Janathon Day 12: My first parkrun!
Since when did Saturdays begin at 7am, huh? Well, this one did. After Nici said on a previous blog post that one of her mini-Janathon challenges was to finally get to a parkrun, this reminded me that I’d kept meaning to get up (down? across? not sure…) to Whitstable which is the venue of my nearest one.
Whitstable, although only 30-40 minutes away by car, takes nearly two hours on the train and so I asked iliketocount if he would drive there and he said yes and, so, this morning, off to Whitstable we went.
It was great! I’d run the Folkestone Half the year before last and found out that coastal runs are pretty dull. But the Whitstable run had enough scenery going on to make things interesting and although it was mainly an out and back along the seafront, there was a muddy bit before looping back which broke it up a bit.
Coming back down to the finish though, I saw the runners ahead going up a hill at what appeared to be a 45 degree angle. NO ONE TOLD ME THERE WERE GOING TO BE HILLS! BASTARDS! I got to the bottom of the hill and it didn’t look too bad from there, it definitely didn’t look as bad as it did from the distance and I told myself that I could run up it, or at least stagger in a fashion not too far removed from running.
I made it to the top of the hill and looked at my Garmin: 34:08, which is mighty fast for me at the mo.
Stats
Distance: 5k
Time: 34:08
Pace: 11 m/m
Whitstable parkruns: 1
Be careful, you might become addicted to them! They are a great way to start the weekend.
I’ll definitely be going again!
Hills? In Whitstable? I lived there for a year in 1974, first year at university, and I don’t remember any hills. A lot of mud, though
I lived in Canterbury for a few years (also Uni) and made the odd trip into Whitstable. I seem to remember a large hill on the way in. Not that I ever ran it though. The only running I did in those days was in response to the last orders bell 🙂
There is a large hill on the way in. And the parkrun ends at the top of a slope that runs from the road down to the seafront.
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Yay! You will definitely become a Parkrun addict, it’s just the best way to start your Saturday.
Shame it’s not nearer. There were none near my house in Walthamstow, then when I moved, one popped up in Finsbury Park and one on Hackney Marshes – not fair!
You’re right, Mo, there was such a hill, but inland. I lived by the sea, with a landlady with a pug that used to urinate on my bed. It was compensated for by seeing Peter Cushing walking the streets in his cloak
Yeah, I had no idea how far that hill was from the coast! Seeing Peter Cushing walking round the town must have been cool. Having a pug pee on your bed, not so. The things we put up with when students… .
Parkrun sounds like fun, good encouragement to get out running when Janathon is over! Shame they aren’t more widespread. I have the same problem as you Cathy – it would take around a 40 minute drive to get to my nearest one.
There is a massive blank space on the parkrun map in the south-eastern corner!
Hurrah! Another parkrunner. Just don’t get addicted, for that way lies obsession.
Thats it I really want to do one thats going to be my next mini goal, well done and thanks for the encouragement to keep going.
You know, if there is a local gap, you need to start your own!
I thought about it a couple of years ago, but I haven’t got the time. Plus, I want to run it, not organise it.