An unofficial parkrun
Sep. 9th, 2017 10:19 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
sawylAn unofficial parkrun this morning, due to problems accessing the kit storage cupboard in the climbing centre. With a full set of marshals on the course and only one minor tweak to the route — no key to the gate to Duckes Meadow — the run took place pretty much as normal, the only difference being the lack of an official time.
Arriving a little later than normal — I was a bit disorganised this morning — I met up with A and, to my surprise, J — who'd been down to run last week, but who'd had, at the last minute, to take Tiny Flo the vets. J was slightly disappointed that she wasn't going to get an official time — she said that she thought it might be her first and last run, so she wanted it to count! — but I suggested that it was actually a pretty good start, allowing her to do run and get used to the crowd without the pressure of having to perform.
Lacking any particular reason to hurry, I pottered around the course at a very easy pace. Around the first kilometre mark, John Caswell, a stalwart of the local running scene tapped my elbow and suggested we both go for a personal worst! We then sauntered round the course, chattering away — neither of us was so out of breath that we couldn't hold a normal conversation. Towards the very end, we started close the gap with the pair of runners in front; then, as we hit 500 metres to go, John slid between them and moved on up the course. I put on a very resigned tone of voice and said to the couple in front, "Oh no! Now he's done that, I suppose I'm going have to do it too..." They both chuckled and I slipped by to finish in 22 minutes flat.
I left my watch running once I'd reached the usual finishing line and timed the others in. A finished in around 25:10 or so — easily another PB — and J finished around the 29:20 mark — solidly respectable for a first go and almost exactly in line with her expectations.
Although I'm not sure I'd want to do it every week — I need the tyranny of the stopwatch to prevent me from slacking — I thoroughly enjoyed today's run. I think it's real credit to the marshals and the run director that they went ahead, despite the problems, and it's nice that all the runs went ahead and ran anyway, despite the lack of times; I suppose it just goes to underline the spirit of parkrun as a community rather than just a timed run.
Arriving a little later than normal — I was a bit disorganised this morning — I met up with A and, to my surprise, J — who'd been down to run last week, but who'd had, at the last minute, to take Tiny Flo the vets. J was slightly disappointed that she wasn't going to get an official time — she said that she thought it might be her first and last run, so she wanted it to count! — but I suggested that it was actually a pretty good start, allowing her to do run and get used to the crowd without the pressure of having to perform.
Lacking any particular reason to hurry, I pottered around the course at a very easy pace. Around the first kilometre mark, John Caswell, a stalwart of the local running scene tapped my elbow and suggested we both go for a personal worst! We then sauntered round the course, chattering away — neither of us was so out of breath that we couldn't hold a normal conversation. Towards the very end, we started close the gap with the pair of runners in front; then, as we hit 500 metres to go, John slid between them and moved on up the course. I put on a very resigned tone of voice and said to the couple in front, "Oh no! Now he's done that, I suppose I'm going have to do it too..." They both chuckled and I slipped by to finish in 22 minutes flat.
I left my watch running once I'd reached the usual finishing line and timed the others in. A finished in around 25:10 or so — easily another PB — and J finished around the 29:20 mark — solidly respectable for a first go and almost exactly in line with her expectations.
Although I'm not sure I'd want to do it every week — I need the tyranny of the stopwatch to prevent me from slacking — I thoroughly enjoyed today's run. I think it's real credit to the marshals and the run director that they went ahead, despite the problems, and it's nice that all the runs went ahead and ran anyway, despite the lack of times; I suppose it just goes to underline the spirit of parkrun as a community rather than just a timed run.
