Its Parkrun time. I am not a massive lover of Parkrun, some people live and breath them, there are even Parkrun tourists who go round all the Parkruns in the country, the live and breath that 9am start on a Saturday morning.
I on the other hand would probably prefer to have a trot on the trails near to home. However sometimes there is a time and a place for a Parkrun especially if there is a friend in tact.
So with friend Debs in tact off we went for both our second attempt at Sheffield Castle Parkrun, a 3 lap course, with 3 hills. A nice friendly low key Parkrun not attracting many serious club Parkrun aficionados as they all head to Endcliffe park the flattest of all the Parkrun’s in Sheffield to fight out their PB.
Every runner is an experiment of one. – George Sheehan
Debs was in racing mode and shot off immediately to put her in first female place with only a handful of those male creatures striding round in front of her. I positioned myself carefully a distance away from Debs but keeping her in sight at all times.
The course starts off fairly flat with lots of turnings. One minor little hill then drops down nicely before climbing gently then more abruptly, flattens out to repeat twice more.
I was in a happy little place especially up the hill, overtaking the right people apart from those in front of me, pushing through the first lap. Lap 2 always seems to get me and I began to slow down, with Debs still looking strong running away from me. Again I powered up the hill feeling the force to conquor the last lap. I was feeling good, strong enough to know I could get around again and closing the gap on some of the guys in front of me.
Eighty percent of success in life is just showing up. – Woody Allen
The final push up the hill pushed me past a couple of people and I gave a sprint finish. Debs had already finished some 30 seconds or so in front of me. I was happy, a good little ‘timed 5km’ – which is actually more 3 miles than 3.1 miles but really who cares about 0.1 miles its all relative at the end of the day and apparently I was about a minute faster than I had been when I first did this course 6 or 7 months ago. Bargain.
Doubt whom you will, but never yourself. – Christian Bovee
I have done this parkrun twice now and get a real sense of community. The guys that run this event are really passionate about ensuring people have a good time and are really encouraged. The field isn’t huge only 40 or so runners but that’s what makes it so nice. Give it a go sometime, leave your PB at home on Facebook and enjoy something that will challenge you in a different way.
Results
Time: 21.25
Position: 8th out of 35
Gender Position: 2nd
