Parkrun has become an institution worldwide. It’s there to give people a reason to run 5k (just over three miles) on any Saturday almost anywhere.
Certainly, in this country you are never very far from a parkrun venue at which you can just turn up (with your barcode) and run.
It takes me about 30 minutes to complete a 5k parkrun now but it was only about four years ago that I couldn’t even run for 30 seconds without collapsing in a heap.
After enviously watching other people of all ages and sizes on their Saturday morning excursions I finally decided to give it a go. Running has never been my thing and I was not hopeful. How was I going to do it? Step up the Couch to 5k programme. I downloaded this app to my phone, after reading about it on the NHS website.
Three sessions a week of steadily increasing exercise, starting with 30 second runs, and nine weeks later I was running for 30 minutes. Not fast, but running continuously for 30 minutes.
I ran my first parkrun at Hexham in honour of a friend who set that parkrun up and I did it in 35 minutes. I’ve done most of my park runs since at Penrith, a very welcoming venue. I’ve also gone on to run some 10ks (always doubling up distances in accordance with the programme) and some half-marathons. I’m still not sure I enjoy it but the feeling on finishing any of these runs is wonderful and that makes it worth the effort.
If you’re reading this and thinking about giving it a go, download the app, get yourself down to Frenchfield, and start running. If you don’t succeed first time, wait a bit and then give it another go. It really is worth it. And remember: it’s not about how fast you go, it’s about turning up on a Saturday morning and running.
