In 2020ish I decided to try to go from being ‘someone that occasionally runs’ to being ‘a runner’. I had no intention of running becoming a big part of my life, but then COVID hit and there was nothing else to do and here we are. Joining Queen’s Park Harriers kept me fit and sane and social.
But parkrun never had the same appeal. Despite constant encouragement from fellow runners, promises of fitness gains and community vibes, bribes of bacon sarnies and coffee (I will almost always run for coffee), I simply wasn't tempted.
Mostly this was because my two closest parkrun options are Wormwood Scrubs - where running dreams go to die - and QPH favourite, Gladstone Park - but if you know me at all, you'll know the infamous Gladstone hills made that a tough ask. Pair said hills with 3km to get there plus an early-ish start, and parkrun quickly fell off my to-do list.
I now see that this may have been a bit dramatic.
This past Saturday I was finally lured to Gladstone for my first parkrun, which also happened to be a QPH vs. Mornington Chasers mob match. The total distance worked for where I'm at with my Valencia training, and I knew my hangover likelihood was low given chilled Friday night plans. Perfect.
The first thing I noticed was an abundance of friendly faces, including Gavin on the briefing stage, which I found strangely reassuring as I was feeling a bit nervous about not having a clue how parkrun works. I went for a little warm-up lap with Sam, who explained the two-lap route and the distribution of hills (very important mental preparation for someone with such a strong hill aversion). And then I followed the crowd to the start and off we went.
The run itself was classic type-2 fun. It was hard and a bit soggy and slippy and my legs felt wrecked from a double-day on Friday and my ego didn’t LOVE being overtaken by a 12-year-old (I got him back, don’t worry). But in hindsight, I actually enjoyed the undulation - the variety seemed to make the run go faster - and the support from volunteers along the way was great. I quickly reached the begrudging conclusion that the challenging course, plus a regular race-like environment, is in fact probably pretty beneficial for my training.
There are a few outstanding questions for me. I simply do not understand how the barcodes work. To be clear, I don't want anyone to explain it to me because I like the mystery, but that logistical masterclass blew my mind. I also do not understand how parkrun has reached its current scale whilst remaining free to the public. If the founder hasn't been knighted, he should be. Free access to organised fitness and community for ANYONE that wants it is nothing short of astounding.
All in all I can only really put this down to the power of parkrun as a concept. Despite the hills I find myself pretty convinced by this new Saturday routine - maybe not every week, but this certainly won’t be a one-and-done situation. A special thank you to the organisers, the volunteers, and my fellow runners for the encouragement (though I’m still waiting for my bacon sarnie).
Result:
4th female at Gladstone parkrun