1st Parkrun! - (5km plus another 5km run home)

I've been running on and off for a few years now, and i've seen many people talk about it on facebook, on the strava app, and theres even a few regular parkrunners here on Hive (@steevc, @consciouscat and @new.things).

I've never managed to get to one as I always used to work weekends (retail sucks). That changed last November, and I no longer have that excuse. The closest one is 3 miles away, and as I don't drive that was potential another barrier to going. However, if you want something bad enough, you'll find a way to make it work.

As luck would have it my partner actually has this weekend off, so she offered to give me a lift down to Boultham Park, where the run is held each week.

Nothing was going to stop me now!

I was unsure how the event was managed, but when I looked at the FAQ's I was suprised at how efficient it was. All I needed was to sign up to a website which gave me a unique account number and a matching barcode. Apparently All they do is scan it at the end of the run, and all the results appear on the website a few hours later.

That suited me, as a general rule I don't like to carry much when running. All I took with me was a Barcode, a printed map of the location (plus a map of the route home) and a hat.

Temperatures was 18C so it was warm but not too bad yet. We are approaching an extreme heatwave here in the UK, with temps of 39C and 41C forecast on Monday and Tuesday. Today was quite comfortable in comparison.

All set, my partner dropped me off next to Boultham Park, and I headed to the meeting point (the band stand in the left of this picture). I was surprised at how many people there were milling around. I found out later that there were 306 finishers in total.

There was a bloke stood off to one side answering questions to first-timers and visitors. He helpfully informed us that it hot today so pace yourself, and make sure to avoid the bench on the second corner as lots of people trip over it. Briefing done, I lined up on the start line (right at the back) and started the strava app recording:

And there we go, a nice little 5km run. I've not visited Boultham Park in years, so it was nice to return. I started at the back for a number of reasons. One, I don't know where I'm going, so it was handy to follow every one else. Two, I planned to run home afterwards, so I needed to make sure I paced myself. And three, I know I'm out of practice but I knew I wouldn't be the slowest person there so by starting at the back meant I had lots of opportunities to over take people.

Its more enjoyable than starting at the front and being over taken by everyone!

It was the first time I have run in an event with other people for at least 5 years, so it made a nice change.

At the end of the run, I received a little token with a barcode on it, and then someone else scaned the barcode on the token and my personal barcode and that was it.

Just over an hour later I received a text with my result, which I was impressed with. Certainly seems to run very efficiently. There are Full Results Here if you want to be nosey... I'm quite happy with placing 200 out of 306, and of course I now have a target to aim for next time!

oh yeah, I'm totally doing this again. Its nice to be sociable with like-minded people, and will help me keep my training consistent with something to look forward to each week.

With the run done, and taking a little breather, I then set off for the run home. It was starting to warm up now, but I knew that the distance was around 5km, so I would be home and cool in just over 30 minutes. The pace was slower on the jog home, but that was understandable.

I'm totally doing this next weekend!

The only thing I need to consider is that my partner will be working. I'm not physically ready yet to run there, run round, and then run home, so I suspect I will walk there to begin with.

And now with approx 10km done, I think I can put my feet up and have a well deserved rest!