Learning To Love Running : The Joy Of Parkrun

I Need To Do More!

If you have read any of my previous blogs you will know that when I started doing triathlons last year my least favourite discipline was running. I have always struggled with running. Five years ago in the rugby off season (when I was still playing) I trained for and did a 10km race to keep fit over the summer. I hated every minute of and stuck to the gym in the off season after that until I finished playing rugby. After doing my second triathlon and struggling with the flat and easy 2.5km run I knew I to do something about my running. The 1^st thing I looked at was joining a Triathlon club. The 2 nearest Triathlon clubs to me are Wakefield and Holmfirth Harriers neither is that close. When I looked at their training times and locations I knew with my work and rugby coaching commitments I would struggle to get to any training sessions. Next came running clubs, there are a few in Huddersfield and some of the them are close by but again training sessions clashed with work and rugby commitments. While searching on google I came across the Parkrun website www.Parkrun.org.uk and that they had a weekly 5km run in Huddersfield’s Greenhead park www.parkrun.org.uk/huddersfield/ I was intrigued. While I was thinking about it I noticed on Twitter my daughters best friend was doing Parkrun. The next time I saw I asked her about it and she said how brilliant it was and that I should defiantly have a go, so I did.

The Joy Of Parkrun

Parkrun is free weekly timed 5km run in your local park every Saturday at 9am run by volunteers. It’s easy to register for, fill in your details on the website, print your barcodes and you are ready to go! I turned up for my first run on Saturday October 12^th last year. We were given a 1^st time runners briefing to explain the route and how the finish worked and then it was up to the start with 400 odd other parkrunners. On my 1^st run I struggled my way round the 1 small lap and 2 big laps of Huddersfield’s beautiful Victorian Greenhead park. I finished in a time of 27:12 which I was more than happy with. My first thought when I received the text message with my time was I can go faster than that. I was hooked. Over the winter I did get faster and slower (depending on conditions) and continue to do so. The community at Huddersfield parkrun is fantastic they turn up in all weathers and always cheer all the runners on from the super-fast 15 minute 5km runners to those take nearer an hour when starting their journey to better fitness and health. You will see everyone you could possibly imagine at a parkrun, parents running pushing babies round in prams, older kids flying past you, older people running when they can and volunteering when they can’t, dog owners running with their pet (or is that the other way around) and multiple generations of families enjoying running together and a bit of friendly competition. The cherry on the top about Huddersfield park run is that there is almost always a Parkrun photographer on hand to take pictures of the event which are post on Facebook and Flicker. This is where all of the photos in this post come from.

Summer Parkrun at Huddersfield's Greenhead Park

Parkrun Tourism

Another great thing about Parkrun is that you aren’t restricted to just running in your local park your Parkrun barcode is valid at any Parkrun anywhere in the world. There are over 250 Parkruns each Saturday in the UK . Also there are Parkruns across the globe is Australia, Denmark, Ireland, New Zealand, Poland, Russia, South Africa and the USA. All you need is your barcode, running gear and the location of the run nearest to where you are. There are many people who will have done Parkruns in many of the different countries where it’s available I as of yet I am not one of them. Apart from Huddersfield I have visited 3 other UK Parkruns. Workington in Cumbria, the nearest run to where my Mum lives (a nice flat run down an old railway line and back). Dewsbury, my 2^nd nearest run which I did when Huddersfield was off because of an event in the park (lovely little park with a killer hill you have to do 4 times!). Lastly Stockon-on-Tees which is near where my wife auntie lives (a different run along one side of the river Tees and back down the other). In the future and much to my wife annoyance Parkrun locations will be taken into account when planning weekends away and holidays.   

A Chilly Winter Parkrun Also At Huddersfield's Greenhead Park

Where Is My Running Now

Parkrun has inspired my running and I now look forward to my runs. I am not running great distances but I am running 2 or 3 times a week. I am continuing to push the distances I am running when out by myself and am entering an 8 mile race near a mate house in Wales early next year. I hope to build myself up to a half marathon at some point while continuing with Triathlons. After that who knows. Also I am pushing the speed I am running at using Parkrun to judge it as it’s the same course each week (that is when I run at Huddersfield). So in the last 12 months I have gone from 27:12 on 12/10/13 to my current personal best set on 13/09/14 of 24:39. I will never be the fastest runner but I now enjoy my running and am continuing to improve. When I do a triathlon has gone from feeling awful and getting passed to feeling good and passing people.