Last week, participating at Thurrock parkrun I finished in the top 5. This week at Burgess parkrun I finished in the last 5. I’d gone from the front to the back in 7 days and I couldn’t be happier, here’s how.
Back in September 2022 parkrun announced that it was making parkwalk at parkrun official. There were already people walking at parkrun events with South Africa recording almost 30% of participants being walkers every week.
The announcement saw parkrun actively encouraging people to walk at their own pace with friends, with the tail walker or to come with pets. Walking is something I’m keen to emphasise when doing the ‘New Runners Welcome’ which I’d done today. Participants with poles and prams are encouraged too, you can see which one I elected for 😀
Parkwalk builds on the 2018 initiative in the UK aimed at raising awareness of parkrun amongst GPs and practice staff. It encouraged them to signpost patients and carers to events with GPs able to prescribe parkrun to patients.
At the back of the field I was accompanied by Burgess parkrun regular Jayne Ogol and Helen Saunders who was visiting from Exeter. It transpired that Helen was up in London to participate in the Cancer Research UK London Winter Run; https://www.londonwinterrun.co.uk/
Helen explained that doing a 5k warm-up walk the day before would be just the tonic. Jayne then shared that she too would be completing the 10k tomorrow in celebration of her sister who had sadly died the previous year. Another powerful back-of-the-field chat.
Although a cold morning, the sky was blue and the sun was out with its radiance bouncing off the lake with the walk and connectedness warming us all.
Helen shared that she’s done a fair bit of parkrun tourism with events completed in the South West of England, Ireland and Canada! She also informed me that Exeter Riverside parkrun is laps of a field which is usually wet, very important information for me to know!
We finished accompanied by the marshals who had been out on the course. We were scanned and congratulated on completing another 5k.
Good luck to everyone completing the Cancer Research UK London Winter Run.
Really brings home the openness and accessibility of park runs/walks for all.
Loving this look on you!