Letchworth parkrun: Last for a while?

avatar

I just finished a 5.049km running that lasted about 0hh:27mm:21ss !

image

I managed to get up in time for this run. I do not set an alarm and just see how it goes. I need time for some breakfast and to cycle there. It had been raining and there were a few drops as I set off. The ride there does not seem to get any easier with all that uphill, but Strava reckoned I was quicker on some segments.

With the coronavirus situation we were advised to hold our own finish tokens for scanning and then drop them in a bucket afterwards to minimise contact. There is a possibility there may not be a run next week. Other countries have already cancelled. Letchworth is a small event, but if bigger ones are off then many more could come and just shift the problem.

As usual it did not look like many were turning out, but lots of people appear at the last minute. Maybe they sit in their cars until it is time. I think many people set off a little too quick on the initial stretch downhill before 'carnage corner' and the long uphill run. It was not too muddy there and the boggy patches at the top may have shrunk a little since last week. I still splashed through some puddles. By lap two I was still going okay, but a little slower than I would like. A younger guy overtook me on lap one and I was able to keep in sight of him with a chance to catch up near the end, but he had a little more in reserve. A lady overtook us both with a kilometre to go. I gave it what I could near the end and came 33rd out of 98. I was 40s quicker than last week, but still a way off my best for the course.

It will be a shame if there is no parkrun for a few weeks, but I can keep on running anyway. My son was at the gym today and said they were taking extra care to wipe down equipment after each person used it. I was at the supermarket later and some things such as pasta and tinned goods were run down. It did not look like people were too worked up generally. I just bought what I really needed.

Life is likely to be disrupted in coming weeks, but we can try to still make it enjoyable and stay active. Running outside does not have to involve contact with anyone else.

Take care and run free!
Check out some detailed info at my EXHAUST page
Join me in testing out EXHAUST!



0
0
0.000
14 comments
avatar

You have uploaded 105 running activities, and 20 of them have been of similar distances (within 10 percent)!
Here are your 5-fastest running activities of a similar distance:

Over these 20 similar activities, you have travelled approximately 103.32 kms at an average pace of roughly 5:18 min/km!
Your latest run was at a pace of approximately 5.417min/km!
Looks like you went a bit slower this time! Remember that it's important to take some rest days, and do some rehab / prehab / strength and conditioning training too! If you weren't intending to go slower, take a moment to listen to your body, and see if you need something. Check in with yourself!

0
0
0.000
avatar

You need to stake more BEER (6 staked BEER allows you to call BEER one time per day)

0
0
0.000
avatar

We were pretty busy at Hereford, although the changing rooms after were definitely quieter than usual.

Be a shame if the Park Run was cancelled, but then again there is a lot of close contact in that huddle at the beginning!

0
0
0.000
avatar

I am sure they will run it when possible, but it's up to the volunteers in the end. The fact that it runs every week generally is amazing.

0
0
0.000
avatar

Great write up Steve. Well done again on managing a “brick” session.
Sad to have all of these running events cancelled but completely see the need. It’s going to be a funny old spring

0
0
0.000
avatar

Cheers. I will run anyway and it gives the parkrun volunteers a bit of a break. They work so hard to put it on every week through the crappy winter weather.

0
0
0.000
avatar

Yep , I ran just over 5K myself and took pics to document. A great exercise

0
0
0.000
avatar

Well done. I think more places are getting tracks like that to encourage people to get out. There is a new one connecting some villages around us that I need to properly explore.

0
0
0.000
avatar

I think I am going to have a lot of time off in the near future to be able to do some more exercise. The problem is the weather is not going to be very cooperative. I wish it could get up in the high 50's or 60's so that going out and getting some fresh air would be a genuine option. Nice job on your run!

0
0
0.000
avatar

It will be interesting to see what restrictions get put on us in the next months. I would hope we can still get out as most will benefit from some exercise.

0
0
0.000