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This latest blogpost is all about parkrun, which is an organisation which arranges free, weekly, 5km timed runs around the world. They have been taking place around the UK for several years and in Stoke-on-Trent since September 2011, when Hanley parkrun was held for the first time. Every Saturday morning, between 30 and 50 runners, plus volunteers and supporters gather in Hanley Park by the lake. When the fountains are turned on at 9am, the countdown to the start begins. The course takes us from the bottom of the park to the top and back (twice) and finishes by the bandstand just above the canal - it parkrun terminology, its a net uphill course.

I love parkrun.

I love the challenge of trying to improve my own time each week. So far this year, I've knocked about 2 minutes off my personal best and I'm really pleased about that. Each week, I feel like I can control my pace a lot better and the hills are not too big an obstacle to climb. The speedwork and hill training I've been doing in the week with Potters Trotters is certainly helping to get me round the course a bit faster. I've set myself a goal for the next few months - let's see if I can reach it! There are even a few photos of me in running action at parkrun:
  • Photo 1 - this was is from last Saturday as I achieved that new PB!
  • Photo 2 - bad hair day back in January!

I love meeting different people from local running clubs, finding out about there running experiences and running goals. We have an amazing mix of runners taking part in Hanley parkrun, from young to old, beginners to experienced marathon runners and families running together.  A quick plug for one of these runners - Phil is taking on the challenge of running 12 half marathons in 12 days to raise money for the Donna Louise Children's Hospice, including one based around the Hanley parkrun. Good luck with 6 Towns RunX2.

I love being part of the parkrun family. I like reading the post-race Twitter and Facebook banter from Hanley parkrun regulars and beyond. I love the crazy world that is the parkrunshow (ever if presenter Danny Norman doesn't think Stoke-on-Trent oatcakes are real oatcakes) and read the parkrun newsletter each week to find out what is happening in the world of parkrun - new events, new record attendances, new PBs. We also frequently get visitors from other parkruns coming to test out our "undulating" circuit at Hanley parkrun (for "undulating" read "hilly"). I've even been a parkrun tourist myself, when I took on the challenge of Glasgow parkrun on an icy cold weekend in January. That was a completely different experience to Hanley parkrun - they have over 300 runners most weeks and take over the cafe in the Burrell Collection in Pollock Park after each event. 

I love the "volunteer" aspect of parkrun too. The whole event is organised on a voluntary basis and at Hanley parkrun, we're really looking to have great support from the Students' Union at Staffs Uni. It also means parkrun regulars are encouraged to miss out on running from time to time to take on the vital jobs of timekeeper, barcode scanner and signposter, as well as cheerleaders and photographers. This coming week at Hanley parkrun, I'm taking my second turn at volunteering and really looking forward to it. 
Snow Patrol at the SEEC

parkrun has become a really important part of my training for the Stafford Half Marathon, but more than that, it has been lots of fun and I look forward to the fun continuing.

Happy parkrun-ning!

LizT

PS The title of the blogpost, however, is a Snow Patrol reference - since seeing them at the SECC in Glasgow a few weeks ago, I've had a Snow Patrol playlist for each parkrun. There are some great lines in the songs to encourage me around the course, not least of which is "Don't keel over now, Don't keel over" from the song This Isn't Everything You Are! This is particularly appropriate as I steel myself to complete the final uphill stretch to the finish.


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