2022 year in review

Reading back on my blogs I have done this year, it hasn't been the best of years running wise.  But at the same time I have achieved quite a lot too. Both of which I will be going into in this blog.

Completing every Scottish parkrun event

This is a challenge I have been chipping away at for a few years now.  I remember in 2019 where I decided to go for it I made a serious dent in it by completing 19 in one year.  I started this year on 44 Scottish events done out of 59.  I knew there would be more added around the country this year so aimed for 60 events.  In total at the end of 2022 there are now 66 Scottish events with another one having had a test event and awaiting a start date.

In 2019 I remember most things going to plan, with one incident which I thought may derail my attempt. Where on the way to Crathes Castle in Aberdeenshire my bus broke down and I litrally made it to the start with seconds to spare. I thought that day what would have happened if I didn't make it in time, would have I just given up the challenge.  Well this year I have had to cancel about 9 trips and I am still chipping away at them. So I think the answer really comes back to yes I am more reslient than I thought as I certainly haven't given up.  But why did I cancel all these trips?  A real mixture.  I was on the way to Stranraer, got to Ayr, then all trains to Stranraer were cancelled and I had to turn back.  A few weeks ago I woke up in a Premier Inn in Edinburgh to snow and the trains all started to cancel due to signal failures.  Theres been train strikes and reduced timetables meaning it's not been practical to get there.  Then you have illness, being wiped out after drinking too much caffine and also the Queen sadly passing away which meant I had to cancel another trip.

But on a positive note I did still manage to do 10 Scottish parkruns I haven't done before.  Notably Wallaceneuk (Kelso), Loch Leven, Largs Prom, Palacerigg (Cumbernauld), Torvean (Inverness) and Ganavan Sands (Oban). I pick out these ones as I have to thank my Mum and Dad for driving me to these, some of which we did make a weekend break out of.  Some of these in particular are quite tricky to get to by public transport so it helped a lot and allowed me to progress with the challenge.  Another one I ticked off was Kirkcaldy where I had a wee road trip with Richie and Caitlinn.  Then I had solo trips to Agnew (Stranraer) and Ury Riverside (Inverurie) as well as a very short trip to Elder park in the southdside of Glasgow.

I do find it quite amusing that I started the year with 15 Scottish parkruns to do and even though I have done 10, ended up with 12 still. But there we go.  Some other positves is that with Ury done I have now ran every parkrun in Aberdeenshire.  Another parkrun I did, not in Scotland was Jesmond Dene in Newcastle.  This was done as part of a holiday with half an eye on the Alphabeteer challege.  I just have 3 letters to do now, B, Y and Z.  But at the moment Albateer takes priority.

Times

I have targetted quite a while of having an average parkrun time for a year of under 30 minutes. As you can see below this year has been the worst year since I started recording average time for the year.  But maybe it doesn't give the entire picture too.  20 of these I have been at Queen's my home parkrun which is of course one of the hilliest in Scotland.  Another 3 have been at Pollok which is not far behind. Then the other repeats have been once at Linwood, once at Tollcross and once at Springburn.  I did get under the 30 minute mark twice this year, once at Largs Prom and once at Linwood but again it's probably the least amount of sub 30s I have in one year. But I don't help myself doing hilly courses so much.  It's always nice to have the aim of doing a sub 30 at Queen's though. It feels like a more than reachable target if I can get some consistent training.

2017 - 31.04 (35 runs)

2018 - 31.52 (46 runs)

2019 - 30.33 (44 runs)

2020 - 31.40 (64 runs)

2021 - 30.59 (16 runs)

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

Milestones

I did reach quite a big parkrun milestone this year reaching 250 runs. 100 was the previous official milestone and 500 is the next one so because they are getting few and far between now I also look at unofficial milestones too. I finished the year on 282 parkruns.

Something I don't really talk about or aim for is volunteering milestones.  Truthfully I didn't even have a goal for volunteering as because I volunteer down at Rouken glen mainly you don't know how often they are going to cancel throughout the year and some years its quite a lot.  But this year it felt that we didn't cancel nearly as much as previous years. In fact there was times during the year I felt I had quite long stretches of volunteering where I felt I needed to take a week off every now and then.  I actually nearly ended up hitting 250 for volunterring where I am now sitting on 248.  I did 51 stints this year with 9 at 5ks and 42 at juniors which is my most amount in a year ever by far. 

I also hit another few unoffical milestones.  My 150th volunteering stint at Rouken Glen as well as my 100th tail walk at Rouken Glen.  Another stat which is new to the 5k app this year is total attendence days at parkrun, so counts volunteering and running. This one surprised me a lot as this year I reached my 500th day at parkrun, currently on 517.

Total Miles

Total miles for this year was 331 miles, which is over 100 miles down from last years 468 miles.  Right there is another reason my parkrun times have got slower.  One of the big differences this year was that the running group I was in disintegrated this year which definitley helped constantly getting out last year.  

But all in all I'm still getting out there and that's the most important thing

September parkruns

 I did have plans to do a lot of touristing this month but as this year is going, didn't quite fulfil my goals.

Week 1 - The first week of the month I was back at Queen's for a volunteering stint.  But got a run credit too as I was tailwalker.  The last 2 girls gave a good effort getting round in around 42 minutes.  The thing was they were running quite a bit of the uphills then walking on the flat bits, so it was actually a bit of a workout.  The thing is the marshals were encouraging them to run up the hills so can't blame them.  In my head if you think you’re going to have to walk bits of Queen's always do it on the uphill’s and you can make up more time on the downs and flat bits.  But I don't generally say this to people at the back as you don't want to come across like you’re telling them what to do, especially when you don't know them, and you don't want to put them off coming again.

Week 2 - This week I was all booked up to go to Aviemore then things started to happen.  On the Thursday during the day, they had closed the train line at Perth meaning all trains cancelled up to Inverness.  At this point I was thinking would it be cleared by the next day.  Later on, that day sadly the Queen died.  That night things like football were cancelling all the matches for that weekend.  But there were no signs of what parkrun would do that night.  I had a hotel booked but hadn't booked any trains.  So, since my hotel I could get a full refund if I cancelled then, that's what I did.  As it turned out parkrun sent out a communication on the Friday lunchtime saying they would leave it to event teams to decide whether to go ahead or not.  I think about 6 in Scotland cancelled but Aviemore didn't announce they were on till 5pm so it would have been a bit of a gamble going there as I would have had to leave before then.

After all that I didn't even make it to Queen's in the morning.  As much as I enjoy a run there. When you have got all set on doing a parkrun further away its more difficult to motivate you to do a local one.

Week 3 - So to get myself back in gear I booked up to go to Stranraer.  Those that have been reading my blog will know I have tried to get to Stranraer many times to do the parkrun this year and last.  Last year I tried, and the hotels were fully booked up when I was trying to go.  April, I had booked but was ill.  May I got to Ayr and then Scotrail cancelled all the trains to Stranraer and I had to turn back.

and September............. I made it!   And what a trip.  I stayed in North West hotel which was right next to the station and 10 minute walk to Agnew park.  I didn't get a good sleep as per normal when I'm away but still got round the 3 lap course in just over 30 minutes.  It's one of those courses that they really do use every inch of it and you get to see all the runners a lot due to the out and backs.  It's quite nice running up and down the pier too for part of it.

Week 4 - I was due to go up to Oban but I was off work sick during the week so took the decision to cancel the trip. As it turned out I was feeling a lot better on the Saturday and went along to Queen's.  Not only that but actually did an alright time for me for Queen's in about 33 minutes.  

August parkruns

 Week 1 - Number checking at Queen's parkrun

Week 2 - The week prior I was down in Southport with my parents on holiday and they said the plan was to go back via Newcastle and can do a parkrun there.  So since I have a lot of the parkrun alphabet challenge complete and needed a J, I selected Jesmond dene as the selected parkrun for that week.  It was a great course in a nice park which was set in a big valley. Needless to say the course had some very steep ups and downs but also some flat parts too.  I thought it was a very interesting course.  I think it was the first one I'd been to that they said they would have to cancel during the event if a helicopter had to land in the field bit they used.  I had a pretty good run too coming in around 32 minutes.

Week 3 - Back at Queen's, this time for a celebration as some of my Rouken glen buddies were celebrating milestones.  Kirsty with her 50th run on her 50th birthday and Morag with her 50th volunteering stint.  Another run for me at the high end of 32 minutes but feeling a bit fitter.

Week 4 - This was proved when I went to Largs prom parkrun with my parents.  Nearly 2 months since my last new Scottish parkrun.  This was another one where they could have to cancel during the event if the lifeboat had to be used.  I paced this one well and ended up under 30 minutes for only the second time this year.  

For a change this month actually went to plan and good to have ticked off another couple of venues.  For the alphabet challenge I just need a B, Y and Z now. I say just but they are all decent journeys especially the Z which has to be done in Netherlands or Poland.  At the moment though my focus is still the Scottish parkruns and hopefully tick off a few more by the end of the year.  Largs was my 51st out of now 65 as Palacerigg in Cumbernauld has just started.  I initially set a target of 60 Scottish ones which I should have really reached but due to everything which has gone on this year I have accepted it's not going to be possible.  But that just leaves more fun for next year :-)

July parkruns

 This month I had planned to do different parkruns starting off with Oban on the 2nd July. However, the trains were still dodgy with a reduced timetable so I cut my losses and left it.

2nd July – So, instead I headed to Elder park for the first time.  This is a pancake flat course on the southside of Glasgow in Govan.  It's three and a half loop, almost 4 loop course.  Which takes a bit of time to get your head round as you go around. As the half loop to the finish line starts first.  Then you do 3 laps from there.  I ran all the laps till the last lap where I had a wee walk.  Finishing in just over 31 minutes.  Amazing the amount of folk, I knew there.  A lot more than I usually see at Queen's. Must be the flatness luring them in.  

9th July - I did plan maybe a parkrun in Glasgow I hadn't done for a while.  But with my parents and brother on holiday I didn't want to go too far away in case of any car troubles or something else which would leave me too far from home.  So, Queen's was back on the agenda today.  I ran the first couple of hills but after that I was walking most of them.  I hadn't run much during the week so couldn't really expect a good time and ended up with a time just over 36 minutes.

16th July.  Back at Queen's again.  This time I was going in having had a few good runs during the week and felt a lot better on the hills. In fact, it wasn't till the last lap that I had to walk a few.   So managed to take 3 minutes off last weeks’ time and finished in 33 minutes
23rd July - I was undecided whether to run or volunteer today and, in the end, I did neither.  I hadn't run during the week due to the heatwave.  Then I was out on Friday night and when I woke on Saturday morning my body just didn't feel like running.

30th July - I got out for a quick mile loop on the Wednesday but due to having to wait in on parcels didn't get much done apart from that.  Plus spent the week in quite a bit of discomfort which I won't go in to.  But I managed to make it to parkrun which was an achievement in itself.  I changed my tactics this week due to the discomfort and walked pretty much all of every hill right front the start.  This meant a lot slower time coming in at 38 minutes and I was overtaken early than ever by 4 speedies coming down the big hill on the first hill.  It's amazing though that I felt way worse than last week, where I didn't make it to parkrun then I go when I probably had every right to miss it.  I was meant to go to Aviemore today but due to the week I was having cancelled that. And it was absolutely the right decision, as being on a train for all that time with what I have been going through would have been hell.

But every cloud, I have now run 25 parkruns at Queen's park.  I can't tell by stats who has run the most overall, but I can tell you that in my age group I'm now sitting joint top with another guy.

June parkrun update

 4/6 - Today I was planning on going to Drumchapel with some buddies from Rouken Glen but I did not get a good night sleep the night before due to worrying about something not parkrun related.  So, I didn't fancy the drive over to Drumchapel and opted for Queen's instead.  When I got to the start, I recognised more volunteers than runners.  Turns out there were 100 runners and 49 were first timers.  Seems everyone has gone away for the weekend with lots getting their Q for the alphabet challenge.  I was not expecting a good run today due to my tiredness and I was going very slow pace.  But surprisingly I didn't have to walk till the 3rd lap and that was only on the 1st and 2nd hill, the third one I was ok on.  So, I finished in just over 34 minutes but really the achievement was just turning up today.

11/6 - My parents were up for a trip today and offered to take me down to Stranraer to do Agnew parkrun after the fun I had last month trying to get there.  But as it should be doable by train when the trains do sort themselves out, I thought it would be a good opportunity to do a parkrun that is a bit harder to get to.  And that parkrun believe it or not is Loch Leven parkrun.  It feels like it should be easy, but you can't get public transport to it from my flat in the morning and it's even a bit complex getting somewhere to stay overnight and get there in the morning despite their being a bus stop next to Loch Leven Larder where the parkrun is.  So, my parents made it easy for me and gave me a lift in the morning.  Which I am very much grateful for.

We arrived in plenty of time and made our way to the start.  I started quite near the back and went off on the small loop.  It goes up a hill and when it comes back down the hill you can see the people behind you. This is when I realised there was only the tail walker behind me to my surprise.  Usually there at least some walkers but not today.  Once you do the small loop you do two big laps.  The first big lap I ran it all and managed to pick a few people off.  The second lap I had to walk jog as was feeling it a bit. It was very tough conditions today as it was very windy and the course is very exposed.  But I did enjoy it all the same and got round in just under 34 minutes.

18/06 - Today I was meant to be number checker at Queen's but due to a few dropouts in the morning I was moved to marshal point 2.  A fun morning all the same.

25/06 - Today was my parkrun buddy Stuart's last RD stint at Queen's park so a couple of my Rouken Glen buddies and I decided to go down for it.  It was nice because after Stuart had done the pre-run briefing, he said if the timekeepers were ready.  Craig one of the timers and another run director at Queen's said no and continued to thank Stuart for all he has done for Queen's and at parkrun. I think he and we all know Stuart will continue volunteering in some capacity, but this was his last RD stint.  And he deserves all the plaudits for all he has done for parkrun over the years.

In terms of the run itself I started walking in the second hill of the first lap and I was lapped earlier than ever before just coming round the last bend of the first lap.  So, I didn't think I was doing too well. But turned out the guy only went and smashed the course record. I continued running the flats and downs and walking the ups round the last 2 laps.  On the last lap the new course record holder was now doing some hill reps to warm down while supporting folk like me who were still busting a gut to get round.  I was going faster down the hills so came in just under 34 minutes again.

I look back at my average time for the last few months and it's been pretty consistent at around the 34-minute mark.  This is a lot higher than I usually am for this time of year.  And in the first 6 months of this year, I've only managed one sub 30-minute 5k which is unusual for me too. I have been doing Queen's a lot though.  I think that is what I am going to change going into July as Queen's is one of the toughest parkruns in Scotland.  With Largs Prom and Elder park started up which are both flat I think I'll try and get them done in July and take things from there.

Volunteering at parkrun - My own experience and thoughts

 Volunteering at parkrun is probably one of the most talked about topics at parkrun.  Mainly because without volunteers parkruns across the globe cannot go ahead.  There are also many different opinions on how often you should volunteer and in some cases whether you need to volunteer at all.  As some folk point out, the term "volunteer" implies it is totally up to the individual whether they want to or not.  Personally, I have had all sorts of opinions on the matter over the years and that is what this blog is going to be about along with my own journey with volunteering at parkruns over the years.

2009-2011

My first stint at parkrun started in June 2009.  I got the whole setup straight away during my first parkrun and volunteered the very next week.  Back then I hadn't even thought to do a 5k as I was more of a long-distance runner so volunteering at parkrun made perfect sense. During my first volunteer stint I was put on finish token support being paired off with a chap called Ralph, someone I still come across at parkruns to this day.  

That's the first thing I would like to point out about volunteering.  It puts you in a situation where you basically have to talk to people, it is extremely social.  Even marshalling where some people think they are put out in positions round the course by themselves.  You still go to the positions and come back from the positions with marshals who are near to your location, so still get to chat.  

In those days although a few parkruns did open up in Scotland other than Pollok, Pollok was the only parkrun I attended in this period.  In my head I thought I volunteered a lot but actually I didn't volunteer as much as I thought because over that 2-year period I only volunteered 38 times.  It would have been more if I didn't have the attitude that volunteering every week wasn't really the done thing so I did skip quite a few weeks, sometimes due to races as well and others where I was running parkrun which I only did 16 times over the 2 years.

But the thing is back then you did get people like today who volunteered a lot.  But the general rule of thumb was to volunteer 3 times a year.  And if everyone did that then Run Directors wouldn't have a problem getting volunteers every week.

I was also always a very last-minute volunteer in those days. I'm not sure why but usually if an email came out on the Friday, the day before the event, I would volunteer then rather than nowadays where I usually volunteer a week in advance.  On top of that I would do any task and would more often than not be found token sorting in the cafe.  Token sorting is something I have always found fun.  Mainly because I like having something to do when socialising.

August 2014 to early 2017

I took an extended break from running from June 2011 to August 2014.  There were points I tried to get back into it but those attempts were short lived.  I had put on weight which is something I am still to this day not succeeded in shifting. But in August 2014 my running journey started up again and I decided to make running parkruns more regular to get fitter.  This meant putting the volunteering on the back foot.  But that wasn't the only reason I didn't volunteer as much.  My shaking had also got worse which my doctor had said is because of the medication I was on.  So, that made me a bit embarrassed to volunteer having gone from being able to do everything to having to say I can't do this job or this job.  Things like barcode scanning, timing and finish tokens do require a steady hand and I just didn't have that anymore.

I still did volunteer sometimes though once I had got some of my confidence up.  One time I think they put me on finish tokens accidently and I did it anyway.  I managed but I did find it difficult with the shaking.  In that 3 year period between 2014 and early 2017 I probably only volunteered about 7 times. The thing is you would have thought the number of parkruns I would have been a lot.  But especially in 2016 where I was trying to up the distance, I only did 26 that year.  Then I did 35 in 2015.  But most important thing about this period was that I was into running again, a lot more than before.

2017-2019

In about April 2017 I volunteered at Rouken Glen junior parkrun for the first time.  I had previously visited in November 2016 with my brother and niece as I ran round with my niece marking her first parkrun.  I can't remember why I volunteered that day, but I went back time and time again.  In fact, it became part of my Sunday routine.  The thing is like when I started volunteering at Pollok, I didn't know anyone.  But week by week, you gradually get to know more and more people.

In October 2017 I went on the Rouken Glen night out to celebrate their first birthday.  This is where I was asked to become a member of the core team. A team I am still a member of to this day.  Meanwhile in parkrun 5k land I wasn't volunteering that much still and, in my head, because I was volunteering a lot at the juniors I didn't need to volunteer at the 5ks that much.  Somewhere during this time the tail walker job began to become unpopular due to generally their being at least one kid crying at the back and eventually having to drop out.  But I started doing it and all of a sudden they started to give me the job on a regular basis. To be honest I didn’t really mind the crying kids, obviously I’d rather see them happy but I usually their parents would be their to deal with them so all I had to do was ask the question of whether they were continuing or not.

2019 to present

In 2019 I began touring a lot more and I think by the time October came around I had only volunteered at a 5k once and that was Drumchapel in June.  I was still volunteering at Rouken glen a lot though.  In October though I did think I should be volunteering a bit more at 5ks and when I did go back and volunteer at Pollok it was noticed that I hadn't volunteered there for quite a while.  So, I decided that really, I should be volunteering at 5ks once a month and that would be a good ratio.  Queen's parkrun didn't start long after this and for a time I couldn't decide which would be my home run, Queen's or Pollok before settling on Queen's.  Mainly because it's closer to my flat.  I still try and keep up my volunteering at Queen’s to this day.

Thoughts

It's very difficult to know how much you should volunteer. Mainly because some people don't run parkrun as much as others.  Some say, every 10 runs, some say every 20, 30. Some still say 3 times a year.  Some say only when you feel comfortable.  Then there's the argument about volunteering where you can still run. Does that still count? I.e. token sorting, pre-event setup, first timers briefing. Should you be giving up your run? Is it really giving up your run when it is so rewarding?

I don't have the answer. All I know is that when I do run my home run, I know I will know at least some else running. And when I am running round, more often than not I will know many of the volunteers.  There is no way I would know nearly as many people in the running community if it wasn't for volunteering at parkrun.  It is environment which makes socialising and meeting new people easy.   

May update

 Bit of a different update this month.  It started off ok then fell off the rails.

7th May - For the first parkrun of the month I was volunteering at Queen's as number checker.  Really enjoyed it.  Mainly hanging out with the timekeepers for the day Tim and Derek and it was great.

14th May -  My sole parkrun actually running of the month was back at Queen's.  Had my usual walking breaks and plodded round in 33.41.  Quite a few people I knew were there so got chatting to them before and after.  Craig, Jo, Lisa and Kirstin.  They were all way ahead of me for most of the run but I did catch Lisa just before the last hill.  But on the final downhill she went for it and I couldn't actually go any faster (or I can say I let her win lol.)

21st May - I had the day off on the Friday to head down to Stranraer by train and had a hotel booked not too far from the start.  I left at 1pm got the train in to towm.  Then I headed for Ayr where I had to change.  But that was to be the turning point, literally.  I got to Ayr at 3pm and saw my connection was cancelled and the next one wasn't till 5.30.  I was considering turning round then and heading back. But I thought if I turned back I would end up getting in at 6 and I would still get to Stranraer at 7 so not that much difference.  So I found a Costa, told the hotel to put my dinner reservation back to 7.30.  Then at 5pm I headed for the station.  Only to find that the 5.30 Stranraer train had disappeared from the board.  And it was only going to Girvan.  Then the final train of the day was also cancelled.  So I had no choice but to cancel the hotel, turn round and go home.  I couldn't really believe it.  I have nearly missed parkrun starts by a fraction before but have always completed them.  It took me off guard and the next day I ended up not going to parkrun.  I had already decided not to do juniors that week either just to give myself a day off.

With the problems with the trains looking set to continue it has put me in two minds whether to continue the challenge of trying to tick off all the parkruns in Scotland.  Half of me thinks this may just be bad luck.  The other half thinks maybe I need a new challenge that doesn't rely on public transport.  Even trying to go sub 30 at Queen's.

28th May - This one I was thinking of running somewhere but Richie, one of the run directors at Queen's, said he was going travelling and this would be his last RD stint at Queen's for quite a while.  So I stepped up to volunteer.  Then Thursday came and about half way through the morning I had to log off as I was feeling unwell and unforetuaneltey had to miss all parkrun activity that weekend.

So, not the best of months but still need to document to see where I can learn and improve. I'll get to Stranraer one day lol.

April parkrun update

 2nd April - Today I was volunteering at Quuen's where I was marshaling.  There are 9 marshaling points at Queen's and I think I've now volunteered at 6 of the points which includes the new point I did today.  This one is arguably the best one as it's at the highest point of the course and everyone is relieved to see you as it means once they reach me they get a big section of downhill/flat part.

9th April - I headed up to Inverurie in Aberdeenshire for Ury Riverside parkrun.  This was the last Aberdeenshire parkrun I had to complete to knock off all 6 in the region.  It's one of those ones I had booked on various occasions but never made it.  I stayed in Inverurie on Friday night, so in the morning it was less than a 10 minute walk to the start, or so I thought.  I met Allen, a fellow tourist in the car park and had a good chat before he went with his kids on a warm up. Then I realised the start was not where the finish was so had to walk about 400 metre to get to the start.  It's about 1 and a half small loops then one big loop. And it's really flat.  I had a good run but did find I was out on my own for some of the big lap as it was so spread out and it was quite low numbers.  But it was my first sub 30 of the year coming in at 29.29 which I was pleased about.

16th April - I was back at Queen's this time to run it, or should I say attempt to run it.  I don't remember a lot about the run but I do remember I had to walk most of the hills and I think my time reflects that as I came in at 35.52.

23rd April.  I had it in my mind to get a hotel in Edinburgh on Friday and do Meadowmill parkrun.  But when my parents came over for tea on the Thursday they suggested looking up hotels for Kelso which we had planned to do for a while.  They were happy to help me with this one as it's not really straight forward to get to by public transport from Glasgow.  Hotels were a bit pricey for all of us so in the end my Dad offered to drive us down in the morning which worked out well and saved us all a bit.  They recommend parking in the Sainsburys car park but my Dad dropped my mum and I off at the entrance to the path then he went and parked the car in the car park as it's a bit of a walk.

So once we had walked up the path to the start area we had a chat to the run director and a few of the volunteers.  The course itself starts off downhill, on quite a narrow path but it widens out and flattens out once you get on the disused railway line. Although you do need to watch your footing on the terrain as I imagine it's quite easy to roll your ankle.  I had an ok run.  Managed to run most of it and was overtaking quite a bit on the way back.  I did have to walk for about 30 seconds after 4k and the uphill finish is tough and came in at 31.00.  But it's a good parkrun and it's great that there is a parkrun in Kelso given it's quite far to the nearest one for them.

30th April - Once I found out it was one of the run director's from Rouken glen's 300th today, it was an easy choice for a change on what parkrun to do.  And the chosen parkrun for Pauline was Pollok which is her regular.  Good turn out from the core team too.  I had my best run for a hilly course this year as I managed the whole course without stopping coming in at 32.01

March parkrun update

 March was my worst running month in a while.  Mainly due to a lack of midweek runs and my health not being 100% especially toward the tail end of the month. But on the positive side thing I did make my presence felt at all parkrun opportunities available.

5/3 - On the first Saturday I volunteered as a marshal at Queen's.  This was actually my first 5k volunteering since December last year. Due to Queen's being cancelled for the one I had my name for in Jaunary. Then in February I wanted to get my 250th out the way and then had plans to go further a field.

12/3 - After talking to one of the run directors at Queen's the previous week, Richie.  He was keen to do some touristing this week and fancied some company so I happily obliged.  We decided on Kirkcaldy as we both hadn't done that before. Catelyn who was also volunteering the previous week at Queen's came along too so it was like a proper road trip.  To be honest I was delighted by the whole arrangement.  As I don't drive long distances, particuarly motorways, I would have to do overnights even to go to parkruns in Edinburgh. So having company and getting my own bed to sleep in really was a win win.

So we drove through to Kirkcaldy and arrived in plenty of time for Richie to do a good warm up. While Catelyn and myself met up with Rob and Anne who conincidently chose today to get their K for the alphabet challenge.  I enjoyed the run and it was the first time this year I had managed to run a parkrun without stopping.  It's a nice two loop course with a fair bit of a hill to run up each lap, then you have a nice diversion round the pond on the second lap to make up the distance.  Finished in 30.32 which is my fastest time this year.

19/3 - Today I was back at Queen's and this time running.  Not a great run as had to walk the hills from the 2nd lap.  But at Queen's now I kind of go in expecting that I'm going to have to walk bits so no big deal.  Didn't feel that fit today and finished in 34 minutes, which is only 3 and half minutes off my PB for the course so still doing not too bad.

26/3 - Unexpected visit to Springburn today as Richie texted me the day before saying Stuart who is another Run Director at Queen's and who I know well and him were heading to Springburn. I was happy to tag along having not been there in years.  It was very busy, well compared to how I remembered Springburn.  It's a nice rolling course and can be fast.  But due to my lack of running in the previous weeks it showed and I came in just under 32 minutes. 2 minutes faster than Queen's the previous week mind.  Stuart and Richie had great runs and all in all another great wee road trip.

February parkrun update

 For February this was a pretty eventful month parkrun wise.  Going into the month I was on 248 parkruns so I was determined to get to 250 as soon as I could. Especially because you don't know if cancellations are going to hit given the unpredictable weather this time of year.  I also had a planned trip to Inverness at the end of the month, so I knew I needed to do 2 out 3 runs to get to 250 before I went to Inverness. Usually, I would try and volunteer at a 5k once a month but due to the various factors that it wasn't really plausible.

5th Feb - For parkrun 249 I was back at Queen's.  This was my worst Queen's run in quite a while as I had to start walking the hills on the 3rd hill of the first lap, then walk all the hills on the 2nd and 3rd lap.  I say worse but I don't beat myself up about it.  I think it was being slightly out of practice with hills having missed the previous Saturday. My time on my watch was around 35 minutes but when I got my result it was at the higher end of 33 minutes. No point in giving the director extra work in this instance though as no PB and averages out when I got a time higher than expected last month.

12th Feb - Then suddenly it was my 250th parkrun.  People celebrate milestones in different ways. Some make it public, inviting lots of people, having cake etc. Others just keep it quiet and just treat it like another run.  Both ways both perfectly acceptable.  I ended up being the latter.  While I do know a lot more people at parkrun now that I could have said to, I just didn't really fancy the attention. (well till afterwards lol).  But my Mum and Dad knew about it as we'd been counting down for months so they came along and my Dad told the run director who is a fellow Stuart who I know well so I got a shout out at the start.  I also was quite indecisive as to whether to do Queen's or Pollok.  Obviously, I started at Pollok and spent a lot of time there but more recently I have been at Queen's a lot more.  In the end I opted for Queen's.  That's the thing though. as I know quite a lot of folks now, there is always someone you know when you turn up to Queen's or Pollok and that happened today too. With the likes of Ian, Rodger, Jennifer, Martin and I'm sure there were others too.

In terms of the run itself I dipped just below the 33-minute mark, a good 2 minutes faster than the previous week. This time I didn't start walking bits of the hills till the second hill on the 2nd lap so gradually getting better again.  Then on the Sunday at Juniors word got around about my 250th and got a shout out from Finola who I run with on a Wednesday quite often and was run director.  And got cake in the cafe after which was very nice.  So, all in all a very enjoyable couple of days.

19th Feb - I can't really remember what I was planning to do for this one originally, but I got text on the Monday from my Dad saying he had tested positive for covid which meant I had to do a test every day for 10 days. I know I wasn't planning to do any trips anyway but meant I couldn't commit to volunteering either on the Saturday or Sunday.  But I did test negative all week, so I was good to go to Queen's on the Saturday.  This run I paced it a bit better and ran slightly faster than my 250 and only had to walk a bit of the last hill on the 3rd lap.

26th Feb - My Dad's isolation period finished with a few days to spare before our trip up to Inverness.  I had done Inverness parkrun a few years back, but they moved location of the parkrun to a purpose-built course last year and changed the name of it to Torvean parkrun.  This meant that it is basically a new parkrun and event count started at 0.  I really liked the course. It was basically two horseshoes linked together. One outer horseshoe and one inner horseshoe which you alter between.  So, you end up doing the inner one 3 times and the outer one 2 times.  It was quite windy at points making it quite hard and the outer loop had some short steep hills. One of which had an escape route for buggies to go round it.  

I had to walk bits of this but generally it was a good run and good to be on the tourist trail again.  I was just over 32 minutes for this one although the actual result is over 33 minutes.  Again, not impacting my PBs so no problem there.

Overall though a great month. I now have my 250 t-shirt, 250 pin badge and 250 barcode strap.  Very proud of what I have achieved.

January update

 January has been a very mixed month for parkrunning.  It was a five parkrun month and I had planned on 4 runs and one volunteer on the Saturday's and came out with 3 runs and 0 volunteers.

1st January - New Year's day was a bit different this year and I not talking about the fact that parkrun was actually on this year as covid stopped it going ahead in 2021.  But the other difference was that you can no longer do 2 parkruns on New Year's day. This was always fun but obviously meant events were a lot busier so probably wise decision.  I decided on Pollok as Queen's weren't running an event.  The great thing about New years day is you get to see folk who wouldn't usually be at parkrun so it was good catching up with a few Giffnock North folk as well as various other faces from the Pollok parkrun world.  For the run itself I wasn't having the best of days and had to have a fair amount of walk breaks finishing in 35.27.  The thing is though it set the bar nice and low for my seasons best so better things were to come.

8th January - On this day I was down to marshal at Queen's but unfortunately it got called off due to ice.  I was actually quite relived as I had a bad night sleep on Thursday night and really needed a weekend to recouperate.  Tollcross was on but I decided just to go back to my bed instead and catch up on some sleep.

15th January - This would be my first visit to Queen's of the year but this time I would be running it.  After the first lap, just turning the corner up the first hill after the long flat section I actually got lapped which I was quite surprised about. Usually this happens on my second lap but not quite that early and I hadn't had a bad first lap.  But the second lap I started walking the hills which I don't often do, then the 3rd lap was the same. I was quite surprised to look my watch at the end to see 32.06 as I thought the walking would make me slower than that. So that was a nice boost. When I got my actual result it was actually 32.46.   They did put up a post saying if your time was wildly out to contact them but for me it wasn't PB territory and 40 seconds isn't wildly out so I was happy to keep it as it is. Plus the next week I knew I could comeback and have a bigger improvement.

22nd January - And that is exactly what happened. On this run I didn't get lapped till the top of the second hill on the second lap.  And I didn't start walking till the 3rd hill on the 3rd lap. In general I just felt better all the way round and ended up finishing in 31.21

29th January - This was the 3rd Saturday of the winter which the weather was to make its impact on parkruns in Scotland. 38 got cancelled.  Mostly in the east as their was amber warning for wind there but there was still a yellow warning in the west.  Meaning the likes of Ruchill and Linwood both called off as well as various coastal ones.  I was all over facebook in the morning waiting to see if there was going to be news and Queen's did post saying they were on but may have to cancel last minute.  So I headed to Queen's and parked up.  As I waited the wind was absolutley wild and I did question myself doing this. In fact at 9.15 I just drove off and back home.  Quite unusual for me to do this but and the run did go ahead fine.  Great to know in hindsight but I just didn't feel comfortable at the time so know I made the right decision.

Overall not the perfect start to the year but I still got out a fair bit.  In fact i ran 44 miles this month which means I am on course for my 500 mile annual target.