This last weekend Geth and I continued our parkrun sandwiches (these are part of our multiday training) with a trip to Rising Sun. We originally meant to go last week but hadn’t realised it was off… this week, we were originally scheduled to go to Leazes, but that one was off! The parkrun cancellation dance is a real challenge during the winter.
Storm Darragh was scheduled to hit at about 10am, so I was relieved to see that Rising Sun (along a few other local events) did a morning course inspection and declared it safe to go ahead (parkrun volunteers are all heroes). It was actually fairly still during the run to the parkrun start, with only a bit of drizzle in the air.
The parkrun itself had a lot of puddles to dodge (or splash through – my trail shoes enjoyed themselves), but conditions stayed fine during the run – we took it easy for a 29:36 – and it was a lovely morning with lots of friends there! It was only on the last stretch on the way back home that the wind started to pick up, so we were really lucky with the weather window this morning.
This is one of the few shots where I actually look like I’m enjoying myself – though I really was! Photo from Rising Sun parkrun Facebook page.
Next week we are likely to be a bit further afield!
I have let the parkrunday posts get away from me, so I’ll make each parkrun recap brief! But quite a lot has happened in my own personal parkrunworld since I last updated…
Jesmond Dene #171
On the 10th of August I headed to Jesmond Dene, as I hadn’t given it a proper go for a while. Conditions were great and I managed a nice course PB of 25:54, sneaking under 26 minutes for the first time there.
I never usually run the same parkrun two weeks in a row, so I hoped there might be a chance of getting the ‘Groundhog Day’ achievement (run at the same parkrun twice in a row and get the exact same time)! I was a few seconds out, but I wasn’t going to complain about another course PB – 23:54.
Fair warning that these pictures might get a bit samey as we go along! Photo from Town Moor parkrun Facebook page.
Agnew #169
Oh my goodness, Agnew parkrun. I might be less brief with this one if you’ll indulge me.
Geth was still recovering from his injury at this point and was taking it easy. ‘You might win this,’ he said, looking around the field at the start. I would not allow such thoughts to enter my head. Besides, I had already spotted one fast lad in carbons, so I knew it was unlikely.
Bang, off we went, and for a minute there was only the aforementioned fast lad in front of me. Another fast lad soon joined him. But nobody else did.
At the turn of the first out and back, solidly in third place, I glanced at the other 58 runners stretching out behind me. Could I really hold them all off for a whole parkrun? I didn’t know.
But I was going to give it a good go.
Agnew parkrun is three laps with a lot of out-and-back sections, so you’re very aware of where everyone is. It’s a good thing I’d done it a couple of times previously and knew the route, as the two fast lads were completely out of sight by the end of the first lap. At every turn I was glancing at the following runners, analysing how far behind they were. I was running on pure nerves and adrenaline, surprising myself by how badly I wanted to keep my placing.
This must be what it really feels like to race. (Don’t let anyone tell you parkrun’s not a race!)
Halfway through the third and final lap, the fourth place appeared to be gaining on me a little… and so I found a burst of speed and energy out of absolutely nowhere. I ran for my life and by the final out-and-back he was far behind, but I kept pushing and pushing and gave it absolutely everything up the final stretch. I hadn’t even been thinking about my finish time, only about holding people off, but it was a new all-time PB for me. 23:21. A time that would absolutely NOT get you third place overall at the vast, vast majority of parkruns, but it’s all about who shows up on the day!
Over three months later I am still buzzing about this result. One of my best running moments of 2024.
Dad was in attendance with his camera and so I honestly could have posted about 20 photos of this parkrun (including a truly elated-looking one of me holding token number 0003) but I will refrain, as this is already a long post! Photo (c) John Cooke 2024.
Jesmond Dene #175
The following week it was GNR weekend, and so I did my usual volunteer stint at Jesmond Dene – funnel managing this time. Jesmond Dene always smashes its attendance record on GNR weekend (due to lots of runners in town for the race taking the opportunity to bag their ‘J’ parkrun) and this year was no exception, with 547 over the line (more than Town Moor that weekend!). It can be absolute madness at the finish funnel but it’s my favourite parkrun of the year. Loved it as ever.
Geth was marshalling – this is very much a ‘we did it!’ photo at the end!
Town Moor #635
I took it fairly easy for the post-GNR parkrun (I always like to go to Town Moor the week after and be part of the big GNR t-shirts group photo!) but still did a nice consistent 25:26.
Photo from Town Moor parkrun Facebook page.
Rising Sun #347
21st September was the first weekend with a bit of a nip in the air, so out came the long sleeves and trail shoes for Rising Sun parkrun. I took it fairly steady and Geth kept up with me most of the way. Not quite a course PB but close, with 25:22.
My sisters-in-law have recently moved to Greater Manchester, so on our first visit to their new place we scouted out their new local event (and took my sister-in-law along for her first parkrun!). It’s a very busy event and I made the mistake of starting a bit too far back, so it was really congested for the first stretch – but I managed 25:09, which I was pleased with given the hills on the course.
It was pacer week at Town Moor on the first weekend of October and I hadn’t done it for a while, so I signed up to pace 30 minutes and ended up pacing one gentleman to his first sub-30 following a serious injury. Bumped into him again at Yorkshire Marathon a couple of weeks later. Pacing is really rewarding when you can help somebody out! I was nearly bang on pace too, finishing in 29:56.
Photo from Town Moor parkrun Facebook page.
Jesmond Dene #180
I fancied another go at Jesmond Dene the week before the marathon, but kept it a little steadier as I didn’t want to go too hard that late in the training. Still a decent result with 26:27.
Photo from Jesmond Dene parkrun Facebook page.
York #520
We’d intended to do our pre-Yorkshire Marathon shakeout at Heslington parkrun, but realised the night before that it was a bit further out of town than we’d thought. We ended up at York instead in an absolute downpour with about 800 other people (including our friends Jack and Ann from the Benchies)! Could barely see in front of us but we got the job done and I finished in a comfortable 29:59.
Drowned rats! And of course there was a queue for photos with this sign…
Town Moor #641
Took it a little steadier than some recent attempts for the post-marathon parkrun effort, but I still found a bit of pace and came in at 24:53.
Photo from Town Moor parkrun Facebook page.
Denton Dene #70
I started November off with a return visit to Denton Dene alongside some of the Benchies. Managed second lady this time round (I couldn’t have caught the lady who came first even if I were on top form!) with a nice consistent 24:05.
Quite a few Benchies at Denton Dene that day.
Jesmond Dene #184
Back in the Dene the following week, finally feeling fully recovered from the marathon, and managed my second fastest time round the course with a 26:03 – which is pretty good considering Geth and I are now doing parkrun sandwiches (running there and back) every week as part of training for our next big race!
No photo for this one.
Heaton Park #657
We visited my sisters-in-law again and returned to Heaton Park. I started a bit further up and knocked a few seconds off my course PB as a result, finishing in 24:49.
Photo from Heaton parkrun Facebook page.
Fælledparken #613
I’d wanted to do a continental Christmas market trip for years, and this year we finally managed it, spending our 12th wedding anniversary weekend in Copenhagen! Ticking off a Danish parkrun was also a must and I’m glad I chose Fælledparken. It was covered in snow but the underfoot conditions were crunchy and not too slippy, and we had beautiful blue skies (unlike back home in the blizzard caused by Storm Bert!). We took it easier due to the snow, finishing in 29:35 – but it’d be a nice fast course in the summer as it’s really flat.
Just about staying upright on the snow-laden decking!
Town Moor #645
Finally, this last weekend we returned to Town Moor. We’d intended to do Rising Sun but found out the night before that it was off for a Christmas event. A nice easy-ish trip round the Moor instead following some long training days, finishing in 27:33.
Photo from Town Moor parkrun Facebook page.
Whew! What an epic – summer to winter. I won’t leave it that long again (I hope).
Finally, though, I want to pay a quick tribute to my Saucony Endorphin Speed 2 shoes, which you can see in most of the photos above. I have had these shoes for over two years and they have been my constant speed training companions, netting me more parkrun PBs than I can count. Sadly, however, they ran their 500th mile at Town Moor parkrun last Saturday, meaning it’s time for them to move onto a new life as driving shoes. I have laundered and relaced them accordingly, and to be honest am quite looking forward to wearing them in non-running life as they’re really funky-looking! I have got some Endorphin Speed 4s ready to take their place, so we’ll see how I get on with those.
The Saturday before last, being home in Newcastle for the first time in a few weeks, I went to Denton Dene for the third time. Based on previous runs there I was expecting to run about 25 minutes, but surprised myself with an all-time PB – 23:26! I wasn’t even concentrating on time during the run, I just knew I was on for first lady and was trying not to let the second lady catch up with me! Really pleased as that is not an easy course. I did suffer a bit with my asthma for the rest of the day though – my lungs worked really hard for that one!
With various Benchies and other friends after the run. Photo from Alice at TMBR.
Went for a slightly steadier effort at Leazes this past Saturday – managed a good solid 24:29, which was still a course PB by a few seconds. I found it quite busy, but I’m sure it’ll return to normal once Town Moor returns next week. No photo as I forgot to take one.
Still to decide on my parkrun venue for this coming Saturday!
Another Scottish parkrunday and another slight lie-in for the 9:30am start, as Geth and I were visiting Mum and Dad at their caravan! This parkrun event in Castle Douglas hadn’t yet started last time we were visiting, so it was good to ‘complete’ the Dumfries and Galloway parkruns once again. Not too far a journey from the caravan as well!
Geth and I were in our Carter USM running tops as the Carter Facebook page was trying to get as many ‘Carter tops at parkrun’ pictures as possible this last weekend! They got over 120 in the end from 101 different parkrun events, I believe.
Representing! Photo from Dad.
It was fun to bump into some folks from Carlisle whom I recognised from the Cowfest Troon bus trip last month, as well as somebody we knew from Town Moor parkrun back home!
It’s not a super fast course (too much on grass for my liking and lots of humps and inclines), but I gave it a good go and managed a very respectable 24:26, including a sprint finish thanks to the lovely guy behind me who was shouting at me not to let him beat me!
Last push! Photo from Dad.
A few quieter weeks coming up now so I’ll be visiting parkruns in my local area again.
I’m always excited to do a new-to-me parkrun! Especially in my homeland of Scotland, where I have so many links all over the place via family and friends. Somehow, though, I’d never done any of the parkruns in Glasgow. As I was in the city this last weekend to act as groomsperson for my old friend Sharpy at his wedding, it was time for that to change!
I chose Ruchill as it was the closest to our hotel in the city centre, though still a good mile and a half to walk. Geth was taking it easy due to his lingering Achilles injury, and I realised as soon as I clocked the slightly hilly course that it certainly wouldn’t be my fastest – though I did end up a bit quicker than I expected.
It was a lovely course with a great city view at the top, which you get to see three times due to the laps. The team were really friendly and I was surprised the field was so small (60 people) – I’d be interested to find out if that’s standard for parkruns in the city.
I’m not sure when we’ll be back as I intend to collect a few more Glasgow parkruns when I find myself there, but if I were ever in a position to repeat I’d definitely do this one again!
I was volunteering this last weekend as I had a Sunday race. I’d signed up as funnel manager but ended up as number checker instead, which is always fun and can be a bit hectic!
It was a PB attempt and I hadn’t attempted an overall PB in some time (my overall PB as it stood was three months old and also set at Blyth). It was meant to be a PB attempt for both me and Geth, but he’s been injured the last couple of weeks and so he just did a walk for one lap.
I wanted a sub-24, my existing PB being 24:05. It was pacer week, but I didn’t make a decision in advance about whether to use the 24 pacer, as parkrun pacers don’t always pace steadily. However, the pacer on the day was doing a really good job, so I decided to sit on his heels for a while and see how it went.
The conditions were great (it had been really windy last time we were there, which is always a risk with coastal parkruns) and I actually found the pace really comfortable. I was tempted to step it up a gear to see how fast I could go, but decided to play it safe and stick with the pacer.
This meant that I had a really steady and comfortable run and plenty of energy for a sprint finish at the end. I finished in 23:43, feeling like I could do it even faster in the future. A really positive run!
New PB glow 🙂
A bit of pre-race volunteering this next week, and then some exploration later in July.
I did a bit of ‘proper’ parkrun tourism the Saturday before last! It was the Cowfest tourist gathering in Troon and I had never been to one before. I wouldn’t travel that far on my own just for a parkrun, and indeed have never travelled further than my local area just for a parkrun (I always combine my touring with trips that I’d be doing anyway), but there was a coach trip being organised from northeast England… so I thought I’d go along and see what it was all about!
I had to be up in the middle of the night to be ready for my booked taxi to the coach pickup point! I thought the taxi driver would find my explanation for the early taxi to be a bit odd but he’d dealt with parkrun tourists before (usually people getting early flights to Ireland).
The cow had travelled from northeast England on the coach too!
It was a long old coach trip (leaving Newcastle at 4:30am) but seeing the seaside at Troon was a lovely feeling. We had a bit of time to get our bearings and take pictures before the briefing, and soon we were off for a lovely flat and fast course along the front. Love a seaside parkrun.
Following the obligatory cake, I joined friends for a bit of an explore of the cafes and pubs of Troon (and saw a pipe band!) before heading back to the coach for another few hours of trying not to fall asleep.
Unfortunately I was a bit unwell for a few days after Troon, so I probably wouldn’t do such a long coach trip in one day again. Would love to do some shorter trips though – it’s a nice way to see different places and make friends.
I was much more local this last weekend! Geth and I had planned to go away, but as I hadn’t been well we decided to stay home. As such, it was an easy run around Rising Sun, practising my 30 minute pacing for when I next do it at Town Moor.
More familiar environs.
Feeling better now, so planning a PB attempt this next weekend… fingers crossed!
I did decide to pace after all this last weekend. I’d had a few weeks with lots of races and other hard efforts, and so I thought it was probably best to take it easy for once.
I asked to be the 30 minute pacer as I’d managed that really well last time and knew the pace I needed to stick to. I don’t think I was quite as steady as the previous time I’d done it, but I still came in very consistently at 29:57.
