Parkrun has been cancelled for over 18 months and it recently came back in July. I hadn’t managed to get back to one due to various summer holiday activities.
For those who don’t know, parkrun is a weekly 5K usually taking place in parks (or woods). You can walk, jog, run, sprint, hop, kangaroo jump, skip, anything you like – well except drive it or cycle – and it’s not a race! There is never any pressure to get a certain time, it’s all about just getting out and having a run! Go by yourself, with a mate, your partner, the kids, your club mates, just go!
When Ramsbottom Running Club said that they were getting together for an impromptu club champs parkrun at one of my favourite routes; I knew I had to dust off the old barcode and get there.
Luckily, we got back from holiday on the Friday night so upon finding clean running gear, the barcode and planning timings to make sure I’d get back for a pre-school haircut for Cal, I was good to go.
The parkrun in question was Worsley Woods, a relatively flat route, perfect for PB’s with some lovely traily bits through the woods and some tunnels perfect for shouting ‘Hellooooo’ as loudly as possible.
After a few photos where different members were in different places (nothing changes with us), we settled at the start and off we went! It was so lovely seeing some members of the club that I either hadn’t met or hadn’t seen for over a year!
Starting off, I always feel quite strong until I realise that there’s a lot of woody bits and then the home straight is so much longer than you think. The stairs to the beginning of the loop are a welcome walk up!
Having friends to run parkrun with is amazing as often I turn up and don’t really know anyone! Thanks to Clare for running with me, even if she did make me sprint at the end!
Running parkrun was a nice bit of normality and it was great to see so many runners there. I did expect it to be a bit quieter than usual but it seemed to be at the standard capacity.
I’ll be back at another parkrun soon, the club have two ‘floating’ parkruns that I should complete for championship points so keep an eye out for updates!