I am always extolling the virtues of Parkrun and here's why:
1) It keeps you fit.
2) It's free.
3) There will be one near you, so you won't have far to travel. (Although, I understand that there aren't currently any in Lincolnshire, which is a shame.)
4) Once you've taken part, you won't get bombarded with emails about not going. Go or don't go - your choice.
5) You can make new friends - either by joining the group for coffee afterwards or by volunteering to help out.
6) It's as competitive as you want it to be. You will get emailed a time for your race but it does not matter if you are at the front of the pack or the back of the pack. Some time one fancies a sprint, and others a pootle...I can usually be found somewhere in the middle.
7) You can take your dog. Best check with your parkrun organiser on that one though. Some parkruns allow dogs and their owners to run at the back of the pack.
8) You can take the kid(s). Little CC first ran one lap of the 5K with us when she was 8.
9) If you are competitive, you can register your details on Run Britain Rankings . Your parkrun results will be automatically updated, and this will allow you to compare your sporting prowess with other athletes of the same age group.
10) Photos of the event are taken and posted on the site, which means you can get great sporting 'action' photos like the one above that was taken of me on Saturday.
See? It's a Win-Win-Win-Win-Win- ( Well, I'm just copying and pasting there, so you catch my drift.)
As Nike say. Just. Do. It.
Post script
Here are my Run Britain Rankings: My handicap (out of 36 is currently 19.9 - elite athletes would have a ranking of '0' or maybe slightly negative
If we look at the bottom figure below, basically there are 3927 female runners faster than me in the UK, in my age group (currently 35-39). I will move up an age group in April (40-45) so it will be interesting to see how my UK ranking changes. Although, oddly I am faster now than when I was 35...
| UK Overall | 109674 |
| Women | 26609 |
| W35 | 3928 |
Don't let Jovial Gnome hear you say there's always one nearby :-) He lives in Lincolnshire which sports not a one!
ReplyDeleteHi Abradypus, Lovely to hear from you. That's a shame about Jovial Gnome, sorry to hear that. He should start his own ! :)
Delete