2025 plans

 As the new year is once again upon us it's time to start making plans for 2025.  Last year was pretty much a go with the flow year, with slower times but still had a lot of fun.

This year I think will pretty much be the same but I am looking to do a few more trips this year.

Milestones

In terms of milestones, last year I said it was a stepping stone year as I hit 350 with a view to the big one in 3 years of hitting 500.  I realise now that maybe that is not the way to go.  I mean that is a long time to go without acknowledging a milestone.  Just think if and when I get to 500. Does that mean I have 10+ stepping stone years till I reach 1,000?  I don't think so. So I think I'll celebrate every 100. And guess what I am now on 362 runs so hopefully this year I'll pass the 400 milestone.  38 required to achieve this.  Now if I do the tactic I have done in previous years where I volunteer at 5ks every 1/2 months, it won't be till the end of the year till I hit 400 and may even spill on to 2026.  But if I forgo volunteering at 5ks I should easily hit 400.  That I haven't decided yet.  I have liked volunteering at Queen's but I also have to appreciate that I kind of need to do parkruns to get fitter.   Think I'll literally play it by year on that one.

Home parkrun

Now I have said one of my long term goals was to reach 100 Queen's parkruns. But their may very well be a curveball coming next year in the shape of Cunnigar loop parkrun starting. Of course I don't know whether it will or will not start next year but have read it's pretty far down the line in terms of getting things ready.  This park is only 2.6 miles from my flat and is very flat.  Of course nobody knows how popular it will be. Initially of course it will be as it's really easy to get to for folk in Glasgow and everyone will want to try it out.  I will wait till the initial rush is over and see what it settles down at in terms of numbers, then I'll give it a go.  Flat parkruns are generally a lot more popular than hilly ones so will be interesting to see how many this attracts.  Whether it becomes my new home parkrun remains to be seen.

Tourism

My cousin Rachel who lives just north of London is up for doing a Y for her alphabet chasing and I need a Y too so hopefully we'll get that done in 2025.  No plans for Z yet but you never know.

There are a few other challenges which I'm close to completing which I may go for next year.  For example, the stayin' alive challenge which is 3 parkruns beginning with B and 3 parkruns beginning with G.  I have 2 B's and 3 Gs so just need a B.  There are no more Bs in Scotland I can do so a trip down south would be required.  Also the Pirates challenge which is 7 parkruns beginning with a C and 1 with an R. I just need 2 C's to complete this one.  This one I should do as I haven't done Crinan Canal yet and if Cunnigar loop does start up, voila.  Others include Compass challenge and Full ponty but they would require a lot more trips and organising.

In terms of keeping up with Albateer, I still only have Crinan Canal to do.  But there are a lot of rumours of new ones starting in Glenrothes, Aboyne, Barra, Aberfeldy and as previously mentioned, Cunnigar loop.  I don't have any insider knowledge though of how far along these ones are though or even if they will actually happen.  I am tempted to go on a few trips to Newcastle just to get in some new ones and maybe even trips up north just to get away some more.  Time to start booking time off.

Times

In terms of times I would be delighted to go sub 30 again but getting to a lot start lines I'll settle for.

2024 - A year in review

This year was really a stepping stone year in terms of parkruns rather than achieving any big goals.  I reached 350 runs and by the end of the year, finished on 362.  I was aiming for 360 which would mean 40 parkruns done in the year so 42 gives a bit of a cushion for next years target which I think will be 40 again.  

But how did it all play out?

Distribution of parkruns - Here is where I went and how often:

14 - Queen's, Glasgow

6 - Linwood

4 - Pollok, Erskine Waterfront

3 - Palacerigg Country, Elder Park

1 - Strathclyde, Springburn, Victoria, Drumchapel, Auldcathie District, Lochore Meadows, Whitekirk Hill, Skinadin

So one of my longer term aims is to do 100 parkruns at Queen's and with 14 added this year I'm now on 62.  I'm actually a bit surprised that I did 14 different parkruns this year as I didn't aim to do lots of different ones, it's just how it panned out.  In terms of hilly versus flat courses it works out at about 24 hilly to 18 flat (ish).  

Average time for the year compared with other years

2017 - 31.04 (35 runs)

2018 - 31.52 (46 runs)

2019 - 30.33 (44 runs)

2020 - 31.40 (64 runs) - (8 actual parkruns, a lot of not parkruns)

2021 - 30.59 (16 runs) - (only included actual parkruns which started up half way through the year due to covid)

2022 - 33.21 (35 runs) - 2 tailwalks not included

2023 - 34:48 (36 runs) - 1 tailwalk and 1 park walk not included

2024 - 36.24 (41 runs) 1 tailwalk not included - Also Pollok Christmas day parkrun time adjusted as finished in 36.03 but parkrun time was 39 minutes as due to 900+ people running, it took 3 minutes to cross the line.

So my slowest year to date but I did expect it.  The usual not going out during the week, hampering any chance of improving my times.  But I still love getting out on Saturday morning regardless.  I'm also pleased to record my 3rd highest number of parkruns ever in a year and most since 2019.  I think that shows my health and maybe the weather has been better this year.  Fastest time this year was 32:00 minutes at Erskine, which was only 18 seconds slower than my fastest time last year. No sub 30 this year but I'll keep trying, it's nice to have that carrot dangling in front of me.

Challenges

One of the challenges I contributed to at all this year was the Albateer challenge (completing all the Scottish parkruns). 2 new parkruns started this year - Skinadin in Skye and Crinan Canel. Skinadin I did complete and it was a great trip. Crinan is still on the list to do for next year.  The other challenge I upped was the P index - Doing x number of events, x number of times.  This year I moved up to 8, thanks to a trip to Drumchapel. Other than that I've just been enjoying going on road trip to various parkruns with Douglas, Jo, Craig, Mhairi, Susan and the folks.   Along with hanging with folk when I get to parkruns including doing volunteering at Rouken glen on a Sunday.

So overall a decent year and looking forward to next year already.

2024 plans

When deciding what my 2024 plans are going to be I feel a bit like what the organisers of Download festival had to face with their plans for 2024. Download festival is the biggest rock/metal music festival in the UK. And last year was their 20th anniversary where they went all out and made it a 4 day festival with Metallica playing 2 nights then Slipknot and Bring me the Horizon playing the other two nights. Basically they went all out.  A bit like myself last year with parkruns going to argubly the biggest and to many best parkruns in the UK with Bushy, Bressay, Lews Castle and Mount Stuart to name a few.  Then also completing a challenge which is seen by many as Scotland really as the biggest challenge there is in Scotland in terms of parkruns completed and outwith milestones.  Download may not have the stadium rock sized line up this year but it is still a killer line up, a bit like I hope my year is going to pan out.

So with this all in mind what can I do to keep things going with parkrun.  My long term goal is 500 parkruns. But as I am on 320 parkruns at the moment there is still a long way to go, and at the rate I am going at the moment that will be at least 4 years.  But the key is here how do I get there.  There are a variety of options here and I will go through them along with my thoughts on them.

Allbaloopy - This is where you do all the parkruns in Scotland again.  I think so far I have done 12 Scottish parkruns at least 2 times.  As much as I enjoyed doing it the first time, this would be a big ask to do again.  I did rely on many people to get me to some of the more awkard to get to parkruns, I did take a fair amount of my annual leave for it and I also spent a fare whack of money on it.  I'm not really sure completing it again will have the same sense of achievement than it did the first time.  That said I wouldn't be adverse to doing certain parkruns again if they are accessible by public transport and have hotels near the start.  Especially if other folk want to do them for their challenges.  Also there will no doubt be new Scottish parkruns in the future so want to keep on top of them.

Complete North east England region/north west region - I have looked into both these regions quite a bit to see if this was feasible.  There are only really a handful of people in Scotland that I know of who have either completed these regions or are working towards completing these regions.  As far as I know most of them are done by early risers and drive down early morning.  I wouldn't have that luxory and would be taking public transport down the day before and staying overnight.  There are some straightfoward ones to do, for example in Newcastle. But there are many awkward ones which require a lot of half days off work.  Not only that but a lot of treading on the same paths to get down to England. Whereas when I did Scotland I was going in all sorts of directions, making it more interesting. Also Scotland had a lot of easier ones to get to, too.  So I don't think doing these regions are really feasible for me, the odd visit here and there is, but not completion.

Alphabeteer - This challenge is to complete a parkrun starting with each letter of the alphabet.  The weird thing about this challenge is that by doing all the Scottish parkruns I have already done most of this challenge at the same time so I only have Y and Z to do.  Making it seem like not much of a challenge.  There are a couple of options for Y in England then the nearest Z is the Netherlands, then Germany then Poland.  There are people who do this challenge multiple times with someone having done a record 8 alphabets with all different parkruns. But you get to the stage where you have to go to Australia and South Africa many times. Making it very, very expensive.  So if I want to get to 500, this is not really the answer.  I may get round to doing one alphabet but not top of my priorities.

Special days - A way parkrunners boost their parkrun count is back going to special parkrun days across the globe.  Each country can decide when their day is held. Eg UK is Christmas, Poland is boxing day,  Netherlands is Whit Monday etc.  I'm in two minds about doing these.  Yes they are great for adventures.  But parkruns on these days have potential to be exceptionally busy due to all the Brits heading over for them too.  And they actually had to make Sweden, Denmark, Norway and Finland host theirs on the same day in 2024 because of the business of the runs in 2023. This one I will keep an open mind about though it would be nice to visit another country and do a parkrun there at some point. Maybe on a special day or maybe on another weekend where its quieter.

p-index - This is where you complete x parkruns x number of times.  eg 5 different parkruns 5 times, 6 different pakruns 6 times.  Currently I have a p-index of 7 and I have done for quite a number of years.  I used to be more interested in this as I saw it as a way of avoiding my home run.  I am currently one off doing 8.  The only thing that puts me off doing p-index now is that there are so many parkruns in central Scotland now p-index kind of restricts you into doing certain ones over and over again.

Wilson index -  This is one I am quite proud to say I have a wilson index of 0.  This is where you do an event number starting with 1, then 2 then 3. It doesnt matter what parkrun it's at.  But having a wilson index of 0 basically means I have never been to an inaugral.  This challenge is getting more difficult to start in Scotland too as less and less events are starting up, So you really need high numbers to keep this going.  Just as well I have no plans on starting it.

Other challenges - There are other challenges too which I have done some of to some extent

 - Compass - west, east, north and south in the name 

- Stayin alive - 3 parkruns beginning with B, 3 parkruns beginning with G

- Pirates - 7 parkruns beginning with C, 1 beginning with R

- Snakes - 10 parkruns beginning with S

Obviously I have done all the parkruns in Scotland so have covered what I can in above challenges and some English too.  But to complete the challenges I would need to go down to England to complete the rest.

So having discussed most of the challenges you may be getting the vibe that maybe going forward challenges aren't really for me.  And yes you would be right.  But thats not to say I won't be doing them at all.  If there is a road trip with mates in there I would be up for it.  But I don't think I will be doing these on my own.  Also if there is another purpose involved - ie sporting events, gigs or visiting people and there happens to be a parkrun nearby I would be up for that too.   But in terms of doing challenges for the sole purpose of parkrunning I think those days maybe over.

Queen's parkrun

Now then, so without these challenges, am I just going to do 180 runs at Queen's to get 500?  This is something I have been thinking about too.  The problem I have at Queen's at the moment is that I am just not fit enough to run it all and I have this mindset at the moment of approaching it exactly the same way every week.  I'll run the first 2 hills on the first lap. Then will walk the third hill. Then I'll walk all the hills in the second and third lap.  Doing this every week won't improve me.  So I have been thinking I should really take up running at flatter courses next year.  I'm not saying I'll never get back to Queen's as I really would like to get sub 30 there. But I think I need to run courses that are easier and faster to get back to running sub 30s on easier courses first.  Whether that means adopting another home run for a while or alternating around the various flat courses I'll see as the year progresses. But that's the plan anyway.

In terms of milestones this will be a stepping stone year. I'm currently at 320 parkruns so even 400 won't be achiveable this year.  350 some may call a milestone but I'm not sure on that one.  In terms of volunteering I will hit 300 volunteers early next year, then its a big jump to 400 and the next official milestone of 500.  But I do hope to celebrate other people's milestones next year too.  One in particular is my buddy Brian from Rouken Glen who should reach 500 volunteers all being well.

In terms of time goals next year I just want to go under sub 30 again, once I can do that I may consider entering the odd 10k.  And I really want to get my average time from last year too which was far too close to 35 minutes.

2023 - A year in review

 The big goal for this year was to complete all the Scottish parkruns and as you will have seen from my previous post I did achieve this just last month.  I did go into detail in that post about it so I won't say anything more about that in this post.

Instead I'm going to be analysing my actual running and other milestones.  In terms of running parkruns I achieved my 300th parkrun in June, very appropriately at the home of parkrun, Bushy park.  I also wanted to get nearer to 50 parkruns at Queen's, my home parkrun.  Where I am now at 48, having started the year at 32.   I was also looking to do more parkruns around Glasgow that I have not done in a while.  This I didn't quite achieve as I really just did Pollok, Linwood and Drumchapel outside of Queen's.  

What about times, well this is where it went a bit wrong you could argue.  

2017 - 31.04 (35 runs)

2018 - 31.52 (46 runs)

2019 - 30.33 (44 runs)

2020 - 31.40 (64 runs) - (a lot of not parkruns)

2021 - 30.59 (16 runs) - (only included actual parkruns which started up half way through the year due to covid)

2022 - 33.21 (35 runs) - 2 tailwalks not included

2023 - 34:48 (36 runs) - 1 tailwalk and 1 park walk not included

The sub 30 minute run never came this year and in fact my fastest time came up in Shetland at 31.58. Obviously doing all the hilly courses back in Glasgow didn't really help the average.

But where did it go wrong.  Well I have been looking at my Strava for the year.  There were actually only 4 weeks of the year where I didn't do any running at all.  But I think the key is that there were only 4 weeks of the year where I did 3 runs in a week. In previous years I would do 3 runs a week most weeks fine.  I also never went above 3 miles for any run where as previous years I would have done at least the odd 4 1/2, 6 mile run.  I think one of the reasons is I'm kind of set to do runs on Monday's and Wednesdays after work and if I miss them I don't think oh I'll do it some other time. I just won't go out any other time.  Somehow need to get some more flexibility and creativity in the schedule. Something I'll be thinking about more over the break.  

In terms of volunteering I reached the v250 milestone very early on the year.  I did wonder if I would reach v300 but fell short at 297.  So this should be one I can grab early next year.  I also reached my 200th stint at Rouken Glen juniors and my 600th attendence day at any parkrun (Volunteering days and running days combined).

Based on this year I think its clear I need to make changes to my running in order to improve.  I also need a new challenge which is something I have been thinking a lot about too.   I'll be going into this more in the next post about my 2024 plans.

Scottish parkrun challenge complete 69/69

 It's been quite a while since my last post.  Things are not going the best running wise with my times slower than they have ever been.  But in terms of getting round the Scottish parkruns it really has been the shining light of the year.  I was pretty much ticking off one a month up to July, then in July I did 4 new ones and August 2 including trips up to Lews Castle in Stornoway and Bressay in Shetland.  Also, a trip to Bushy parkrun, which was the very first parkrun thrown in for good measure. A couple of new ones started up in recent months, one over in North Berwick - Whitekirk Hill parkrun and then one down in Castle Douglas, Carlingwark Loch parkrun.  And that was me finished them all :-) It has been some journey and didn't come without its challenges but I feel so fortunate to be able to have done this. And with the people I have met on the way, seeing some amazing places and getting to get out and run.

Background

So how did it all start?  As has been well documented on here my parkrun journey started way back at Pollok in 2009 where it was the only event in Scotland at the time.  But as I was a longer distance runner at the time, although I got involved with parkrun. My actual parkrun journey didn't really start proper till my return to running till 2014.  Between 2014 and 2019 I did do various different parkruns but it was really just to mix things up instead of going to Pollok all the time.  In 2018, 2 chaps named Douglas and Craig set off on a challenge to complete all the Scottish parkruns in 1 year and filmed each one for you tube.   There were about 33 when they started and 43 when they finished.  I didn't know them when they started but it turned out they were local Glasgow southsiders too and I met them through Rouken Glen junior parkrun.

So the seed was planted through them that I thought I'd give it a go too.  But I thought I would start in Spring to start the journey as winter is often prone to cancellations.  But in February I remember talking about it with my parents over tea and I remember my dad saying why don't you just start the challenge now.  Then suddenly, the next week I headed up to Aberdeen to do Aberdeen parkrun.  That was the first time I had done an overnighter purposely to do a parkrun.  That year I had a lot of adventures and went up to Aberdeen 4 more times. While also ticking off Thurso, Elgin, Kirkwall, Alness, Dumfries as well as other ones in Fife and Edinburgh.

In 2020 I did Fort William parkrun and had booked others like Shetland but had to cancel because of course when March came round, we were all confined to our homes and parkrun was stopped due to COVID.  It wasn't until August 2021 when things started up again and I was able to get on the tourist path again.  There were quite a lot of new parkruns starting up in 2022 which meant it felt like when you completed one you were never quite reaching the goal.  But in 2023 only 3 have started up meaning it's been a lot easier to catch up.

Challenges

Obviously Covid was a big barrier to progression but that couldn't really be helped.  But there were various other challenges along the way too. For example, Crathes castle in Aberdeen where I nearly didn't make it.  As my bus "broke down" halfway from Aberdeen to Crathes castle and had to get a replacement.  The normal bus was due in at 9am.  So by the time they got the replacement I arrived at Crathes at 9.26.  With half a mile still to cover to get up to the start.  I literally got there just as the final announcements were made.  

There were other times I have had to persevere to get to a parkrun due to having to call off for various reasons.  Stranraer (Agnew parkrun) took 3 attempts. The first time I was meant to go down with group I used to go running with, but all the hotels were booked out.  The second time I booked and had a half day from work. Then I got to Ayr and the train to Stranraer which I switched on to was cancelled and the next one wasn't for 2 hours.  So, I went and got a drink and a bite to eat in Costa filling the time.  Then went back to the station only to find all trains to Stranraer for the rest of the day were cancelled.  It wasn't even due to weather it was staff shortages.  Luckily Ayr isn't too far from Glasgow, so I headed back up the rails on Friday night.

I have also used work nights out on Friday as an excuse to get a hotel in Edinburgh and do a parkrun the next day.  But even then, there was a time when that didn't go to plan.  And last December I woke up to snow where most of my targeted parkruns were cancelled.  And trains home to Glasgow had major delays so ended up not completing parkrun and getting home mid-afternoon.

Where it went right

But a lot of the time things went right and there were a lot of memorable moments on the way.   I did go to many of the parkruns on my own.  And most of the trips did go like clockwork and my timings were usually spot on.  I think the most memorable trips though are the ones you meet people.  And as welcoming as parkruns are it's not always the easiest thing to do. Walking into a new parkrun you haven't done before.  And there are people there who see each other every week and know each other well.  And you're coming in really just for a once maybe twice visit.  But I've found the best trips are the ones are the ones you do meet folk.  For example, in Bressay, Shetland I met Ibrahime, Erin and Wendy and they encouraged me to go to the cafe after with them and I had a great morning. 

Lews Castle in Stornaway I ended up chatting away to a load of folk and I did actually walk this one with the tail walker due to forgetting my shorts and had a great time.  Girvan is one of the smaller parkruns in terms of numbers and by the end of it you feel like you knew everyone running.  Meadowmill was another memorable one as I got chatting to quite a few of the volunteers and to get to my train I had to walk back up the course so got to speak more to the marshals too.  I found it easier to do this at the smaller events rather than the bigger events.  The bigger events were still good in their own way though.

Parkrunning adventures with folk

All the parkruns described above have been adventures on my own.  But there have been many adventures with other folk too.  My parents who have played a big part in letting me reach parts of the country that are trickier to get to by public transport have helped with 14 parkruns in Scotland.  Then you get all those English trips down to see family and other trips down south and you can nearly double that count.  The most adventurous one recently was Aviemore where most of Scotland had an amber warning for rain.  And it absolutely chucked it down for the entire event. The trails were covered in puddles, and I think my shoes are still not recovered yet.  The journey home the rain persisted and there were quite a few times we had to divert to avoid tailbacks due to flooding at various points.

I mentioned Craig W and Douglas at the start, and I have had the pleasure of their company on a number of trips too.  Along with various members of a bigger gang - Jo (Craig's wife), Susan, Mhairi, Jenn, Scott.  Mix and match with these guys I covered - Erskine Waterfront, Auldcathie District, Mount Stuart, Lochore Meadows, Whitekirk Hill, Carlingwark Loch, Palace rigg A course and maybe more.

The group I used to run with during loch down, Blythe, Kirstin and Claire had a trip up to Faskally Forest, Pitlochery to complete that incredibly scenic course.   Ritche and Caitlan who I met through volunteering at Queen's did Kirkcaldy parkrun together and we also met Rob and Ann there who I've got to know at various events.  Ritchie, Stuart R and I also had a morning through in Springburn.  Campbell accompanied me to Plean and him and his wife also came along to one of my visits to Falkirk too.  Craig P, a Stirling local went with me to University of Stirling parkrun and did his first ever parkrun.  And finally, my brother Ken where we went to Drumpellier parkrun.  I think that's all but hopefully not missed anyone.   So many memories, laughs and runs shared.

My favourites

I mentioned above my favourite experiences and the great people I have shared many of the parkruns with.  So, this is a list of my favourite courses.

1. Alness
2. Lews Castle
3. Faskally Forest
4. Hazlehead
5. Whitekirk Hill

What's next?

That's a tricky one and I don't have a definitive answer.  Long term I would like to get to 500 parkruns but it's deciding how to get there.  There are folk who do another loop of Scotland.  While I don't mind repeating if there are other people up for going places, I don't think I'll be actively chasing a second loop.  The other option is to do the Northeast or Northwest.  Which I may chip away at but no plans to fully complete them as that would involve a lot of time off and there would be many that are awkward to get to.  But this year I have certainly been sharing the journey a bit more with folk and I do hope that continues.  

 

Bressay parkrun the low down

 There are 2 ways to get to Shetland - Plane or Ferry.  Plane is more expensive but takes a lot less time. Loganair fly to Shetland from many cities in Scotland.  For the ferry you have to go to Aberdeen and its an overnight ferry which does get you into Lerwick in plenty of time for the Bressay ferry although its not the same port and the Aberdeen ferry docks in the north of Lerwick.  There is a bus which goes from Sumburgh airport to Lerwick but if you want to explore the island you are as well renting a car.

On parkrun day itself I would arrive at the ferry terminal in Lerwick 20 mins -25 mins before hand. The ferry was there waiting when I went.  You pay when you go on the ferry.  It was £2.90 I think and you only pay on the way out.  They accept contactless, cash or chip and pin.  I didn't need cash at all for buses either, used contactless for everything.

The ferry takes about 10 minutes and there is a muster area once you get to Bressay at the car park for the ferry terminal. From memory there are toilets here too as well as a waiting area.  You can leave suitcases in the ferry waiting area at your own risk.  They also have a white van which you can put your jackets/warm up gear in and they drive it to the finish.  The first timer briefing and part of the main briefing also take place here before everyone walks over to the mayfield hotel where the parkrun starts.  

The parkrun itself goes south about 3k. Turns round and comes back but not as far as the ferry.  It finishes in the cafe car park.  The cafe is run by parkrun volunteers and I think the money goes to charity. Well worth a visit.  It is about 20 minute walk back from the cafe to the ferry.  Or at least allow that time if you are walking.  Then the ferry is at 10.30 or another at 11.30.  11.30 is not the last ferry though there are plenty more crossings throughout the day.  You can take a car on the ferry but if you are just doing parkrun and not exploring its probably not worth it.  I believe there was parking on the Lerwick side beside the port.  

March parkruns

 Just the 2 parkruns in March out of a possible 4. But volunteered once and then the other time wasn't feeling up for it.  Too tired I think.   But the 2 I did do were Scottish ones that I hadn't done yet.  Auldcathie District and Holyrood

Auldcathie District

For this one I headed east with Craig W as he hadn't ticket this one off yet either.  Auldcathie District parkrun is in Winchburgh near Linlithgow and is Scotland's newest parkrun at time of writing.  At their inaugral they had 601 people turn up which is the highest inaugral attendence for a Scottish parkrun.  Their numbers have settled to about 100 now.  The route is on brand new paths built specifically with parkrun in mind as Winchburgh has seen a huge amount of housing built recently.  And one of the asks was to have a parkrun to go with it.  The course therefore goes round the outside of a housing estate and is quite undualting but I would describe it as gradual climbs.  

I knew a few other people there too from work as this is actually very close to my work.   I completed the course in just over 32 minutes and in my fastest time this year.

Holyrood

Holyrood is to me the easiest Edinburgh parkrun to get to if you are in the city centre without a car.  I stayed in a Premier inn in between Waverley and the parkrun which is a circular route of Arthurs seat.  I met Jonny who volunteers at Rouken glen who had the buggy with him.  The first two hundred metres or so is all flat but the rest of the first mile is all uphill and quite leg sapping.  I eventually had to take walking breaks.  The second mile is mainly flat and the views really are stunning here and you can see for miles.  But thing is its really not an easy flat mile as you already have all that up hill to deal with so I was struggling with the flat and had to take walk breaks again. But then the third mile is all downhill and this is where you make up the time.  My last mile was 9 minutes. Compare that to 12 minutes which is what I did the first mile in.  I was thinking this may be harder than Queen's despite being faster but then I went and did Queen's first week and April and errr, maybe not :-)

Thinking about the future

I have been thinking a bit about my parkrun goals and my running in general at the moment.  It's not been the best start to the year in terms of midweek runs.  I think the maximum I have done during the week is 1 run and often none.  This has made parkruns more tough and the fact I have done Queen's 5 times doesn't really make things any easier.  For Queen's I have got into a routine of running/walking the same sections to the point I don't think I can improve any.  The old adage that if you keep doing the same thing your going to keep getting the same results. And I think that's where I'm at, at the moment.

So I am thinking of doing more flat parkruns instead. And looking at the 9 Scottish ones I have left to do, there are some undulating ones left, but none on paper, come close to Queen's and there are a number of flat ones.  But for closer to home I think I will start looking at flat ones in the area. And there are plenty now: Strathclyde, Drumpellier, Linwood, Victoria, Erskine, Elder, Troon and Greenock. Basically tonnes.  I'm just walking too much at Queen's and I feel by doing flat ones I'm more likely to run more and get my times down a bit. 

That's the thought anyway.,........as long as I manage to get up for them or may just end up at Queen's lol