Penrith’s parkrun saw 219 people turned out to walk, jog and run the two laps of Frenchfield last Saturday morning.
There were 17 first timers with 19 recording new personal bests. One of those PBs was achieved by Craig Morton (SM40-44) who was first across the line with a time of 18.46.
He was followed home by James Grinbergs (VM45-49) of Eden Runners in 18.54 and David Aiken (SM25-29) of Quakers RC, also achieving a personal best of 19.25. Eden Runners Kerry Grinbergs (SW45-49) led the ladies’ home in 21.25 followed by Rebecca Howard (VW35-39) of Quakers RC in 21.35 and Anna Hamilton (J10) in 22.27.
As usual the event was made possible by 32 volunteers – eight of whom were acting as pacers. Being a pacer means you still get to run. Pacers try to complete the course in an agreed time at an even pace. They are easy to spot amongst the other parkrunners by their blue bibs showing their predicted time. Penrith Parkrun is lucky to have a number of regular pacers, ably co-ordinated by Phil Cooper.
Whilst not everyone is concerned about how fast they can run, enjoying the event is of course paramount, there are some participants who like to challenge themselves and improve their personal best time.
However, it’s not always easy to gauge the pace that you need to maintain throughout the 5k, and this is where the pacers come in. They will aim to run at a constant pace throughout and prevent you from going off too fast. It also means you don’t have to keep looking at your watch and worrying about whether you are going to fast or too slow. They will also give you encouragement and motivation that you need when the going gets tough.
Pacing is not an easy task, but as you will see from the times posted by this week’s Pacers all are roughly within 20 seconds of their predicted time with Steph Hulford missing it by just 1 second. Our Pacers are introduced at the pre event safety briefing so if you fancy improving your Parkrun time, but need a little support and encouragement just select the time you want to achieve and “hang onto those blue bibtails”.
Volunteers are fundamental to Parkrun taking place and we never turn away any offers to volunteer – we can never have too many marshals cheering the participants on their way and ensuring the safety and well-being of all those involved, so if you fancy having a go please contact us via our website www.parkrun.org.uk/penrith, Facebook page or by emailing [email protected]
