# parkrun in BMJ [British Medical Journal]



## Copepod (Jan 16, 2015)

I'll move this to Exercise section in a day or so, but for now I think it's worth keeping in General, as it's about why running 5km on a Saturday morning is a good idea for physical and mental health and social reasons. 

An interesting view by Margaret McCartney, a media savvy GP in Glasgow, who writes about parkrun in this week's [British Medical Journal]:
http://www.bmj.com/content/350/bmj.h230


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## HOBIE (Jan 17, 2015)

Sounds good !  Would deff do a cycling one. My knees are not to good at the pounding runners get. It was on the news this week about cycling being really good for the whole body


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## Copepod (Jan 17, 2015)

Parkruns are feet only, not bikes. But the terrain varies between venues - I've done one on flat trails, another on a hilly estate, mostly on grass with less than 1km on tarmac, another hilly loops of tarmaced paths, plus single runs on flat tarmac paths, mixed trail surfaces on coast, and undulating tarmac paths. So, you can choose softer surfaces, which are easier on knees, provided you have grippy shoes, preferably with rubber studs.

From friends, I gather that audaxes are more social than sportives, in the cycling world. I may try one this year, although I'd need a road bike, as my mountain bike which is ideal for a hilly northern English city, where kerbs etc need to be negotiated, but would be hard work for say 50km.


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## HOBIE (Jan 17, 2015)

I have a good mountain bike but got a lend of a Hybrid to do "Coast & Castles" 200mile from Edinburgh to Newcastle via Berwick etc. Hard work but bigger wheels made a big difference. Have you heard of housemaids knee ? well I have Electricians Knee   Doing sockets you spend half your working life on your knees


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## Copepod (Jan 17, 2015)

Don't electricians use knee pads, like carpet layers do? I used them when I occasionally spent a long period kneeling outdoors when cutting scrub vegetation, when they prevented wet knees and pain from kneeling on twigs, stones, thorns etc. Only a couple of pounds from Aldi, if I remember correctly, for soft rubbery plastic pads, held round leg below knee with Velcro secured straps.


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## HOBIE (Jan 17, 2015)

One minute your on your hands & knees & then your in the loft, then out to the van for gear. Its like wearing masks for loft insulation you don't spend 2hrs in the loft you spend 5 mins at a time. I know I should but nothings straight forward.


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## Copepod (Jan 18, 2015)

Because strap is below knee, you can move almost as easily with knee pads as without. Would be uncomfortable if strapped to bare skin  when wearing shirts, but ok over trousers, which protect a but against nettles and brambles in my case, and probably look more professional in most circumstances.


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## Copepod (Apr 11, 2015)

Feeling chuffed today, as I achieved my 50th parkrun. Nearly 5 years since my first one in June 2010, but worked at least 1 weekend in 3 until summer 2013, and couldn't run at all from July 2011 until March 2013, three different home runs, plus tourist runs at 6 other runs.

Didn't push myself today, as I'm doing my first ever 10km run tomorrow. I have run further than that on trail runs, up to 16.5 miles, plus unknown total distances on various orienteering races. Will seem odd not having to navigate!


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## Northerner (Apr 11, 2015)

Well done on your 50th parkrun!  And good luck in the 10k!


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## lucy123 (Apr 12, 2015)

Congrats Copepod - I am a way off my 50th but the park run  really helped get me into running.......and for everyone out there remember there is no such thing as a slow runner - a runner is a runner!  I plod around my runs but have now signed up for a half marathon in September.. Even go for a walk on the park run and it may inspire you - so glad I did it!


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## Copepod (Apr 12, 2015)

Thanks Northerner and Lucy.

As you say, a runner is a runner. A parkrunner is a runner, even if they walk some of the 5km - some routes are hillier and / or more exposed to winds than others. 

I completed my first ever 10km run today, taking 1:16:00 [chip time], but that includes a couple of minutes stopped with a woman who had collapsed and was lying face down in track, with a few somewhat dopey marshals around, who were waiting for first aiders, and hadn't tried offering bottled water to drink or pour on herself. Also made face to face contact with a younger woman with type 1 diabetes and insulin pump, who does marathons, triathlons etc - we'd "met" through a sports and T1D facebook group. Another bonus 

Hope you enjoy your half marathon in Sept, Lucy!


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## Northerner (Apr 12, 2015)

Well done Copepod!  And good that it was you who happened upon the collapsed woman, and knew what to do!


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## Copepod (Apr 12, 2015)

Marshals, both adults and a couple of army cadets, were aleady with the woman, but didn't seem to be first aiders / medics, so I offered to the woman to check her blood glucose, as I had meter in my bumbag, but once I got an answer that wasn't needed, which also showed she was conscious and able to respond appropriately, and marshals had said first aiders were on their way, I decided to continue running. She might have had grazed knees, elbows, hands etc [couldn't see as she was lying on front, with arms under her chest], but there wasn't blood gushing all over the path, so decided her life wasn't threatened.


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## Northerner (Apr 12, 2015)

Copepod said:


> Marshals, both adults and a couple of army cadets, were aleady with the woman, but didn't seem to be first aiders / medics, so I offered to the woman to check her blood glucose, as I had meter in my bumbag, but once I got an answer that wasn't needed, which also showed she was conscious and able to respond appropriately, and marshals had said first aiders were on their way, I decided to continue running. She might have had grazed knees, elbows, hands etc [couldn't see as she was lying on front, with arms under her chest], but there wasn't blood gushing all over the path, so decided her life wasn't threatened.



Hope she hadn't broken her femur, I've heard that can happen sometimes!   Hope she was able to recover and finish


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## Copepod (Apr 13, 2015)

Northerner said:


> Hope she hadn't broken her femur, I've heard that can happen sometimes!   Hope she was able to recover and finish



My primary survey of casualty revealed no deformity nor signs of pain that might indicate a fractured femur, nor any other major bones. 

I can't tell from results whether or not she finished - no DNFs are stated, although there must have been some, because a few people were walking back towards start, within 10 miuntes of setting off. Slowest finsher took just over 1:33, so I doubt she did finish.


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## Northerner (Apr 13, 2015)

Copepod said:


> My primary survey of casualty revealed no deformity nor signs of pain that might indicate a fractured femur, nor any other major bones.
> 
> I can't tell from results whether or not she finished - no DNFs are stated, although there must have been some, because a few people were walking back towards start, within 10 miuntes of setting off. Slowest finsher took just over 1:33, so I doubt she did finish.



That's a bit poor - why enter if you're turning back 10 minutes in? No training? I think one of the most annoying things I ever saw was a documentary with Ben Fogle where he had signed up to run the Marathon des Sables. He made a joke of the fact that he had done only about a month's training for it, which I thought really put out the wrong message about what a tremendously difficult and potentially dangerous undertaking it was. He finished it, but it might have been better if he'd realised on Day 1 that he should have trained more and respected the challenge.

How is your knee holding up these days? I still get twinges in my leg that make my heart skip a beat sometimes, especially on longer runs


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## Copepod (Apr 13, 2015)

Competition for MdS places is very fierce, so Ben Fogle was taking a place that someone else desperately wanted.

My race was a 10k, now in its 9th year, set up in a new town, to raise profile of a business park and wildlife trust, plus fundraising for local charities, following a pleasant route, partly in a country park. Many runners are new to the distance, and it's billed as being inclusive, so I'm not too surprised that some people stopped early, when injuries showed they weren't healed - sooner rather than later meant a shorter walk back to base.

My knee twinges occasionally, but there's no correlation with how much running / walking / orienteering / cycling I'm doing, so I just do as much as convenient / fun, although rarely run much on roads / pavements, as I prefer paths, tracks etc. Hope your twinges are nothing to worry about.


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## Northerner (Apr 14, 2015)

Copepod said:


> My knee twinges occasionally, but there's no correlation with how much running / walking / orienteering / cycling I'm doing, so I just do as much as convenient / fun, although rarely run much on roads / pavements, as I prefer paths, tracks etc. Hope your twinges are nothing to worry about.



Good to hear  I've been assured many times that my leg is probably stronger now than it was, given 10 years of repair and all the scaffolding in there, but it's still a worry sometimes!. Not made easier by the fact that my brother-in-law, who had some very bad breaks to his femur in a motorbike accident 40 years ago, had some big problems with a bone infection about 5 years ago and was at risk of losing the leg - makes you realise that you can't take anything for granted, however many years have intervened


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