# Parkrun Revisited



## Chris Hobson

*Parkrun revisited*

Having commented on an earlier thread about the parkrun, I decided that maybe it is time that I started my own thread rather than going on about me me me on someone else's. Parkruns have been going since 2005 and have grown from a very small beginning to now being spread all over the UK and many other countries too. The format is a 5K run around a local park for runners of all abilities and none. The runs always take place at 09:00 on Saturday and are free of charge. In order to take part, all you have to do is go online to register and print out your barcode which you then need to take along to the run. The barcode is valid for any parkrun in the country, or it might be any in the world, I'm not sure. There is a briefing before the run for anyone who is new to the course and a general briefing about safety issues always takes place before the start. Nobody cares if you are slow or even if you can't run the whole course and have to walk some of it. Once you have completed the run you are given a token with another barcode on it which then represents your run time and position. This isn't quite as accurate as a chip time but is still pretty good. You then have your personal barcode and your token scanned by one of the volunteers and this ties you and your run time together. This makes it sound much more complicated than it is, it is quite straightforward really. Within an hour or two your time and position appears on the relevant parkrun website. The really brilliant thing about this is that, once you have done a few runs, you can go to the results page and click on your name and you are then taken to your own page with all of your previous results for that specific parkrun. This means that you can see how you have progressed since you started. After a while it starts to become a big deal every time that you score a personal best, known as your "PB". If you are starting out as an absolute beginner you are likely to be a bit rubbish to begin with but this means that you tend to score a PB quite regularly which is very encouraging. Once you have been doing the runs for a while you tend to get closer to the limits of your ability and the PBs then start to get a bit further apart. Once you start totting up lots of runs you can send off for a parkrun tee shirt every time you pass a relevant landmark. The tee shirts are free apart from the postage and you get one for doing 50, 100, 250, and 500 parkruns. You can find more info about parkruns on the UK parkrun website.

http://www.parkrun.org.uk/

Now for the me me me part. I did my first Parkrun at East Park in Hull in February 2014 at the age of 55, I had an attack of cramp in my left calf just short of the finish and had to hop over the line, my time was 30:32. I found the runs quite hard at first but, as I mentioned above, being a bit rubbish means that you tend to make fairly consistent progress to begin with. At first I was able to score one, two or sometimes even three new PBs every month. I peaked in August with a PB of 23:05. My times worsened again during the winter and I couldn't better that time until the following summer with a PB of 22:06. I now run fairly regularly at two different parkrun courses in Hull, sometimes at East Park but more often at the Humber Bridge Park. The East Park course is two laps around the boating lake on tarmac paths and is almost completely flat so it is the faster of the two courses. The Humber Bridge course is three laps of a woodland walk that involves much more basic paths. It undulates and often has a certain amount of mud so it is a little more challenging. My best time there had been stuck at 24:00 for quite a while. Early this March I have had a sudden unexpected improvement in 5K running form and scored a new PB at Humber bridge of 23:05 knocking nearly a minute off my previous best. A fortnight later on my 99th parkrun I did it again shaving off another 36 seconds to score 22:29. This prompted me to return to East Park to see if I could celebrate my 100th parkrun with a new PB there as well. I wasn't too sure how it would go as I wasn't sure that I could just put on a good performance on demand, it usually depends how I feel on the day. As it turned out I scored a new PB of 21:42 and came in 44th out of a field of 480. That means that at age 58 I was in the top 10% so I was pretty pleased with myself. I really can't recommend parkruns enough, they are a brilliant entry level event for budding runners to establish a fitness level to build on. Just two and a half years after doing my first parkrun I ran a marathon.


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## Northerner

That's a terrific time Chris, beats my 5k PB into a cocked hat, and I'm 58 too!  Have you come across this, see where you are in relation to the world record for your age/gender:

http://www.runnersworld.com/tools/age-grade-calculator


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## Copepod

I did my 77th parkrun today. I'll never be fast, but it's always fun, whether running or volunteering. People are welcome to walk, too.


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## Chris Hobson

Thanks for the link Northener, this is what the calculations say about my best time:

*Age-Graded Score: 72.48%*
*Age-Graded Time: 17:55*

Your age-graded score is the ratio of the approximate world-record time for your age and gender divided by your actual time. To score 100% as a 58-year-old man, you would need a time of 15:43.

Your age-graded time is your finish time adjusted to that of an open division participant using a factor for age and gender. Thus, the times for women and older participants are adjusted downward, while the times for most open division participants (such as 25-year-old men) remain the same.

So basically I just need to shave off another six minutes to break the world record.


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## Chris Hobson

I've been trying to get back into doing the parkrun regularly again after being a little too busy with other stuff for most of 2017. I did my 100th parkrun last April and have just done number 110 so I've only done ten in the last nine months or so. Unfortunately I seem to have some kind of an intermittant medical problem which involves periods of feeling quite faint while exercising, sort of like that feeling that you get if you stand up too quickly and all your blood goes into your feet. I cycled to today's parkrun and the problem returned on the ride home. I had to ride very slowly and gently as every time I tried to cycle normally the feeling came back. I am only exercising fairly gently at the moment as I'm starting to gradually build my fitness up after winter. Interestingly, I haven't had the problem while swimming, I'm wondering if this is because swimming involves being horizontal. I have been to the doctor once and had an ECG test which proved normal. I have another appointment next Friday and I'm hoping for some kind of referral to have some tests to see if I can get to the bottom of what it is.

The resolutionaries were out in force at today's East Hull parkrun and the turnout was nearly six hundred runners. It is really great to see the run becoming so popular, East Park has plenty of room so it could probably handle quite a few more.


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## Chris Hobson

Due to my ongoing medical problem I have been doing parkruns at a very sedate pace and just about managing OK. Today the East Hull parkrun was visited by Paul Sinton-Hewitt, the guy who actually started the whole parkrun thing. He did our course in 19:19. I had a brief chat with him as he hung around not far from the finish and got lots of hi-fives.


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## Chris Hobson

After a bit of a break I have been doing the odd parkrun again. The above mentioned medical problem is still with me but is now intermittent and, when it does appear, isn't holding me back as much as it once was. I have done East Hull once recently and got quite close to my PB. Today I did the Humber Bridge parkrun and, although I felt as though I was going quite well, I was two minutes outside my best time of 22:29. Today's time was 24:30, position 32/179. At the time that I wrote the OP, I was running the Humber bridge parkrun more regularly. Overall Hull East Park is my natural parkrun home. I've now done 118 parkruns 18 of those have been at the Humber Bridge Park. Of the remaining hundred, most have been at East Park with the odd one or two done as a parkrun tourist at places like Stoke.


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## Chris Hobson

The above mentioned health problem keeps coming and going. In between the comings I seem to be doing surprisingly well. Today I did the parkrun at Hull East Park in 21:51, just nine seconds off my best ever time of 21:42. Position 45/467 well inside the top 10%. Not bad for a guy who is three weeks away from his sixtieth birthday.


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## Barbie1

Just plucking up the courage to go along to my first parkrun, after having finally graduated from C25K and so know I can actually run for 5 kilometres!

Don't think I'll be anywhere close to the top 10% though. Well done!


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## Northerner

Chris Hobson said:


> The above mentioned health problem keeps coming and going. In between the comings I seem to be doing surprisingly well. Today I did the parkrun at Hull East Park in 21:51, just nine seconds off my best ever time of 21:42. Position 45/467 well inside the top 10%. Not bad for a guy who is three weeks away from his sixtieth birthday.


You put me to shame Chris, my best time is 25 mins (well, in the last couple of years, possibly faster in my yoof). I'm about 6 weeks away from my 60th   Well done!


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## Chris Hobson

It shouldn't need too much courage. At all the parkruns that I've been to everyone is really friendly and encouraging. There are always people of varying abilities so there is never any pressure to perform, you can walk some or all of it. My time on my first parkrun was 30:02 and I had an attack of cramp in my left calf and had to hop over the finish line. the following week my calf was still sore and my next time was 32:50. It took me three years to get to 21:42.


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## Chris Hobson

Northerner, you and I are really close to being the same age. I'm sixty on the 21st of September. I am typing this on my phone having taken an educated guess at what password I used when I first registered.


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## Chris Hobson

First a question for Barbie 1. Have you courageously done your first parkrun yet?

Next my latest update. Today I scored a new PB with a time of 21:24. Position 38/501, that is in the top 8%. Third in the 55-59 age group. Unfortunately I am a week too early in racking up this rather excellent time as I will be moving up into the 60-64 age group this coming Friday. On today's result I would have been the quickest sixty year old, the fastest time in the 60-64 group was 22:41 which is just a second inside my previous best time.

After the parkrun I went for a gentle 1k swim and then had a tuna panini with salad and a cappuccino while happily watching the gym bunnies coming and going. Good day so far.


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## Barbie1

Chris, no, sorry,  not there yet. Other things in my life are rather getting in the way atm, notably having to work in OH cafe on Saturday mornings whilst the normal staff member recovers from cancer et al.
Didn’t even go out for my usual Saturday morning run today (after other stresses at office job led to me drinking far too much wine last night to get up early enough.....) but am not giving up yet. Certainly not.

As soon as she’s well enough to come back to the cafe I will give PR a go. I’ve already worked out which of my two closest I will go for. I did wonder about volunteering first to see how it all goes on. 

Well done on your PR time, you must be so proud, and happy birthday for Friday. Unfortunately I am already in that upper age group, so will have a lot to live up to.


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## Chris Hobson

That is a problem if you have to work Saturday, I'm lucky that I very rarely have to. The parkrun is only on at that specific time and other organised 5k runs are pretty rare, the only one I've ever done was at Rock and Roll Liverpool which is a whole weekend of runs of various distances with live music all around the course. One memorable incident involved the hotel having a rather poor choice of cereals on the breakfast buffet and me eating some cocoa pops. I was then totally buzzing and hyperactive and found it impossible to stand still while we were queuing to get our race numbers.


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## Northerner

Chris Hobson said:


> First a question for Barbie 1. Have you courageously done your first parkrun yet?
> 
> Next my latest update. Today I scored a new PB with a time of 21:24. Position 38/501, that is in the top 8%. Third in the 55-59 age group. Unfortunately I am a week too early in racking up this rather excellent time as I will be moving up into the 60-64 age group this coming Friday. On today's result I would have been the quickest sixty year old, the fastest time in the 60-64 group was 22:41 which is just a second inside my previous best time.
> 
> After the parkrun I went for a gentle 1k swim and then had a tuna panini with salad and a cappuccino while happily watching the gym bunnies coming and going. Good day so far.


Fabulous achievement Chris, those doddery old 60+ runners will wonder what's hit 'em!


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## Chris Hobson

There are some pretty quick sixty plus guys out there. The first one behind me came in a second inside my old PB and his existing PB is better than mine.


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## Northerner

Chris Hobson said:


> There are some pretty quick sixty plus guys out there. The first one behind me came in a second inside my old PB and his existing PB is better than mine.


Hard to imagine how 'old' 60 year olds were when I was a young man  3 of my grandparents died in their mid-50s from age-related problems and back then it was hard to imagine any person of that age being able to beat the socks off many people decades younger than them, which I know you must be doing with your PB Chris


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## Northerner

I've just come across a Facebook group called 'parkrun for people living with diabetes'. It's an official parkrun group, so I have joined. Not sure of content yet, but it doesn't look particularly active.


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## Chris Hobson

I'm not much of a fan of Facebook really. I have an account because my triathlon club use it to communicate with its members but I don't really use it myself.

I've now done my first parkrun as a 60-64 age grouper and set yet another PB at 20:55. Two weeks ago there were no over sixties in front of me and I was second in my age group behind a guy who beat my old PB on the day and had a better PB than me from his previous runs, I have now bettered his PB. Today there were no 55-59 age groupers in front of me but one 60-64 guy who set a new PB too. He came in at 20:53 in position 28/469, my position was 30/469. I'm not sure that I can keep this up.

After the parkrun I went to the gym and did a 1500 metre swim in about 43 minutes. I then did my weekend shop at Asda before loading up the car and trailer with junk and taking it to the tip. I'm now quite knackered and will soon be enjoying my last few beers for a while as I'm going on the wagon while I train for the Rudolf Romp in December.


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## Northerner

So close Chris!  Was he already in front or did he sprint past at the end?  Excellent time, and probably about 10 minutes faster than me at this current time - and I'm still a 'youngster' (3 weeks to go  )


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## Chris Hobson

He was ahead of me, I couldn't have caught him I had completely emptied the tank and had absolutely nothing left.


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## Chris Hobson

I now realise that I will never do a sub three hour marathon. I ran 3 miles pretty much flat out at a slower pace than would be required to achieve it.


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## Northerner

Chris Hobson said:


> I now realise that I will never do a sub three hour marathon. I ran 3 miles pretty much flat out at a slower pace than would be required to achieve it.


This is what has always amazed me about the top runners - they make it look so easy, and make 6 minute miles look positively pedestrian, racing past really good club runners whilst doing 26 sub-5 minute miles  In fact, I think the top race walkers can do around 6-minute miles  My best marathon time was 3:38, but that was over 30 years ago


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## Chris Hobson

I just came across this article about the parkrun in the Guardian. The article is informative, it is a shame that it is delivered with a side order of political claptrap, but worth reading anyway.

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/aug/29/forget-profit-love-fun-innovation-parkrun


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## conundrum

I like  this idea, I think I'll have a go. I wanted to do the Great North Run last year, signed up, paid my fee and everything, but when it came to the day I had been unwell so on doctors advice I gave it a miss. Still went up to Newcastle to watch, as my son and daughter were running, and I thought to myself.... I could have done that, some of the runners were much more unfit than I was. So I've signed up with Parkrun, got my barcode, and decided to give it a try at my local event. If I get round in under 40 minutes I'll be chuffed to bits, as I haven't ran in years.


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## Northerner

conundrum said:


> I like  this idea, I think I'll have a go. I wanted to do the Great North Run last year, signed up, paid my fee and everything, but when it came to the day I had been unwell so on doctors advice I gave it a miss. Still went up to Newcastle to watch, as my son and daughter were running, and I thought to myself.... I could have done that, some of the runners were much more unfit than I was. So I've signed up with Parkrun, got my barcode, and decided to give it a try at my local event. If I get round in under 40 minutes I'll be chuffed to bits, as I haven't ran in years.


Good luck @conundrum !  Let us know how you get on


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## Barbie1

I volunteered at the local parkrun last week and it was a fabulous experience, and I got home in time for my shift at work. 
So I ran 5k this morning in 37 minutes (according to Strava) so will aim for my first parkrun in a fortnight’s time. I’ve checked last week’s results and I would have been about 377 out of 440 so I shan’t be too embarrassed!


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## conundrum

Just finished my first ever ParkRun this morning:
Great Cornard parkrun results for event #245. Your time was 00:45:58
I think I was last, but at least I got round, first run in about twenty years.


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## Chris Hobson

Not a brilliant time that is true but if you start to run regularly you tend to keep getting new PBs quite regularly. This makes you really feel as if you are getting somewhere. You will be amazed at how much you can keep whittling away at your best time. I'm now about ten minutes faster than I was when I started doing parkrun, despite being four years older. Over such a short distance I like to think that this is quite impressive.


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## conundrum

Chris Hobson said:


> Not a brilliant time that is true but if you start to run regularly you tend to keep getting new PBs quite regularly. This makes you really feel as if you are getting somewhere. You will be amazed at how much you can keep whittling away at your best time. I'm now about ten minutes faster than I was when I started doing parkrun, despite being four years older. Over such a short distance I like to think that this is quite impressive.



Well, dammed with faint praise, eh? LOL. I think to go from absolutely zero running to finishing a 5km Parkrun is an achievement in itself. The first step is the hardest, and by that I mean actually turning up at one of these events.... I'll be there again on Saturday, and hopefully all of them till Christmas, and I expect to bring the time down a little.........but not by much. If I can get it down by 10 minutes by the New Year I'll be chuffed.


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## Chris Hobson

That would have me beat in an odd kind of way, it took me four years to knock off ten minutes. Also running 5k from a standing start is impressive, I found the early ones tough and I had already built up some fitness by cycling.


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## Barbie1

Finally did my first parkrun this morning and got round in just under 37 so am well pleased!  I think I was 4th in my sex/age group, but haven’t checked how many there were. Probably 4!  Overall I was 496th out of 586, so definitely not embarrassed.
And got back in time for my shift in the cafe. Not sure that was such a good idea as on my feet throughout and a bit tired now. 

Still not got the hang of blood sugars though. I am using tbr of 70% for 2 hours and my result immediately after the run was 11.3. Now 4 hours later, down to 5.1.  I think I need to study Matt Cycle’s thread to get some ideas.  Maybe extend the tbr further.


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## Chris Hobson

Well done new park runners. If you take part on a regular basis, you should be able to score regular new PBs to begin with. These are great for keeping yourself motivated.


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## conundrum

I've completed 5 ParkRuns so far, and each time I've improved my time a little. And when I say 'a little' I mean by about thirty seconds or so each time. I'm always well at the back of the field, one of the last ones to finish, and I find that hard, as in my youth I was fit as a butchers dog, but now as a fat old man I struggle to get round. But I turn up, and get a little bit better each week. My goal is to get under 40 minutes by Christmas...


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## Northerner

conundrum said:


> I've completed 5 ParkRuns so far, and each time I've improved my time a little. And when I say 'a little' I mean by about thirty seconds or so each time. I'm always well at the back of the field, one of the last ones to finish, and I find that hard, as in my youth I was fit as a butchers dog, but now as a fat old man I struggle to get round. But I turn up, and get a little bit better each week. My goal is to get under 40 minutes by Christmas...


Stick with it Steve, you'll get there, still a few weeks to go!


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## Barbie1

Did my second park run yesterday in torrential rain and wind. Got through in 38 minutes or so, so slower than my first. Was thrilled to be told I came first in my age group.
But then I checked and I was first and last - the only one there! Obviously all the oldie females don’t go out in the rain. Apart from me of course

Will try to improve my time next time


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## Northerner

Barbie1 said:


> Did my second park run yesterday in torrential rain and wind. Got through in 38 minutes or so, so slower than my first. Was thrilled to be told I came first in my age group.
> But then I checked and I was first and last - the only one there! Obviously all the oldie females don’t go out in the rain. Apart from me of course
> 
> Will try to improve my time next time


Well done @Barbie1!  Don't mind the rain, personally, but when it's coupled with strong winds it becomes such a battle


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## Chris Hobson

I did the parkrun at Hull East Park last week as part of my build up after having a deliberately lazy Xmas. I ran it at a gentle pace as I'm not fully fit at the moment. The resolutionaries were out in force, there were nearly seven hundred runners. Sadly, we also received the news that Gill Tremere, the founder of the East Hull parkrun has died. I only knew her as the lady who said on your marks-get set-go, at the beginning of every run and only became aware that she was the person who established the East Park run after she died.

Update:
I didn't do the parkrun on Saturday 12/01 but I checked the results page and saw that the number of runners taking part was 705. I'm not sure if that is a record but it is the highest number that I am aware of. There is to be a memorial run for Gill on the 19th, Liz and I are going to a running show at the NEC on that day so we won't be there. I would really have liked to attend but I have to accept that I can't be in two places at once. I would expect that there will be a record number of runners next week.


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## Chris Hobson

The East Hull parkrun website  states that the run on Jan 12th was only the second to have more than seven hundred runners. The total on the 19th was 854, a special turnout for Gill.

Meanwhile we had fun at the running show, the girls bought some new shoes, I bought some knobbly lock laces. I wore my Outlaw Triathlon hoody and met four other people who were also wearing one and so struck up several Outlaw based conversations as a result.


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## PhoebeC

Keep it up Chris. 

I can’t make our towns park run as it’s the total opposite of town for me so quite a trek as I don’t drive. But the junior one is in our local park on sundays, my daughter has been a few times and once it warms up we will be there every week. I hate being cold ha!


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## Chris Hobson

A seventy year old guy did the East Hull parkrun in 20:52 yesterday.


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## Pigeon

Chris Hobson said:


> A seventy year old guy did the East Hull parkrun in 20:52 yesterday.


Wowee! I got a PB for my course this week, nowhere near that fast though! I saw this blog today about how to get your ParkRun mojo back http://blog.parkrun.com/uk/2019/02/...w1q6l8j6KXcDmUXI-8RtojM#.XJiu7bVGlYI.facebook , thought it might interest some people here.


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## Chris Hobson

I did my first parkrun in ages today at the new one at Beverley Westwood. It is a two lap course all on grass and is quite hilly. I was quite happy with a time of around 27 minutes as I'm not very run fit at the moment and the course is quite a difficult one. Parkrun tourism seems to be becoming a thing, there were about a dozen of them, some from Southampton and some from Nottingham. Afterwards Liz and I went for a swim at the Total Fitness gym. I got into trouble for looking at the gym bunnies.


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## Chris Hobson

Liz and I did Beverley parkrun again today. I knocked a minute off my previous time. The two lap course has a long hill climb which always eliminates my tendency for singing and chatting as I am so totally out of breath. We then went off for a swim.


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## Pigeon

Well done! I did my 48th Park run today. Currently 23 weeks pregnant, so hoping to make it to my 50 t shirt before I get too big to run! Have started walking up the hills though!


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## Chris Hobson

Liz and I did Beverley again today. I have now done three at Beverley and currently have a perfect record on the PBs. We went for a swim after and then picked up daughter Hannah and went for something to eat.

We are up early tomorrow as we are marshalling at the Hull Marathon. I  sort of wish that I was running but I am nowhere near run fit just now.


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## Pigeon

My 49th today! Slowest ever time, but everybody was very supportive and encouraging, I got a few shouts of "well done mum and bump" as I passed marshals! Hopefully 50th next week then I may have a hiatus until after the baby is born!

Hope you enjoy marshaling tomorrow!


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## Chris Hobson

The marshalling at the Hull Marathon went off without drama. I was going to write a post about it but there wasn't much to say really. I put on a yellow bib and watched the runners go past.

Liz and I did the Beverley Westwood parkrun yesterday and got rained on. I tend to get the song that was playing on the car stereo stuck in my head. This time it was Magazines by Katie Spencer which is actually about the fashion industry but seemed appropriate for people who are running around in circles in the pouring rain.
Tell me girls oh do tell me,
Do you get high from this?
To me you act so abnormally,
And I don't know how you keep it up.


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## Chris Hobson

https://m.soundcloud.com/katiespencer97/katie-spencer-magazines


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## Chris Hobson

It is the fifteenth anniversary of the first ever parkrun today. I did my 131st in a new PB for Beverley of 24:59. Lovely weather today in contrast with last week.


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## Chris Hobson

I thought that I would revive this thread as Liz and myself have just done the Beverley parkrun for the first time in a long time. For the first time in ages I'm running without something being slightly broken, I'm taking it easy and being attentive to my creaky old joints for any signs of a relapse. All good so far, I haven't checked my official time yet but my watch says 30:25.

Edit.
Official time 30:23
106/190


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## Chris Hobson

I did a steady 5k run on the disused railway line during the week. Back to Beverley this morning.
Time 29:11
Position 126/221
So I'm fifteen runners away from being in the top half.


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## ColinUK

Did my first one last weekend but forgot to take my barcode. 
Did my second this weekend just gone and remembered to take the barcode this time! 
Took it nice and slow. I’ve not done C25K so this was literally from a standing start running wise. 
Had fun both weeks and will be back as often as I possibly can, hopefully every week.


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## Chris Hobson

I did the East Hull parkrun today. The course is very flat so it is much easier than Beverley.
26:33 171/468.
I'm well inside the top half here but I don't think that comparisons between the two courses really mean anything.


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## ColinUK

Highbury Fields again this morning. 
34:59 so that’s a huge improvement on 38:38 last week. 
294/317
17th in my age group.


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## AndyLum

One of my diabetic symptoms was loosing weight. For ages I hadnt done Parkrun but did a lot of work on the Wattbikes. I didn't feel like I put much effort in but the weight difference made a positive impact on my time. Bit more work and effort and I can see my PB coming down. 

Doing Parkrun properly again reminds me why I enjoy it and why I also volunteer doing it too.


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## ColinUK

I’ve not volunteered yet but I can see myself doing that at some point.


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## Chris Hobson

I've had to lay off the running again as my knee has, once more, started to trouble me a little and I don't want to risk it getting worse. I am now concentrating on my swimming as I have my big swimming challenge next year.


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