Mid year review and going forward

 Time for me to take time to look back over the last 6 months and reflect on how I've been getting on and see how I'm doing compared to what I set out to do at the start of the year.  I wasn't sure if I was going to try and start upping the distances and it turned out that was a decision I subconsiously made not not.  Instead of going out running during the week I turned to the gym and have been going pretty regularly about twice a week.  For starter I was doing the treadmill but never really took to it like I used to. So I ended up using cycling machine, eliptical and rower more as well as some weights.

I have kept up the parkruns but in terms of my performances, they did take quite a dip when I started going to the gym. Although my times have started going in a better direction since in April, I haven't managed to get that elusive sub 30 like last year.  The nearest being at Cunningar Loop where I did 32.05.

But I have been going regularly to parkrun which is the most important thing.  I wanted to do 40 this year, and due to being assigned tailwalk duties a couple of times when volunteering at Pollok I have done 24 parkruns this year out of a possible 28. So I would only have to do 18 runs to reach the last couple of years totals of 42. And if I bettered 42 I wouldn't have done that since 2019.  Altogether I'm on 428 parkruns now, so on track to reach 440 which was my aim this year.

In terms of average time for the 22 parkruns I did not including the 2 tailwalking Im up at 35.59. Which shows how slow I've been this year as I've never been that slow.

But I have been about. At the start of the year I had 5 new parkruns in Scotland to tick off.  There have been quite a few new ones starting like Belladrum, Lady Mary's walk, Beecraigs, Wilton Lodge, Broughty Ferry, Drumlanrig.  But I have been ticking off quite a few of them and now just have 3 to do in the shape of Glenrothes, Wilton Lodge and Broughty ferry. But sounds like there are quite a few in the pipeline so should be fun having more adventures.

In terms of p-index, I have been ticking off more to count towards the next level so Im now just 2 away from 10, just need to do Ruchill and Victoria then need to decide where my 11th venue will be.

In terms of the next 6 months I have a decision to make, stick with the gym during the week or turn those gym sessions into outdoor runs.  To be honest the gym has become the easy option, I feel fitter when I do the cycling machine and eliptical and rower, probably because I've been doing them twice a week. But it's clear its not really been helping my running, and one run alone a week is not really enough.  So the other option is the harder option, ie running during the week but it would improve my parkruns.  

Plans for 2026

 I imagine 2026 will follow a similar path to the last couple of years and mainly be focused on parkruns.  I do have flexibility in my plans. As its all very well saying these are my plans but it all really depends on what I end up during the week.  Whether thats walks or runs.  

If its walks it will be a purely parkrun year and I ll end up trying to get below 30 minutes again. If I can get runs in during the week and start to build I might try and see if I can book a few 10ks. Thinking Balfron, Mens 10k, Paisley 10k and Great Scottish 10k or half.  I also have aims outwith races and parkruns to try and get my distance up. I am going to try and do my local loops which I used to do, building up the distance - 3 mile, 4.5 mile, 6 mile and 11 mile.

Even if I do go down the races route there will still hopefully be a lot of parkruns in there and this is my targets

Milestones

No official milestones this year as the next one for volunteering and runs is 500. But I will hopefully reach 450 volunteer credits which requires 45 stints and 440 runs which would require 36 runs. The last few years I have done 42 runs so that should be doable.

Albateer

At the moment I have 5 to do. Glenrothes, Nairn, Anagach Woods, Beecraigs and I have Aberfeldy booked already.  No doubt there will be more popping up. As usual Im not desperate to always be an Albateer anymore but its always nice ticking new ones off.

Challenges

I did tick off quite a few challenges last year and they are starting to get more challenging to do the remaining ones. Match of the day is one I should be able to do fairly easily. This is to do an event number which is the same as the number of runs you are on. Linwood and Drumchapel are almost at the same event number as I have runs so I should be able to do that this year.  

For P index I will hopefully get to 10. I need one at Ruchill, Victoria and Springburn. Then either 3 at Cuningar or 4 at Elder.

I still have alphabeter lurking where I need a Y and a Z but since you need to go down south to get a Y and abroad to get a Z I imagine I would focus on Scottish ones first. Although I would like to get down to Newcastle for one just because.

The other challenges are compass and fully ponty both of which I have done 1/4  but they all require trips to England too.

Another one is double and single ton.  I ll play it by year where I call my home run this year.  For Pollok I am on 127 runs, so can work towards double ton but no way I ll reach it this year. For Queen's Im on 69 so working towards single ton so will hopefully get down there a few times this year.

Elsewhere

Elsewhere I have also joined a gym starting in the new year so hopefully that will get me a bit fitter and exercising during the week.

Happy new year when it comes and all the best in reaching your goals

2025 A year in review

 Well I'm kind of glad that I did a half year review this year as it has been a year of two halves. The first half, while not record breaking, saw improvements in my fitness and times.  The second half I totally lost that momentum and have really gone back to where I started from at the beginning of the year.  The positive though is that I have still kept the parkruns going so still have something to talk about lol.

Average time at parkruns for the year compared to 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.

2025 - 34.38 (42 runs)

So faster than last year, and just faster than 2023. Still have a bit to go before getting down to years before that.

Distribution of parkruns attended

14 - Pollok

7 - Cunnigar Loop

7 - Queen's

2 - Drumchapel

2 - Elder

2 - Ruchill

1 - Castle Woods

1 - Drumpellier

1 - Tollcross

1 - Crinan Canal

1 - Largs Prom

1 - Bo'ness Foreshore

1 - Levengrove

1 - Linwood

So after doing an article earlier in the year wondering where my home run is now it appears stats don't lie and I have shifted towards Pollok, particurlarly towards the end of the year finishing with 5 runs and 2 volunteer stints there in a row.  

Albateer

In terms of getting round all the Scottish parkruns I have visited 4 new to me Scottish parkruns this year being Crinan Canal, Bo'ness Foreshore, Castle Woods and Cuningar Loop.  I have a bit of work to do to regain albateer as I have Anagach woods, Glenrothes, Aberfeldy, Nairn and Beecraigs to do. and probably more starting up soon.

Challenges

This year I completed a few challenges. Stayin Alive challenge which is three parkruns beginning with B and 3 parkruns beginning with G.  Then theres Pirates challenge - 7 parkruns beginning with C and 1 with an R.  Then theres stopwatch bingo - finishing a parkrun ending each second of a minute. Eg 31.01, 32.02, 36.03 etc. Then theres position bingo, finishing positions ending 01 up to 100.  01 can be 101. I didnt actually finish first lol.

Then theres p index which I increased to 9.  Which is attending x parkruns x number of times so 9 different parkruns 9 times each.

Milestones

This year I reached 400 parkruns and 400 volunteer credits at parkrun. Completing 42 runs this year and getting 54 volunteer credits. Finishing on 404 runs for the year and 405 volunteer credits.

Elsewhere.

In the first half of the year I did a lot of walking, during the week I would average about 20 miles walking during the week which is really the main reason I got a bit fitter.  That fell a way in the second half of the year, not completetley but I was probably averaging half that.  Basically cutting walks short.  This is something I ll be looking at next year as I look to take in some lessons and where I can improve.

I will do a post over the next few days detailing plans for next year.

Where is my home parkrun now?

 I was reading a blog the other day about the keys to parkrun longevity and one of the key factors the author wrote was having home parkrun.

"I think one of the big keys to longevity in parkrun is to have a Home parkrun.  You don't even have to go every week and you can mix them in with other challenges.  But really being associated with a parkrun and getting involved in a parkrun is so rewarding. "

Of course this was written by me, 2 blog posts ago lol.

Now you would think someone who writes something like that must have a home parkrun. And the truth is up until this year, there has always been a parkrun which I have run far more than any other.  Up until 2019 it was pretty much Pollok with maybe the odd Strathclyde year. Then 2019 to 2024 it was Queen's.

But what has changed? Well amazingly such a small thing can have such an impact. But Queen's is getting more awkward to get parked at due to a kids dance class taking place at a church right beside the park around parkrun time.  I was getting there earlier and earlier to the point I got there about 8.45 and there was still limited parking left.  

Mix this in with Cuningar loop starting this year and Pollok being easier to get parked its made me go to them instead.  I realise though that I am incredibly lucky to have options I do. All 3 of these parkruns are within 3 miles of me and some people around the UK have to travel miles just to get to 1 parkrun.

But it does lead to the question where is my home parkrun now.  I have run each of these parkruns pretty much the same amount of times this year.  They all have their own character. Queens very hilly, Pollok mildy hilly and Cuningar pretty much flat.  Queen's good views, Pollok nice country park, Cuningar, nice boardwalk sections and wide paths where they need to be. Pollok and Cuningar probably about the same in terms of businesses maybe Pollok slightly buiser, then Queen's still get good numbers but slightly quieter.

If you include volunteering I have been to Queen's twice as much as the other 2. As I just walk, instead of taking the car. But in terms of doing the run as well its a bit too far for me to walk there, run and walk back just now.

Whats happened this year does make me think more about whether I need a home run or not.  Maybe I am just a rotator now.  I hope I can get to the point in my running where I can walk to Queens and back and do the run, but that's pretty daunting given how hard Queen's is without the extended warm ups.

Mid-year review and What the next 6 months hold

 

I don’t usually do mid-year reviews of my running, leaving it all for my end of year. But this year I thought I would and may even make it an annual thing.  The reason being I wanted to reflect on the first 6 months and also look ahead to the next 6 months.

Milestones

In terms of doing what I set out to do I couldn’t really ask for more. I have done 21 parkruns so far this year, so on course to do 42 by the end of the year which is what I did last year.  My aim is to do 40 each year so have a bit of give.  So, I aimed for 20 by midyear and did 21.  I’m now on 383 parkruns so my 3-year plan has kicked in to reach 500, 3 years from now, 40 parkruns a year.  But there maybe a curveball coming which I’ll get on to.  But for now 400 is the aim and I have 17 parkruns to do, to reach that so should hopefully get that by the end of the year all being well.

Challenges and Achievements

One of the biggest goals I achieved in the first 6 months was getting under 30 minutes for 5k which was a Crinan Canal parkrun in April. This has been a long time coming and I am delighted to get under the 30 barrier again.  I didn’t really get close apart from that but out of the 21 parkruns I have done I have hardly been over 35 minutes which is a positive especially since I have been doing a lot of hilly parkruns.  And another positive which resulted in slightly quicker parkruns is that I have ran for the full 5k distance a lot more, even the hilly ones. Running the full way at Queen’s still illudes me but I am running more of it than before.

In terms of challenges, I have completed position bingo which is finishing in a place ending in 1, 2, 3, 4 up to 100.  So, for 1 it can be position 1 but surprisingly I didn’t get a number 1 and would have been 101, 201 or 301 etc.

I have also completed the pirates challenge which completing 7 parkruns beginning with the letter C and 1 beginning with R.

And finally, I completed the Volunteer tourist challenge which is volunteering at 10 different parkruns.

What’s next

Normally when I watch the London marathon, I have to resist the urge not to apply for longer distance events for a week or 2 as it’s so inspiring.  I think because of the number of running you tube channels I signed up for in the last few months this urge has lasted longer and I’m about to buckle.  Obviously, my parkrun goals are still important and I know plenty of people who balance parkrun with longer distances which is what I want to do.  It’s really just a case of getting the motivation to get out there and pounding the streets during the week and I’m going to see if applying for a few 10k races does that. It’s not like I’ve been doing no exercise during the week. As I have really upped the walking after work this year. But I need to turn that into running.

Let’s see what happens….

What are the keys to longevity in parkrun?

At time of writing I have now completed 377 parkruns. One thing which I keep thinking about is how long can I keep it for and how I can keep going with it for a long as possible. It can be seen that routine is the key, but there is so much more than that to keep the interest going and I will explore those in this blog.

Milestones

This is a big one and I think is one of the reasons people stick with parkrun.  The milestones in parkrun are very rewarding and with the range of merchandise parkrun offer to commemorate your achievement only adds to the incentive in reaching it.  Parkrun has milestones for both run/walks and volunteering when reaching 25, 50, 100, 250, 500 and 1000, as well as a more milestones for kids doing junior parkruns.

Aiming for milestones is a good way to achieve parkrun longevity. However you will notice that as you go up through the milestones they get further apart.  I have seen people in the past say to me they will reach a certain milestone then stop. For example 250.  This is not uncommon.  One of the ways to get through this is to make up your own milestones.  Often your local parkrun will appreciate this too and acknowledge going up in 50s. 150, 200, 250, 300, 350, 400, 450, 500, 550 etc.  Basically it puts in smaller goals on the way to bigger goals.  Personally I think the jump between 500 and 1000 is too big and I know I am not the only one.  Its basically 10 years worth of parkruns.  Going up in 100s for official ones seems more sensible, but whether this will ever happen remains to be seen.

Challenges

Challenges have become a big part of parkrun thanks to the Running challenges extension and the 5k app along with various other parkrun apps.  I would say most of the challenges are tourist related. Which are when people do lots of different parkruns. For example in Scotland I completed the Club Alba challenge which is a challenge to complete all the parkruns in Scotland.  This is also known as regionarie and can be completed completed in all the different regions in the UK, eg LON-DONE for all the parkruns in London.  

While initially regionnaire challenge is both a fun way to see places and get the accolades of completing a challenge while doing so.  Everyone has both there travel limits and fund limits.  Think about this. If you want to reach say 500 parkruns, that would mean you would have to do all the Scottish parkruns 6 times over or venture into England constantly.  This is both time consuming and expensive.  Some people do manage this, but I would say very few and kudos to them. But it is definitely not for everyone.  There are other challenges too like the popular Alphabet challenge, the Beegees challenge, Pirates. But again these will only take you so far. You can also start exploring the 20 plus countries in world that have parkruns but suddenly costs go up a lot.  But if you can make part of the journey these will certainly tick off a good few parkruns.

Having a Home parkrun

I think one of the big keys to longevity in parkrun is to have a Home parkrun.  You don't even have to go every week and you can mix them in with other challenges.  But really being associated with a parkrun and getting involved in a parkrun is so rewarding.  Not only will you get to know a course inside out but you will meet lots of people with similar goals to you.  Those people you will see in the good days and bad, and go through life together.  If you are running/walking parkrun every week mixing in with some volunteering is good too.  Not only does it keep the event running. But volunteering allows you to meet new people and learn new skills.  Therefore having a home parkrun is for me one of the keys to parkrun longevity.  

And you may be thinking what about challenges when it comes to your home parkrun.  Well there are a number of challenges you can do. Date bingo - run a parkrun every date of the year. Position Bingo - Finish in every position 1-100 (and you just need the position to finish 01 so so you don't need to finish first you can finish 101 to tick that off).  Stopwatch bingo - finish with a time ending each second.  I've done 377 runs and I have completed none of these challenges but I am very close and I always look forward to seeing how close I am to getting the remaining things I need.  Another one is single and double ton which is completing 100 and 200 runs at one parkrun.  All these challenges are great for having goals if you only have access to one parkrun, like doing your home run, don't have the time or money for touring etc.  

P index

If you like to mix up your parkruns but still like to stay local. Obviously you need to be in an area where there is a bunch of parkruns which you can get to. If that is an option P index is your friend.  This is where you complete says 10 different parkruns 10 times each to have a p index of 10 or 11 , 11 times each to have a P index of 11.  If you have 10 parkruns handy to get a p index of 10 that's 100 parkruns and after that to get 13 you need 169 parkruns.  So the number of parkruns you do climbs rapidly.  If you like visiting different parkruns and have lots near you this can be seen I think as another way to achieve parkrun longevity.  

Staying injury free/ageing

I have had a few injuries in my time which have stopped me from parkrunning only for short periods of time fortunately.  But there is plenty of advice and guidance out there on ways to stay injury free so you can do parkruns for longer.  When you are injured there is always the option to volunteer.  When I volunteer there are always plenty of people there who tell me about their injuries.

Ageing obviously increases the chances of injury and slows recovery so patience is a bit more important here.  But I think one thing you need to accept to have a long parkrun life is that you will get slower.  There are ways you can compare your times though to your younger days through age grading you will see in your results.  I have also seen people stop doing parkruns and become full time volunteers for parkrun too which is also an option.

Consistency

I think a big part of parkrun longevity is consistency.  Getting into that routine if you can. The weather can play a part especially in Britain as there can be some nasty weather during the winter. But if you can get to a parkrun that is not cancelled, that's a win.

Adapting

If your wanting to parkrun for a long time, you will undoubtably go through changes in your life which can have an affect on your parkrunning.  Job changes/location changes/marriage/kids etc.  It's all about adapting. Maybe some periods you will have to go through periods that you will have to accept that you need to de-prioritise parkrun. But it will always be there when you are ready to come back.  

Bad days

I think the thing which may put people off parkrun is when you have bad days whether running or volunteering.  In terms of running this maybe where you may be way off the time you wanted, got beaten by your rival or fell over.  In terms  of volunteering you may have messed up timekeeping/dropped the tokens/Slept in for volunteering all together.  Point is we all have bad days but it is how we react and learn from these days. We can either chuck it in and not bother or rise above it and come back stronger.  In sone instances a bad experience may put you off a certain job. But don't worry, if you don't want to do a job no one will force you to. Just put in your email what jobs you are willing to do.  I really think how you get over your bad days is another key to parkrun longevity. 

Getting involved in junior parkrun

This is not only good for parents with kids between 4-14.  This is also great for folk who have time on a Sunday morning and want to volunteer at parkrun. You get the same volunteer credit that you would get at a 5k Saturday morning parkrun and get involved in a great community.  I have met many people through junior parkrun who I have hung out with at 5k parkruns too.

And that's it. Unless you know any more. If so, let us know in the comments....

Will I ever go sub 30 minutes at parkrun again?

 27th August 2022 - The location Largs prom parkrun.  That was the last time I ran under 30 minutes at parkrun. To be precise 957 days ago. That's a long time.  It does make me wonder if I will ever go sub 30 again.  What would it mean to run sub 30 again. It's been a benchmark for me since I returned to running in 2014 and started running parkruns more regularly. From 2014 to 2022 I achieved this every year dipping as low as 25.59.  

But since that day in Largs prom my fitness just hasn't been the same........

............until now!!!

Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes , yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes

I DID IT

Fast forward 957 days to the 5th April 2025. The location Crinan Canal parkrun. And I got my sub 30 again coming in at 29.58. Sneaking under, but my golly am I taking it.

I went up with my folks to Oban the night before and stayed the night there.  The road from Oban to Crinan was actually closed for a time on the Friday due to a landslide. And on that side of the world there isn't that much alternative so thoughts of going to Crinan may have had to be abandoned and go to Ganavan Sands parkrun in Oban instead. But my Dad nipped into the police station on the Friday night and asked if it would be open in the morning and they said yes so we were good to go.

It's about an hour to get down to Crinan and we arrived in plenty of time. Just as well because the main car park is at half capacity at the moment due to construction and Crinan really isn't the biggest place at all.  In fact its single track roads with passing places to get in and out.  So I would recommend getting there before 9 if you want a place in the car park.  In fact I would recommend getting there before 9 if you want a space in the further away car parks too as obviously its further to walk. But while Crinan is small, it makes up for it in character. 

And the parkrun certainly lives up to the hype. 49 of us charged up the canal path, with the canal on one side and the sea on the other on this out and back course. Very picturesque.  And although slightly cold, there was perfect blue skies.  For my first mile I did it in 10.19, so really at this point I thought I was going quite well but sub 30 never even came into my mind as if I did 3.1 miles at that pace I would be nearer 32 minutes.  But I didn't have much traffic (people) round me and was able to up the pace in the second mile coming in 9.19.  I was taken a back here as I haven't had a mile as quick as that for a while. But still sub 30 never even entered my mind.,..

That was until about 2 and half mile point where I caught up with a women and passed a marshal who knew her and she said "Well done ______ , you are on for a sub 30".  At which point I thought, holy smokes, so am I.  So I kept battling away and third mile was 9.06. Then I managed a sprint finish at 7.58 pace.  So voila, a sub 30, 29.58 in the bag.  Delighted and exhausted.

A 24 hour escape and totally worth it. Cheers to the folks for the company.

Although this is my first sub 30 this year, there have been signs of great improvement.  With 31.08 at Largs and 31.18 at Cuningar loop. While at Queens I got down to 33.25 and Pollok today I ran it in 32.06 with no walking. Which I think must be the first time I have gone a whole hilly parkrun without walking in a long time too.

Thing is I've not even been doing running midweek but I have been walking a lot more. Averaging about 10,000 steps a day which seems to be making all the difference.

With Crinan Canal parkrun starting I was due to become an Albateer (complete all the Scottish parkruns) again. But parkruns have started in Nairn and Aberfeldy with a new one in Aboyne imminent. So I've got those to look forward to later in the year.

350th Volunteer - Extract from Rouken glen parkrun page

 Recently I did my 350th Volunteer at Rouken Glen, and event director Stephen did a very nice piece on it along with some of the DofE volunteers for the webpage

https://www.parkrun.org.uk/roukenglen-juniors/news/2024/12/22/event-307-22-12-24-first-milestones-and-a-very-big-milestone/

Here's my bit:

Now on to our very big milestone achievement from today. Stuart McBeath achieved is 350th volunteering milestone this week. Which I'm sure you'll all agree is a very impressive figure, even more so when you consider that the 350 covers 482 roles as he will do multiple roles any given week.

Now, you all are pretty much guaranteed to know Stuart's face as he is our tail walker every single week, in fact I wasn't actually able to find a picture of Stuart on my phone that doesn't have him in orange hi-vis. But that's not the full story. Stuart started volunteering back in July 2009 at Pollok as Finish Token Support and became a fairly regular volunteer at Pollok for the following 8 years with the odd stint at Strathclyde. But in 2017 Stuart started volunteering at Rouken Glen Juniors mainly sticking to Marshalling, Funnel Managing, Number Checking and of course Tail Walking. This lasted for about a year or so and then Stuart's volunteering at Rouken Glen follows a similar pattern Tail walking, Equipment Storage and Delivery (the AED from the vets when we used to share) and coming back to the cafe for Token Sorting.

I should of course point out that that is just with us, Stuart still volunteers on a Saturday at the 5km events like Queens, Pollok, Tollcross, Strathclyde, Victoria park, Elder park, Drumchapel and even up in Inverness.

Actually travelling (or parkrun tourism as it is known  ) is something Stuart is very adept at. Stuart has completed every Scottish 5km parkrun event, and has 360 parkruns at 83 locations under his belt, which includes the brand new one Skinadin up in Skye which he ran at their 12th event in October this year. If you want to know anything about parkruns, Stuart is definitely the man to ask.

But to you Stuart will be the tailwalker, the one who makes sure no one gets left behind, supports our slower attendees, and also lets the marshals know their stint is over so they can head back to the finish area to hand in their Hi Vis until next time.

     

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

January and February parkruns

Been a while since I posted so thought I'd mix things up with a new format.   Instead of going week by week of which parkruns I've done, I'll go over the tourist ones, then any others I have repeated/home runs.

Erskine Waterfront parkrun

The first parkrun I did this year was Erskine waterfront parkrun.  This was the first time I did this one and was very handy to get to being just outside of Glasgow so I could drive there no problem and had no issues with parking having arrived around 9am.  I hung about in the car for a while before making my way over to the start.  This is where I met up with Craig, Douglas, Mhairi and Susan.  Got the first timers briefing which was good and lined up to start.  Craig and I started off together, but I prompted him just to go for it as I am a lot slower than him.  When I met him afterwards, he was grateful as he ran his fastest time in a while getting under 25 minutes.

I settled into a nice pace.  The course runs along the Clyde and is two out and backs which is perfectly flat.  You get great views of the Clyde and the Erskine bridge.  There were 123 runners and although the path was narrow at times there was no problem with overtaking or folk getting in the way each other. I finished in 33.27, not a great time for me for a flat 5k but it did feel comfortable, and I didn't have to walk. Afterwards I met up with the gang and their friend Callum and headed over to Caulders for breakfast.  

Hay Lodge parkrun (Peebles)

In the second week of February, I headed to Peebles with the folks to tick off another parkrun.  This one was really easy to find heading from Glasgow as the car park is on the same road you come in on, if coming from Glasgow direction.  The park is across the road.  The course is basically 4 laps, but the two middle laps are the only ones which are the same.  The first lap is the flattest and the gentle downhill start means you can go off too quickly and maybe I was slightly guilty of.  The second and third laps are the same and go up a hill, which I just walked up.  All three of the first laps go along beside the river for parts which was nice and the fishermen were out in force.  

The final lap is a shortened lap and the finish is uphill going on to the grass.  Even though it was hillier this was my fastest time of the year at that point coming in at 32.58.   There were about 70 runners today which is one of the smaller events I have been at recently which is not surprising given the location but still a decent number, nevertheless.

Keswick parkrun

As seems to be tradition in February, my parents and I have a short break away in February and this time the location was Keswick.  There were 2 parkruns to choose from in this area; Keswick or Whinlatter Forest.  The latter known as being one of the hilliest parkruns in the UK. I opted for the flatter Keswick parkrun.  The parkrun is an out and back along a disused railway which is now an excellent walking/cycling path.  And the start is at Keswick's disused railway station which acts as a perfect meeting point and if it does get wet it means the volunteers have cover.

At the start their was a special guest who was in town.   He was Iranian and directed a movie which was showing at the film festival in Keswick.  He was given the task of counting us down to start. But instead of 3,2, 1 go., He said 1, 2, 3 go. There were a few sniggers lol, but job done and off we went.  I settled into a slow pace at the start and noticed I was gradually overtaking throughout the first half.  The course is amazing; One minute you are going over bridges, next through a tunnel.  Then you have the river weaving its way round and beneath you.  It's quite a spectacular one really.  Instead of having marshals stood along the way, they let the marshals run with the other runners and if they see something happening, they can phone base.  There is a marshal at the turn.

I finished in my fastest time this year of 32.33 and enjoyed a nice sprint finish.  This was the busiest parkrun I have been to this year with 189 runners in attendance.

Queen's parkrun

So overall in January and February I did 7 parkruns.  3 above then 4 at my home parkrun Queen's.  These were back-to-back.  I pretty much had the same strategy for all of them.  Run the first 2 hills on the first lap, then walk the third hill on the first lap, then walk all the hills on 2nd and 3rd lap.  But try and be a bit more aggressive going down the big hill on each lap and run all the flat bits.  The result? 35.01, 34.40, 34.42, 34.19. 

So nearly a Groundhog Day in there and improving gradually.  My midweek runs have disappeared again so need to try and get more of a routine going again.  Pretty pleased though to add 3 more locations and have no cancelations which can often hit during winter. Long may that continue.

 

2023 plans

 This year will be centered around parkrun again as I continue my quest to complete all the Scottish parkruns.  Although I'm doubtful I'll be able to complete them all this year as I think there will be quite a few starting this year.  At time of writing I have 12 to do with one about to start.  

Now last year my tactic was to try and complete the more difficult to get to ones further away.  Which although proved tricky did work. And now, really only 3 out of those 12 parkruns I have still to do require me to take time off work.  So I think I am going to try and focus on the 9 parkruns that don't need time off work.

For this I can split them into categories:

Edinburgh area - Holyrood, Meadowmill, Vogrie, Winchburgh

Borders - Hay Lodge (Peebles)

Fife - Lochore Meadows

Angus - Forfar, West Links

The West - Erskine, Mount Stuart (Bute)

The other 3 parkruns are Lews Castle (Stornaway), Bressay (Shetland) and Aviemore.  I'll see in the second half of the year how I'm doing with the 9 whether I attempt these or not.

I also have two English ones booked, one in the Lake District and Bushy which both conincide with breaks.

In terms of time sub 30 will be the aim for flat ones. I would like to do it at Queen's too but I think I'll be happy to get under 32 there as I don't think I've done that since last January at Queen's.

In terms of 5k volunteering last year I aimed to do once a month which I think I'm going to try and stick to this year. I would also like to volunteer at Linwood as it's the only parkrun I have done more than 10 times that I haven't volunteered at.

In terms of milestones I should hit 300 runs in possibly July hopefully, as I have 18 to hit that target.  In terms of volunteering I will hit 250 maybe even in the first full weekend of parkrun in the year as long as there are no cancellations.  Who knows if all goes well I may even reach 300 volunteers by the end of the year.  I would also like to get to 50 runs at Queen's. Currently on 32.  But I was thinking I haven't done a load of the parkruns in Glasgow for a number of years now so may have trips to the likes of Drumchapel, Victoria, Ruchill and Strathclyde on the cards too.

Happy new year everyone and hope its a good one for you.

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