Parkrunners Assemble - the new thread that will remind you to "do not forget barcode" and that "you can walk, jog, run or volunteers"

[standingonlego]

Panic moment, we were running out of room on old thread so started a new one for today's run reports

I visited two other runs in my city for a New Year's double yesterday, my 7th and 8th. One was half uphill and half downhill, and the other three laps of a park with a short but steep hill made of liquid mud this time of year - really made me appreciate the tarmac paths and not too much hill of my local! It was a fun way to kick off 2018 though, amazing how many people were doing a double including some in fancy dress.

Hope 2018 is going well parkrunners! Our attendance record was smashed with an over 10% increase today...it was so busy. It has all gone a bit quiet on this thread, but lovely to see people reporting back on their runs

@standingonlego which parkrun is that? I touristed at Southwark today (And a new PB!!) I travelled from north Wales and I thought I might get the gold star for furthest traveller but sadly not as someone from Luxembourg piped up 😂😂

My local, Northampton. We had 676 there yesterday.

I love a bit of tourism too..do not get a chance to explore as much as I would like thanks to the DCs sport commitments but always fun to run somewhere new

Now done 3 parkruns since having DD 10 weeks ago, I desperately wanted to run whilst I was pregnant but had awful morning sickness for 5 months. I did one when that eased off but the sciatica started and despite doing 40.08 I couldn't walk for the rest of the day. I thought I managed a sub 40 yesterday (my watch said 39.55) bit my official time was 40.03. My tag number was wrong so I think I was given the wrong time but no big deal. I'll just have to smash it next week!

"I'll just have to smash it next week!"

That's the spirit!! Our first Parkrun if the year is always the busiest (New Year resolutions and all that) - up by nearly 2/3rds

DH nobly volunteered to do the token sorting, and ended up with horrible cramp and stiffness. (His own silly fault for doing them on the sitting room floor, not at the table).

I fell off this thread a few months ago but I’m still parkrunning with my OH, DS and DD pretty much every week. I did my 99th yesterday, but not at my home parkrun as it was cancelled. Really hope it’s back on next week as I want to do my 100th at my home run!

Hoping to also get my 25 volunteers done this year, think I’m on 18, so should be doable.

I’d love to do Parkrun but I’m such a porker I’m worried I’m going to be trundling in last (and hours after everyone else) with everyone pointing at me. 😩

Mascara you won’t be last - every week there is a volunteer tail walker whose job is to come in last! People walk it or walk/run - the ethos is all about taking part, however long it takes to complete the course. Have a look at the recent results for the one you’re intending to do, to see the times other people do. Parkrun is really friendly and inclusive, so definitely give it a go!

I did my first parkrun on Saturday, and there wasn't much running involved from me! Did it in 49:57, and wasn't last!

I'm doing it it with two of my DC, my 15yo is doing it for their DofE physical, but has SEN, so I need to accompany him. I'm sure they'd be faster without me! I am doing C25k but only on week 2. I'm sure we'll get faster in time.

It was a really good atmosphere, everyone was very encouraging. It was very busy though as the next nearest one had been cancelled so lots came over to our local one instead.

You’ll never be last at parkrun, because of the tailwalker. Be brave and go and enjoy it! It’s great fun xx

Well done @Norbert! Isnt it a great feeling when you finish? Are you aiming to beat your time on Saturday?

Go norbert :) Just give it a whirl mascara it really is fine once you get there ! Check out your local run Facebook page or results time too if it helps. The whole point is to get people included !

And Beach we have the virtual Pom poms ready to celebrate your 100th on Saturday!

It's my tenth run this coming Saturday - I intend to email to get on the volunteers list after that, feels like I should really help out a bit if I've been attending for a couple of months. Is there an etiquette on how often you should volunteer? I'm just slightly conscious that volunteering means I'm missing out on a run opportunity for that week, so something like once a month would mean missing almost a quarter of the runs over the year...

You can volunteer for pre-event set up which means you can still run - you just have to get up earlier! Or I think some have token sorting or event close-down as a role to do afterwards (mine doesn’t have these though).

My home run is fairly small, averages about 60 runners per week, and me, my OH and 2 older DC attend most weeks. So if we didn’t volunteer it would be very obvious and I would feel bad about not giving something back. I did 11 volunteers in 2017 I think, so almost once a month, but my DC also volunteer - they like to do tokens or barcode scanning - and OH volunteers too.

I’ve seen on my home parkrun FB page that we’re having a minute’s silence for Tracie McGrory, the runner who died at Swindon last week. I expect most will be doing the same.

Our Run Director makes a plea for people to volunteer 3 times a year. That would give c.990 instances of volunteering and if evenly spaces about 18-20 volunteers per event.

It never works like that - loads of people never volunteer and it's a much smaller group (who crack under pressure of begging emails) who end up doing it monthly or more often. We also have 3 DofEd volunteers from a local school - if you have teens looking for something for their volunteering section, get them to come along.

You can do pre-event set up, post event close-down or token sorting and still run. Also, if you are reliably fast, you could nip round and then barcode scan. Or go slowly and tail walk (for which you get both a run and a volunteering credit).

Also, idle question - anyone know why you get icons for all other Tshirts on the results page, but not a purple one? After all, it's about the whole event, not just the running....

Well I've emailed the volunteer coordinator and said put me down for whatever you want doing on 20/01 and I'm now marshalling that day, we'll see how it goes!

We are volunteering my home run this weekend :) my daughter is sad she’s not running it tho :(

Hello all, can I join in? Just getting back into running and off to my local parkrun tomorrow. The aim is to manage the 5k running all the way (except for the bit where there are stairs!) even if it is only at a shuffle paced run...
Really looking forward to it.

Volunteering tomorrow, too pregnant to run at this stage (36 weeks on Monday!) so doing my bit in hi-viz. I'm marshaling at one of our local runs and DH is running.

I'll be at bexley tomorrow, if I can time feeding DD well enough. I've worked out I can only miss 10 runs this year if I'm going to get my 100 so I have to get on it. Hopefully tomorrow will be sub 40 and I can shift a little more of this baby weight.

I'm looking forward to tomorrow. I'm doing the C25k so hoping to get a better time, although there are hills and I practice on flat roads. I usually walk up and run down.

Another record breaking attendance for us - 701. Hope everyone had a good morning :)

Did everyone enjoy their parkruns and volunteering today?

We had a minute’s silence for Tracie McGrory, and our RD read out lots more about her, her job and some of the other things she’d done. Made me feel very emotional.

Then straight after he announced it was my 100th run and I was still feeling teary, so probably looked a bit odd trying to smile while feeling sad.

Ran with my 7 yo DD who hadn’t run for a few weeks, but she did really well and we both enjoyed it.

Next stop 250 I suppose!