Parkrun

[Rooter]

Im not sure about it. Newbury Parkrun gets 500+ every week. The first 1km at least is elbow to elbow unless you are Mo Farah.

No idea how they can safely run it without a major overhaul of the start and finish procedure.

If they announce it's being run as it was, I wont be attending.

 

[sev112]

We have 300 plus here regularly and we have about 4 Parkruns within short driving distance Of that sort of number.
my wife is avid , but I don’t get the risk basis. Most runners are in close proximity, breathing and exhaling he airy, and inadvertent spitting.
i am glad that they are getting them back again And I do beleive there are benefits in getting people out who would not normally run, but personally I am not convinced in the rIsk basis for this, just because it is outside. I’m less worried about general proximity at the start and end as I am in lots of people breathing out deeply.
my wife is planning to run in a mask but I doubt that The majority will.

of course far better scientists than me will have a better handle on risk of transmission and populationetc, but it just seems odd to me, when at least 50% of parkrunners could do their 5K runs anyway without a mass gathering.

(Disclosure - I used to be an avid park runner until health issues got in the way, so I understand why people want to get back into this)

 

[Deleted Member 1156]

There are risks but surely it wouldn't be too difficult to implement a staggered start time system (cycling sportive style)
Fastest off first then next group 10 mins later etc.

 

[larmen]

Live FAQ with the CEO and COO on youtube. Going 2 hours already.

Basically, there is always a risk, it is about limiting a risk, and the rest is with when they are allowed to get back.

 

[pendodave]

Saw that parkrun is back from june 26th. Good news.
In anticipation, i strolled up to ours last saturday and ran it for the first time since it stopped. Timed myself at around 3.5 mins slower than normal :-(
I wonder how long it'll take to get it back? I'm hopeful that running in a group will be good for a minute or so, but I'm not sure where the rest of it is going to come from.
Will have another go tomorrow as 'fine tuning'...

 

[larmen]

I got my time down to mid 27s about a year ago, but a lot of setbacks since and I now run 37 something.

I just blame long covid. Not that I think I ever had covid in the last 12 months.

 

[Orikoru]

Back in January I got a new PB 5k getting under 26 mins for the first time. But I haven't done a run since March now (since everything else opened up basically, haha). Would be good to get back on the Parkruns and see how I do now. My PB run was on concrete, but it's very hilly around where I live - my local Parkrun is on grass in the local park so might be slower anyway.

 

[larmen]

It’s back!

My local (Bushy) is too busy, 1150 people. I went to Hazlewood instead, same space and only 115 people.
It’s really hard to run fast(ish) again, but I was 7 minutes faster than any other run in the last 2 weeks during the heat wave.

 

[Bazz]

It’s back!

My local (Bushy) is too busy, 1150 people. I went to Hazlewood instead, same space and only 115 people.
It’s really hard to run fast(ish) again, but I was 7 minutes faster than any other run in the last 2 weeks during the heat wave.

Over a thousand people?! Bloody hell.

 

[pendodave]

Ours has relocated. No idea why, but it's not good.
Same piece of land, but start point is about 2 miles from the original. The trouble is, it was already on the outskirts of town, so a 30 minute walk for most. Niw it is an hour away, so effectively impossible to reach without driving, especially for those who aren't the quickest.
Genuinely seems a bizarre and foot shooting decision.

 

[larmen]

Ours has relocated. No idea why, but it's not good.
Same piece of land, but start point is about 2 miles from the original. The trouble is, it was already on the outskirts of town, so a 30 minute walk for most. Niw it is an hour away, so effectively impossible to reach without driving, especially for those who aren't the quickest.
Genuinely seems a bizarre and foot shooting decision.

Which one is it? There might have a good reason.

Crane parkrun has been changed due to the layout of the park. They had the finish next to an exit gate, now they rerouted it to have the start on the widest bit in the park and the finish in the 2nd widest bit. It’s for distancing purpose.

 

[pendodave]

Which one is it? There might have a good reason.

Crane parkrun has been changed due to the layout of the park. They had the finish next to an exit gate, now they rerouted it to have the start on the widest bit in the park and the finish in the 2nd widest bit. It’s for distancing purpose.

Panshanger.
When I looked at the website, no reason was given.
I have a mate who is marshalling next week, so hopefully some info will emerge.

 

[larmen]

I did Panshanger ones, in a NYD double with St. Albans. 2016 or 2017, I think.
I didn’t like it because there are no facilities (toilets) near the old start and it is way too hilly for me. But it had plenty of parking close by, which was useful.
I guess if someone loves trail running that’s the run just right for them.

 

[pendodave]

I did Panshanger ones, in a NYD double with St. Albans. 2016 or 2017, I think.
I didn’t like it because there are no facilities (toilets) near the old start and it is way too hilly for me. But it had plenty of parking close by, which was useful.
I guess if someone loves trail running that’s the run just right for them.

It reminds me of an old school cross country course. I often wonder how much faster (if at all) i would run on a flat course with a decent surface.
I'm a bit of a Greta in these matters and think that it's probably better all round if non-motor access was an important consideration when selecting a site.
Maybe it is a spacing thing (it has always been crowded at the start), but everyone being forced into cars has a number of negative consequence, all sacrificed to you know what.

 

[Orikoru]

I would have been tempted to join but I was still isolating on Saturday. Just checked online and 64 people ran it, I think that was about normal for before the pandemic really - it used to fluctuate between 50 and 100. Can't imagine trying to do one with a thousand bloody people in it, sod that.

In Jan this year I got a new PB for running 5k, although that was all on concrete whereas my local Parkrun is all on grass, with an uphill section you have to do three times, so I think that makes it a lot tougher.

 

[Rooter]

Newbury has not got permission to reopen. It's at Greenham common and Berks Wildlife won't agree on permission to restart. We were getting 600+ a week!!

 

[pendodave]

Newbury has not got permission to reopen. It's at Greenham common and Berks Wildlife won't agree on permission to restart. We were getting 600+ a week!!

Sorry to hear that. I find this sort of bureaucratic obfuscation profoundly depressing (and all too prevalent).
Ours also used to be around 600, but for the reasons outlined was down to 180 this week.
Orikoru's sounds like more of a private party!!

 

[larmen]

Orikoru's sounds like more of a private party!!

I have been 2nd a couple of times, and one time of that I didn’t make it into the top 10% of finishers ;-)

Richmond Old Deer park had very few people back then. I then moved from being a big fish in a small pond to being fish feed in an ocean.

 

[pendodave]

I have been 2nd a couple of times, and one time of that I didn’t make it into the top 10% of finishers ;-)

Richmond Old Deer park had very few people back then. I then moved from being a big fish in a small pond to being fish feed in an ocean.

I'm reasonably brisk (between 20&22 mins) and was once beaten by a bloke pushing his child around in a buggy...

 

[larmen]

I'm reasonably brisk (between 20&22 mins) and was once beaten by a bloke pushing his child around in a buggy...

I know a guy that pushed a double buggy under 16 minutes in Dulwich. Was good training for the commonwealth games, I think.