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Monday 18 April 2016

My 5 favourite parkrun memories

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The start at Woodhouse moor parkrun, Leeds

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I'm going to start this blog with a big statement, so get ready. I've considered the following statement carefully, and though it is huge, I believe it to be true and stand by it. Are you ready? Here it is:

parkrun is the greatest thing to happen to sport in this country, ever.



parkrun (One always spells parkrun with a small "p" happarently) has encouraged over 23000 previously inactive people to take up running. 939665 different people have taken part in a parkrun. It's now spread in to 12 countries and there are 800 events worldwide with 150000 people taking part, every single week. Any number of expensive government initiatives have failed to garner anything like this kind of response and at a fraction of the cost. 

I've now run at 8 different events and intend to do many more, but why do I love it? I could wax lyrical for a long time on that, talking about inclusivity, the sometimes beautiful locations, the incredible effect on a nation's health, the hundreds of communities that it has created, etc, etc, etc, but instead, I will give you my 5 favourite parkrun memories.

5) My very first parkrun

There are now a couple of parkruns closer to me than the Woodhouse moor event in Leeds but back in March 2012 it was my local run. Like many people I had been meaning to get to a parkrun for a long time before I actually did. 
On that day 291 people ran. The first home took 16 minutes 6 seconds, the last was a 70 year old woman who came in in 54:36 and there was everything else in between. 
I remember lapping a guy who must have been 30 stones plus. He was working hard. Really, really hard. His determination and grit were incredible. I wanted to run with him a bit, give him some encouragement and tell him how fantastic he was doing, but I couldn't work out a way that wouldn't sound horribly patronising. 
I watched with joy as people pushing buggies, people with dogs, people of every shape and size crossed the line. And I fell in love with this event. I knew it was something very, very special to bring this diverse bunch together, laughing and smiling on a Saturday morning in the park. 

4) Keswick parkrun

For my 40th birthday I invited my friends to join me in my favourite place in the world; the lake district, and on the Saturday, some of us ran at Keswick. The run at that time was along a path created out of an old railway track that was sadly damaged in the floods so is not currently being used, I sincerely hope it's repaired soon.
Anyway, back in September 2014 the race director gave his speech and asked if there were any parkrun tourists today. In what I am sure is no surprise the majority of the crowd put their hands up, which raised a laugh. The 4 people who ran from my birthday party, I am proud to say, came 1st, 4th, me in 5th and 35th. Not a bad return I'd say! Typically of my friend Mark, when asked if he'd done alright, said, "Yeah, not bad" When pushed, he confessed he had won. Although he has won medals for running before, he had never before, nor since, finished first in a race, so it made his modesty all the more funny. Apparently the guy in second had asked Mark if he wanted to take the lead as thy ran, but Mark declined. When eventually Mark spotted the finish line he sprinted hard and won by over 10 seconds. The guy in 2nd was disappointed, but what he didn't know was that Mark could have gone very very much faster. 

3) Halloween at Wetherby parkrun

I am absolutely no fan of fancy dress. It's just not my thing, so I tend to avoid it. However, last year I decided I would enter in to the spirit of a night race I had entered on Halloween and buy a skeleton onesie to run in. When the race was cancelled I decided not to waste the costume and wear it at Wetherby parkrun instead. Wetherby is run entirely on grass so it was pretty amusing to don a pair of inov8 x-talons with the onesie and run around the football pitches. On this occasion I finished 2nd, my highest position at a parkrun ever. A few people told me that it was amazing that I had come second in a onesie. What they didn't know is that the onesie was actually great to run in, it was a cold day and it kept me just the right temperature. Wetherby parkrun typically has around 60-100 runners and is a perfect example of why parkrun is great. It has a lovely small community and a dedicated bunch of volunteers keeping it going, much like hundreds of the other events.


2) Christmas day at Bradford

I was working Christmas day 2014, but a bit of jiggery-pokery with our shifts, some quid pro quo and I was allowed to complete the Bradford parkrun before heading in to work. 232 runners enjoyed a wonderful start to their Christmas day. I gave it my all and was pleased to break the 20 minute barrier on a tough course with a "teeny tiny hill" (You'd need to go to Bradford parkrun to get that joke) I finished in 6th position overall. Just let that sink in; in a park, in Bradford, 232 people got out of bed, on Christmas day to run 5k. Incredible.
Paul Dennison, race director of the 3 Peaks race at Bradford parkrun, Xmas day 2014

1) Debi's runs

The very best thing about parkrun is how it is completely inclusive. Everyone is an athlete on Saturday morning at 9am. A few years back, after some very serious persuasion, Debi rocked up to Woodhouse moor parkrun with me. She was scared. She thought everyone would laugh at her, or that she would finish last, that she wasn't a good enough runner to take part. Of course, all those things are exactly why parkrun exists. Because at parkrun, none of those things matter. I ran round with her encouraging and taunting her in probably equal amounts and she got round. 
From that tiny acorn planted at parkrun, a runner was born. Debi has now completed the Great North Run, ran everyday in January and finished a gruelling local off-road race: Rombald's Stride amongst other achievements. She is even the treasurer of my running club. 

Debi at Bradford parkrun