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Parkrun - you're the best
May1120126:10 p.m.
I wish I'd discovered parkrun sooner, I could have saved a fortune in gym fees. All I ever seemed to do at the gym was run on the treadmill, but after discovering parkrun, I've cancelled my membership.
After completing my first 10k on Easter Sunday, I discovered a burning desire to run outside - that is, after all, the point of this whole running lark. So, less than a week after our 10k triumph, my daughter and I joined the 300-plus other runners at Eaton Park, Norwich, to see what it was like.
We fell in love with it from the start. My daughter, Tash, is pretty fit; she's a 27 minute parkrunner, so we part company after about four minutes - but my times are improving every week. I've gone from a 35 minute debut to 32:44 over four parkruns. Tomorrow's our fifth run, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed for another PB.
I'm desperate to break the 30-minute barrier, so I've been training hard. Rather than clock-up junk miles, I've been running faster than is comfortable and setting the incline on the treadmill at 4. I sweat a lot, but the aim is to make the parkrun seem easy.
My age-grading is just over 54% and climbing, but I've got a long way to go before I reach the number one spot in the Norwich Parkrun league tables. That honour is held by Anne Martin. She has an age-grading of 94.09% with a fastest time of 26:14. And, guess what, she's in the 75-79 age group. Phenomenal!
It just proves that running is for everyone, and the more you do, the more you benefit. Love it!
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Comments (2)
Nick 'I'm also a fan of Park Run. It's nice to have a regular time and place when you can test yourself out against other runners.' added 11th May 2012
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annasusanna1022 'I agree, Nick, and it's so friendly. There's a real sense of community and there's always someone to chat to. Everyone should try parkrun, at least once!' added 11th May 2012
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