Morning Run: Reading about parkrun

in EXHAUST • 2 months ago

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524.0 kcal

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@steevc just finished a 7.61km run, that lasted for 51 minutes.
This run helped steevc burn 524.0 calories.


Description from Strava:
After Saturday's parkrun I did a long one on Sunday at a comfortable pace. My legs were not too bad the next day, but I still decided to do an easy one this morning. We had another 30C+ day yesterday, but it should be cooling a little now.

I have been into parkrun for a while with over 170 runs and 60+ volunteers so far, but I did not know the full history. One of my fellow runners got the book by founder Paul Sinton-Hewitt and it has been passed around.

Paul was brought up in South Africa where he did not have a great start spending time in care and at boarding schools so he did not have much of a family life. He eventually got into running and got a lot of enjoyment from that. After he moved to the UK he was training for the London Marathon with a target of under 2.5 hours when he had a fall on a cross-country run that led to him being unable to run for a long time. To stay involved he started the original Bushy Park Time Trial that evolved into parkrun.

parkrun has become a massive international success with millions of people running every week. It has even reached into prisons and there are runs for kids too. Paul comes across as a very modest guy. He put a lot of his own money into it at the start and it now runs as a charity with some corporate sponsors.

This is a very readable book, but it is sad to hear what he went through in his childhood. He struggled with relationships, but eventually found love.

I see parkrun as an amazing event. There are not many things like this that you can just do for free whilst meeting lots of like-minded people. It is not just about elite athletes as you get all ages and abilities there. Some always walk and some are volunteering every week. Nobody is getting paid for this apart from the small team who manage the whole project. They have created a web site and app that make it easy to participate.

I would recommend the book if you like to be inspired.

Run free!


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https://www.strava.com/activities/19593140249

About the Athlete: Older guy trying to keep fit, but still hope to go quicker.

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It is amazing how a simple 5 km run could turn into this massive thing. I hope it gets to spread to even more countries.

I think there can be issues around liability and other regulations. He said that French authorities wanted all runners to have a medical certificate. He ran the original one with no official permission or insurance for a long time.

One of my kids is helping to set up a new event in Germany. It keeps spreading. I know Brits have started them in other countries, but it needs local participation. I know Australia has a lot of events and South Africa is big too.

Keep going, you're smashing your training at the moment and getting stronger every day.
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That's cool learning a little more about the history of park run. I've been using the treadmill a lot this summer as I let my shoulders rest and heal. Once my wife and I are both working out at the same time again I will likely start doing weights.

I don't read many books about running, but this was interesting.

Small, regular efforts often produce better long-term results ;)

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