The Parkrun Weekly Cross Country

[DaveB]

The concept; www.parkrun.com started 10 years ago, is simple; a 5 km cross-country run every Saturday morning, open to all, away from motor vehicles and no fees or charges. There is computerised timing, email results service and web results archives. People from 10 to 80 years old participate, some are fast and some walk the whole way. Whole families take part, some with parents pushing toddlers in buggies and where dogs are allowed they run along too (on the leash). Our local event averages + 600 people.

I started doing it a year ago & I've now done 29 events and try and get to the park a couple of times during the week for a bit of jogging. I've only lost 4 kg (9 lb) but I'm a lot fitter and feel a whole lot better than before.

parkrun is huge in the UK and well established in Ireland, NZ, Oz & SA. Unfortunately it hasn't caught on in the USA yet. This pic was taken in May earlier this year. I'm in the blue shirt & white cap in the centre; just look at all the people behind me!

 

[DaveM]

This is the first time I have heard about this one and I can see how popular it is from the photo. Seems like a great idea to keep that body in shape

 

[DaveB]

Dave, you have one at Hobie Beach, 8am every Saturday. Last Saturday they had 389 participants; PE Hobie Beach parkrun | PE Hobie Beach parkrun

After 40 years of sitting behind a desk I'd reached a stage where my metabolism had slowed to a snail's pace and I just couldn't control my weight anymore. I had to do something a bit drastic. My local park, Delta Park, is just 5 km from where I live and I've known it for years. It's attractive and quite large. I decided I'd start walking & jogging there. I was there early one Saturday morning in November last year and literally walked straight in to this event that was taking place. I spoke to an organiser, went home and Googled parkrun and registered the following week. No, I hadn't heard of it either up to that point.

The oke behind it all is an IT project manager. He's British, raised in Potchefstroom and then emigrated back to Britain. A few months ago he was awarded a CBE (Commander of the British Empire) for his efforts to grow athletic sport at the grass roots level. His parkrun creation is IMO nothing short of a lifesaver!

Our country manager is none other than Bruce Fordyce, nine times winner of the Comrades Marathon Comrades Marathon, and he sends all of us an email monthly newsletter. Elana Meyer & her husband run one of the parkrun events in the Cape Town area, Bruce runs most weekends as does Alan Robb, Zola Budd has run a few as has Frith van der Merwe.

 

[DaveB]

Delta Park in Randburg. This time of year, when it is lush & green it looks good. It somehow does not look like a park one mile altitude in Africa does it?

The Environmental Centre in the park- an art deco building after the surrounding area was flooded by heavy rains in March this year.

 

[DaveM]

I don't get out much before 10am on a Saturday so this is why I have never heard or seen it this side . So lets see if I leave with the rest of them at 8am I should make the finish line around 10pm or so

A few years back I was going to the gym every night after work and I started to really get into it. Nothing fancy just to keep myself a bit fit as you say it starts to catch up to you after doing nothing for a few years

 

[DaveB]

The Hobie Beach course is as flat as a pancake. The slowest time last Saturday was 1hr 7 min which is exceedingly slow for any course, let alone a flat one!

The whole of Delta Park is on a slope and we have two 400 metre inclines to struggle (i.e. walk) up.

 

[DaveM]

I wonder what side of the beach they do this on, possibly towards the shooting range I suppose that would offer the least bit of traffic.

 

[DaveB]

Hobie Beach course: course | PE Hobie Beach parkrun

 

[DaveM]

Ah it is to King's beach and back, not bad at all, I used to walk that course a bit some years ago and really enjoyed it.

 

[DaveB]

I forgot to mention that in this country at least, if you are on Discovery Medical Aid and you enrol for their Vitality programme, you get 500 Vitality points for each parkrun that you complete. Once you have given parkrun central all your personal particulars, the parkrun organisation automatically notifies Discovery of your last completed run and the points get added to your Vitality total. Cool. Discovery & adidas are world partners & sponsors of parkrun.

 

[DaveB]

With Bruce Fordyce - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, a legend of ultra marathon running after our Christmas day event. He is also our country parkrun manager.

 

[triumph david]

Thats what i need to get into, my wife and i have it on our new year resolution list.

 

[DaveB]

I've been at it for more than a year now. I would definitely recommend it, with the proviso that one should never over exert- i.e. always leave something 'in the tank' because, if like me a person is unfit to start off with, it can be risky to push too hard and go into the 'red zone' (heavy oxygen debt). My experience:

Benefits.
General increase in energy levels- no more sleepiness at work in the afternoons.
My weight is in check and in fact has dropped a little.
Added purpose and targets in life.
Those couple of flights of stairs are now a doddle.
You tend to look after yourself better all-round, e.g. making sure you don't catch a chill, eating better, getting enough sleep.
The most important aspect of park or cross country running IMO is that runners & joggers are kept away from traffic, making it much safer and more enjoyable than road (i.e. sidewalk/pavement) running.
It's comparatively inexpensive though I would recommend a pair of proper trail running shoes (which can be pricey) for the park- they have excellent grip and a toe protector strip to prevent toe stubbing against tree roots and the like.

Downers
Cross country is hard. The ground is rough by its very nature and it puts a lot of stress on the feet, ankles & knees, quite apart from the stress on the cardio-vascular system. Minor foot strains and the occasional twisted ankle are going to happen.
During & after a run in hot conditions you sweat buckets.
You and your kit get filthy when running/jogging in wet & muddy conditions. You can mess up your car interior as a result and there always seems to be an endless stream of laundry to do!

 

[triumph david]

I couldn't get into anything that extensive, old bones ect, but there is a group around here that do the same thing on a much laid back slower pace.

 

[CarlS]

DaveB, that park is beautiful.

 

[DaveB]

After 17 months of doing this I completed my 50th parkrun on Saturday.

I've lost 8 kg in the process.

 

[Rocky]

All I can say is wow!!!
You're a better man than me!!

 

[shanered6]

Well done Dave that's an AWSOME achievement ...good on ya !

 

[DaveB]

Thanks guys.

What's a bit worrying is this: So I've done 50x5 km = 250 km in Saturday parkruns. In addition I've done probably about 400 km in midweek training runs. I.e. 600 to 700 km of jogging and walking has only resulted in 8 kg of weight loss and that seems like a really poor return on investment.

On the other hand, if I hadn't taken this or something similar up nearly 18 moths ago, I'd probably have put on a couple of kg by now, maybe more.

So I guess I'm currently about 10 kg lighter than if I had not changed anything and I reckon that this is the balanced way to look at it. Anyway, I can now do up the waist fasteners on all my m/c pants and that was the motivation in the first place!

 

[Qship]

Yes but muscle weighs more than fat, so I'm guessing you built up a little muscle in the process of all the running you've done. Good on ya, too. Never too late to improve your health, especially your cardiovascular.