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Parkrun — I Finally Joined the Global Running Phenomenon
I can see the course from my balcony
My sister has been pestering me to go do a parkrun since I started running about ten months ago. But, given that she does ultramarathons because ‘they’re fun’, I remained unconvinced.
‘I’ll do it when I can run 5k in 30 minutes,’ I told her.
I reached that point.
‘I’ll do it when I can run 5k in 25 minutes,’ I said.
I reached that point too.
But I still did not go to parkrun.
For those who don’t know, Parkrun is an international phenomenon of sorts. It’s a free, volunteer run event that usually happens on Saturday mornings in locations all over the place. In the UK, you’d probably have to live in the Scottish islands to not be close to one. Oh no, I just checked, there are parkruns there too.
Parkrun is a 5k event that’s non-competitive in nature. You can be timed by registering and printing out a barcode which gets zapped when you finish so you can keep track of your time.
The unique thing about it is that the only person you’re racing against is yourself. And even that’s only the attitude of some. Many people just go to get them out of bed on a Saturday morning and stretch their legs.
