Parkrun

[Whatatodo79]

Have been trying to get a bit fitter. Thinking of doing a parkrun on Saturday- would it be ok if i ended up walking a lot of the way?

Do you think so?
Those stats are similar to my local parkrun which had 562 participants today

1st - 16:33
446th - 35:12
562nd - 58:10

Yes I think so - and probably why there are mixed views on Parkrun. I think they need to be more honest - it’s primarily a running event for fairly fast runners, with walkers and joggers welcome at the end.

Thanks, I don't know what the 5k app is either, I'll look it up. I will definitely volunteer in future, just want to get a few more under my belt first, I do volunteer for lots of things. I'm not particularly doing it for the social aspect as it is 10 miles from home I'm not likely to cross paths with people away from the event, but I do like getting to know people and being part of groups. I wish there was one nearer but it has been looked into and there just isn't anywhere suitable.

❤️👏🏃‍♀️

Average finish times have increased since they started. Most people there are runners. My parkrun today has a similar profile. But everyone is celebrated and the more walkers that come the more other walkers will feel confident to come too.

It’s a different story in South Africa - I picked a random one there and it is:

1st 22.28
56th 34.57
184th 1hr 05.20

I guess it’s a cultural thing.

Here it is: 5k app

There's one in Ireland that starts at 11 because of the ferry times to the island it's on

There were: (cumulative)
23 at sub 20
133 sub 25
298 sub 30
429 sub 35
494 sub 40

Tail walker (530) 56 mins

I think that's a great spread of participation of running and walking and it was only a 50 mins plus where there began to be notable gaps between participants.

I love that I can try and flog myself for a pb (27 mins-ish), run steady at 30-32 mins-ish, run-walk or walk. I have walked in 50+ mins. Pretty chuffed with my 43 min walk. It was really tough not breaking into an actual run to finish that day 😂
But it's an event where I can pick a location, turn up and do what fits my agenda. This weekend the need for volunteers was greater than my need to run so I did that and helped others out.

DS used to run/ walk in 50 mins when younger and has now more than halfed his time. It's been great developing that as a family hobby together.

Ive got 4 in within 20 minutes, and I do see why a PP said to check the results.
Two just don’t get walkers, this is probably because we live in a nice place and there are nicer walks than several laps of a very dull park which both of these are.
One is very very tough but quite pretty I think how tough it is puts people off. So actually the tailwalker always comes in in about 40 minutes as it puts people off.
The one in the big town gets a huge spread, from 15 minutes to people over an hour, and it’s only 1.5 laps. I lead a C25k group and always recommend they go there.

Inclusive though they are it’s demotivating to be stone dead last by 5 minutes and be lapped twice by the same person.

But it sounds like OP has found a suitable one near her! So that’s great. Happy parkrunning, it’s addictive.

Interested in this thread as just realised there is a park run about 10 mins walk from home. Their webpage says all the right things about times not mattering but I’ve just checked and there are only 60 times recorded and only 5 over 40mins. Also the course is 3 loops up and down a very steep hill. I can jog 5k but I am slow (45mins I would think) and I can jog up hills but I suspect not as steep as that one. I could potentially be lapped 3 times! Just contemplating whether I care about that. 60 people seems low- is that normal for small towns?

The great thing about Parkrun is that it is inclusive. The Parkrun organisation is on the record as saying that they are proud that average times have increased, as it means they are reaching more people.

At our parkrun, you’d be so welcome. It feels like such an achievement to get round.

Our Parkrun is absolutely fab! There were over 650 people at ours on Saturday with finishing times between 17 mins and just over an hour. All the volunteers are so encouraging and downright lovely. I've been going for two years and am still towards the back of the field, but nobody cares and every single last person is cheered over the line and indeed, some of the faster runners cheer us slower people on as they overtake us or stand at points around the course after they have finished to cheer in the back of the field.

60 people seems low- is that normal for small towns?

60 is quite a small one but that doesn’t mean anything about how friendly they might be. You could get to know people better if there are fewer there - it might be an amazing welcoming community or it could be really cliquey. The lower numbers may well be due to the three very steep hills. The only way to find out is to go and see what the atmosphere is like and whether you might enjoy doing it. You could just go and be in the park one week and see what you think, or volunteer or just give it a go. You could always stop after one or two laps if you wanted to.

I think as long as there are some people who go slower than me then it’s fine with me to be part of the smaller group towards the back of the field. Someone has to come in just before the tail walker though (this has been me) and I guess that is hard but I comforted myself by thinking that I had made everyone else feel better! The tail walkers are not expecting to go fast so need some slower people they can keep up with. When I did it I was a bit overdressed and found it tricky to keep up with the speedy walkers without overheating.

Having said that there is no requirement for the tailwalker to keep up with the person in front - I just felt it would be nicer.

What an absolutely shitty thing to say to somebody trying to improve her fitness. FFS think before you come out with nonsense like this. Why would you want to put people off one of the most supportive and welcoming sports initiatives in the UK?

I assume you don't volunteer at parkrun. I do, and I have no problem whatsoever with people doing parkrun at whatever speed they can. Better they make the effort, come out and get some exercise, fresh air and company, than get put off by snotty people who have the good luck to be fitter, healthier and (probably) younger. I am in my 60s and I have over 300 parkruns to my name. Not a single one of them has involved continuous running, because I'm just not up to that. My PB is higher than 35 minutes and I'm unlikely ever to repeat it now. I have been very lucky that the people at my local parkrun are welcoming and supportive and nobody has ever made me feel like I'm a nuisance for not being fast or needing to walk rather than run. Parkrun itself is extremely keen to push the message that walking is just as good a way to do it as running.

I hope OP and other potential parkrunners are not put off by this. It's not representative of most parkrunners at all in my experience.

I believe in South Africa you get a reduction on your health insurance if you can prove you are doing various approved forms of exercise, and parkrun is one. Hence the large number of walkers and slow runners.

I'm RD at my local parkrun. We welcome runners and walkers of all abilities. We have people who regularly finish in 17/18 minutes and those who finish in 50+ minutes.

At ours the faster finishers stay on to encourage everyone else then we all tend to go for coffee or breakfast together 😊

I'm a really slow runner. I'm getting older and don't want to risk injury. I generally walk quite a bit if not all of it. Saturday night I was out with some of the speedy pants at a gig 🤣🤣 we are such a friendly group super inclusive and all appreciate the effort everyone is putting in.

It's low attendance because it's a hard course if there are three times up a steep hill which is going to put a lot of beginners and slower runners off. There might be another one not too far away which is flatter which will likely have much higher attendance and a wider spread of abilities. The hard courses tend to attract only fast runners.

@Gasp0deTheW0nderD0g yep, it was an appalling comment and frankly I don't believe they have been to "sevrral" parkruns, or indeed any. Just another sad wind-up merchant.

I'm at the back with the grannies and the kids. Still show up though. Still run 5k more a week than if I didn't go. That's a win for me.

Ahh - follow the money. Still I guess they have a choice of how to do it and walking round parkrun is a pleasant way to tick the box.