of my life. I saw one of the Mum's from DD's pre school the other day :)

Thanks ladies, I'm walking to the park because I only live a 10 minute walk away up a steep hill, so that's my warm up .

What do people tend to do afterwards? Does everyone just leave straight away?

I hang around to chat and cheer on the final runners and help with any tidying up and go home usually by 10. If I'm rd I then go into the cafe and process results while having a cuppa with any runners who stay :)

We all go to the cafe afterwards and sort tokens. This is very tiring work so we have to fuel up with tea and scones

Although Parkrun is only 30 mins, tea drinking can take an hour. It's a hard job but someone has to do it

It's a bee-yoo-ti-fuuul day for a parkrun down here in sunny Kernow!
I predict an enormous (for us) turn out today.

Happy parkrunning everybody, can't wait to try my new trail shoes

Glorious day. So sunny which is lovely right up to the bloody great hill

Not as enormous turn as i thought there might be

Arrgh. I have been doing so well, PB's getting better, feeling fitter and running easier for months now.

So today, 9 mins in, I get what I feel is cramp in the back of my knee and running down into my calf. I kept going but it got worse like a knife sticking in me. I had to pull up lame and hobble back and now I'm terrified I've actually torn something

Can anyone advise me what to do to make it heal fast please? Do I need to get to a physio or should I just rest it? Should I put it on a hotty bottle or a cold pack?

I'm so angry with myself