parkrun red T-shirt

Now, any Star Trek fan knows that wearing a red shirt means you’re likely to be the first to be eaten by a monster/ zapped by a doom-ray/ assimilated by a Borg. But for parkrunners, the red T-shirt means you’ve been dedicated enough to run 50 times. In real terms, that’s at least a year of parkrunning. These are highly valued and treasured items, some people even go so far as to frame theirs.

11694054_988782817819821_7077781578750575150_n

At Wallace parkrun in 2014, I came second in the points table, and Gillian and Liz, who came 1st and 3rd, were neck and neck with me on number of parkruns completed. Then I went and broke my ankle.

dog selfies 325
They went ahead and earned their 50 shirt, and I applauded and cheered from my volunteer position, and eventually in August I was able to get back to running and do my own 50th run.

10572116_797480390283399_5711504792681986448_o

Except there was a hiccup in production of the shirts.

We waited anxiously for news – as each Saturday passed by, more people earned the right to a red shirt, but none were forthcoming.

It was well into 2015 when the new sponsors Tribesports got up to speed, and eta’s starting being discussed for the delivery of the shirts. This eta kept being extended and extended – I told my husband to stop asking me about my T-shirt, it would get here in the fullness of time!

It was mid-July, and after sending an email to chase it up, that the much-anticipated parcel arrived.

11011996_10154562665438644_9069817241457988209_n

I was excited.

11760134_10154562527688644_8984385467666058259_n
Very excited!

1513988_10154562682018644_8678722365152985308_n

Couldn’t wait to try it on!!

11737938_10154562682423644_5375755649526443459_n

For the record, the sizing is on the generous side.

11800089_988782767819826_6429423679360744577_n

And so, one sunny July morning, in my home location of Wallace, I was finally able to run in my hard-earned, long-awaited item.

I accessorised the moment, of course, with a matching cloak for Minnie, and fancy nail-art.

IMG_8074

During the run, 2 other guys in the new shirts passed me, gave a thumbs-up and said “that’s a photo op, 3 new red shirts together!”

The shirt is good quality, feels light and comfortable on, and is easy to wash.
20141005_110042
Reader, I cried on the way home, I was so full of emotion.

FullSizeRender (2)

parkruns: Bushy Park, London

20150711_085103

Every parkrunner knows the story of how the whole thing began, 10 years ago, with 13 brave souls in Bushy Park. Since then, it has grown by leaps and bound, and now this event regularly attracts over 1,000 runners.

bushy coffee
I was in London for my daughter’s graduation performance, so it was already a memorable and emotional weekend. I was staying with my best friend in Feltham, and I’d previously run at Crane Park, round the corner from her. But the mecca-like Bushy is only 3 miles away, and she quickly grasped how important it is for any serious parkrun tourist to tick off their list. So I am enormously grateful to her for getting up early on a bright and sunny Saturday morning to drive me.

20150711_085222
It was an astonishing sight as we drove down the main avenue, watching runners gather from all directions. Red 50 and black 100 shirts there were a-plenty, and I was trying out my Jog Lisburn sleeveless vest for size. I STILL haven’t got my 50 one – my profile says I ordered it on 2nd August 2014, but here we are nearly a year later.
20150711_093425

Course:
The start is close to the Diana fountain, and pre-run brief is given using a microphone and speakers. It’s a nice wide start point, so there was very little hemming in. The surface is a mixture of grass and sandy paths, and it covers one lap round the park, past ponds, under trees, with the main hazard being deer and their poo.
20150711_09441720150711_094105

Gear:
I couldn’t get my headphones to work. When I switched them on, they cheerily told me they were “pairing!” but couldn’t seem to find my phone. So I was running with no music, which always makes the run seem so much longer.
20150711_093430bushy v

Dealing with that number of runners makes the finish activities more difficult – into 2 funnels, I was given a letter to hold. When I reached the head of the queue, they held our funnel and let through the other one, until the next letter was reached, at which point we could proceed and collect our finish token, and then queue for scanning. This was remarkably efficient, though as you can imagine there’s a fair bit of work sorting out that number of tokens!
20150711_093856

Time:
My time wasn’t great – I’d imbibed a fair bit of wine during the graduation celebrations, running on grass is slower, I’d no music, it was warm….I did have a laugh out loud when I read the official email results:

“Congratulations on completing your 88th parkrun and your 1st at Bushy parkrun today. You finished in 841st place and were the 268th female out of a field of 1035 parkrunners and you came 29th in your age category VW50-54”

20150711_094306

Ah well.

20150711_094122

Then came another new experience, the queue of cars leaving the car park!Some people have a coffee at the little wooden hut beside the car park, some go to The Pheasantry. We went a little further afield and I tucked into Eggs Benedict in Carluccios in Teddington. Lovely!
20150711_102015

List of all the parkruns I’ve completed.

NI parkruns: Larne (Carnfunnock)

This was a bit of an adventure.
20150704_091122

It didn’t start well – after being lovely and sunny all week, the day dawned with rain showers.

11659292_437022583165918_7657630461188008079_nOn the plus side, this meant I could take Minnie with me, as it has been too hot for running-with-dogs.
20150704_100409

Access:
I’d looked at the course description, and a yellow dot seemed to indicate the middle of the Country Park, so that’s where I went first. I found some loos, and could see various “run route” arrows about the place, but no actual runners. A boxer dog appeared and said hello to Minnie – its owner appeared, and as he was wearing a sporty top I asked him if he knew where the start of the parkrun was. He did, actually, and it was a mile back down the road, in a car park I’d passed 10 minutes ago! I’d even seen the parkrun banner on the fence. Doh! By now it was 9.18, and I was worried about making the start line on time. I pulled into the car-park and to my dismay there were no spaces left, apart from disabled ones which I refuse to use. I wound down my window and asked a passing runner if there was any other parking nearby, and she suggested either using the centre of the car-park, or the grass verge. I opted for the latter, as did a white car who pulled in beside me.
20150704_100252

Crowd:
It was a busy morning, as a local couch to 5k group were making their graduation run. Typical crowds are in the 60s, but today there were 92! My friends and fellow letsdoallthenornirnparkruns peeps, Claire and Caroline, had been here last week, and had given high praise to the volunteers, who were very helpful and cheery.
20150704_100359

Course:
The car park is at sea level. This can only mean one thing – lots of hills! I lost count of how many laps and twists we did, but there are plenty of arrows and marshalls about, and I was never in doubt about what way to go. The start is along a narrow path, and it’s easy to get hemmed in here, so if you want a fast start, make sure you’re near the front. The views of the sea through the trees are lovely (or would be on a less misty day!) and teh route also incorporates some challenging sharp turns, as well as passing the back of the toilet block. Twice. The finish stretch is back along the long straight narrow long path (did I mention it was long?), and there’s some good cheering and support at the final section. Scanning takes place inside the Sea Cadets Hall.
20150704_100402

Post run:
Wow, I’ve never seen as good a table of post-run goodies! Sandwiches, cake, buns, shortbread, biscuits…I suspect this was for the C25k grads, who had rather lovely T shirts and medals to be proud of. But it was very much appreciated – thank you!
20150704_100123

Strangely Appropriate Song on Shuffle:
I’m a big fan of X-factor winner Matt Cardle, and he appeared on this morning’s playlist, singing “Run for your life…you’ll get there in time” which was the assurance I needed after going to the wrong start point.

11666174_437023689832474_6338276738292513792_n
Time:
It was hilly, it was rainy, I wasn’t going flat out, so I was pretty content with a 27:27.
20150704_101059

And then what happened?:
After enjoying my tea and sandwich, while clapping a “well done”ing the later runners, I went back to my car. Which was blocked in by a burger van. I could see the driver was still in it, so I sorted Minnie out with some water, towelled her down and put her in teh boot before approaching him to ask if he could pull forward so that I could get out.
“You’re not supposed to park there.” he said. yes I know, I explained my circumstances, and that I didn’t want to take up a disabled space.
“I usually park there, but I was a bit late this morning..” Ermmm, you’re losing my goodwill here now – I’m not supposed to park in a not-legal spot, because YOU usually do?
“I’ve lost about 15 sales to bikers lookin’ for burgers!” Well, I’m sorry about that, but again YOU were late, I didn’t have my crystal ball with me to know that I was in your spot, I’m only a visitor here, and unlikely to return if that’s the attitude, frankly!

I do realise that Scrubs Grub is nothing to do with parkrun, but it did put me in bad form, so much so that I didn’t go back and get more pictures of the route, I just wanted to get home. This was a 70 mile round trip for me, after all.
20150704_101108

List of all the parkruns I’ve completed.

NI parkruns: Limavady

20150509_090331
On a visit to my parents in Portstewart, I decided to take in Norn Irn’s newest addition to the parkrun stable in Limavady. The weather forecast had been a bit unpromising, but the day dawned blue-skied and sunny, and as I drove through the Binevenagh Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, forests to the left of me, mountains to the right, and the sparkling waters of Lough Foyle with the hills of Inishowen ahead of me, I felt privileged to be able to run in some stunning locations.

Access:
20150509_090451
The runners and marshalls meet at Roe Valley Leisure Centre, where barcodes and coats can be left. And as I’m writing this I’ve just realised that I left my yellow jacket there! The run itself starts about 500m away in Backburn Path. After the run you have to walk back to the leisure centre for scanning – bit of a faff but it’s always good to have somewhere sheltered for the scanning, and the walk makes a good cool down. There’s plenty of parking, and clean toilets in the centre, and it is well signposted as you enter the town.

Crowd:
20150509_100415
I was there for the 7th event, so there were only about 50 runners. The marshals were very helpful and chatty, and the run director was able to welcome those of us on tour from other parts.
20150509_095951

Course:
20150509_100946
The course is 3 and a half laps around Backburn path. This is an elongated bowl shaped green park in the middle of the town, with lots of lovely trees and bushes. The paths are wide enough for runners to pass each other in opposite directions, which they need to do at some points, and the surface was flat and tarmac all the way. There are a couple of inclines, but they’re not too steep or too long.
20150509_100727

Gear:
20150509_100428
Having been waiting all day for the result to text through, I found a message on the Facebook page that the scanners hadn’t worked properly, and all the results would have to be input manually! Oh dear, a run director’s worst nightmare! And I left my yellow jacket behind…..

20150509_100909
Strangely Appropriate Song On Shuffle:

As this was my 20th different event, and I’ve been travelling around the country, the opening lines of Flying Elvis struck a chord:
“From East to West, and coast to coast, you move with the groove babe, you’re the most”
20150509_100430

Time:

Particularly for smaller newer parkruns, I’ll check the record in my age category. This one stood at 28.37, which I thought I could aim for. Sadly, that time elapsed on my Garmin as I was 200m short of the finish line, but a 29.09 time puts me second in that table.
20150509_100452
List of all the parkruns I’ve completed.11206056_1603534649913247_2152407721094904051_n

NI parkruns: Enniskillen

2015-05-02 08.45.17

Look out, more dancing has occurred! I was in the lovely town of Enniskillen, in the heart of Fermanagh’s lakeland county, for a weekend of Scottish Country Dancing. And I couldn’t pass by the opportunity of doing the Enniskillen parkrun, even if it DID mean missing the first of the Saturday morning classes (cue much tutting in the breakfast room…)
2015-05-02 08.47.46

Access:

The run is held in the grounds of Castle Coole, a National Trust property consisting of a very impressive white stone villa, set in acres of rolling countryside including a lake. Castle Coole is on the Belfast side of town, and there’s plenty of parking by the stables, which also house the very clean and gratifyingly warm loos. For I was cold. Very cold. Despite it being May by the calendar, there was a chilly breeze and a steady mizzle, which was not pleasant. However, the woodland grounds were awash with primroses, bluebells, and some plants I haven’t seen in a long while.
2015-05-02 09.15.54
2015-05-02 08.56.49
2015-05-02 08.59.30

Crowd:

I was early, as usual, and was approached by a young female runner who wanted to check that this was where the parkrun was happening! Most people arrived about 9.20. There were a couple of lovely doggies running, and I got chatting to a gorgeous biscuit coloured ball of fur named Harry (he ‘s even registered as Harry the dog!) It turned out the the father of Harry’s owner was the former principal of the school where our dance weekend was taking place – what a co-incidence! There were a few people either visiting the area (it IS one of Norn Irn’s most popular tourist destinations, with good reason), or had family here and were “home” for the weekend.
2015-05-02 09.11.21

Course:

Starting by the stables, the course runs in front of the big white house (how can I run with distracting views like this!),
2015-05-02 08.58.07 through a wooded section, onto the main avenue, down to a turning point, back up the avenue, round the lake, and home to the finish line at the stables. There’s a bit of an incline at the start to get to the house, and the return section of the avenue was one long slow climb, but other than that there are no hill problems. The surface was all either gravel or tarmac, and I don’t think they’d prove an issue for visually impaired or buggy-pushers.
2015-05-02 09.16.21

In the stableyard is an old Belmore Omnibus – and we were staying in the Belmore Court Motel (highly recommended if you’re ever visiting this part of the world – a warm welcome, great value accommodation and well situated)
2015-05-02 09.05.23
2015-05-02 09.05.12

I was a bit foxed after the run, as the exit isn’t through the same gate as the entrance, and there were no signs to indicate which was the way back into town.

Gear:

I was debating whether or not to ditch my yellow rain jacket, but since my run time wasn’t going to be anything special I decided to stay warm-ish and dry and keep it on. The Garmin took a while to locate satellites, and I couldn’t believe my husband tried to ring me at 25 past 9 on a Saturday! There was only one scanner on duty, which caused a bit of a bottle neck.
2015-05-02 09.04.41

Strangely Appropriate Song On Shuffle:

John and Ruby Wilkinson were our special guests at the dancing weekend, so the appropriate song was “Ruby Ruby Ruby” by Kaiser Chiefs.

2015-05-02 08.54.32
Time:

Well, I’m always happy with a sub-30 time, and 29:08 was faster than my last non-canine-assisted run, so I’ll have to be content with that. It did tick 3 of my current targets – counting towards 20 different events, visiting all the Norn Irn venues, and taking me one step closer to my 100 T shirt.
List of all the parkruns I’ve completed.

NI (and other) parkruns: Crystal Palace

20150328_081357 - Copy - Copy - Copy

“Now just a minute”, I hear you say, “This ‘ere blog is called Dancing At Lunacy, right?  Well, there’s plenty of lunacy, most of it the youdonthavetobemadtobearunnerbutithelps, variety, but where’s all the dancing, eh? Eh?”

20150328_081329 - Copy - Copy - Copy

Fear not, gentle reader, for this weekend there was the most wonderful, moving, and memorable dancing, courtesy of my fabulous daughter and others at The Place, celebrating choreography giant Robert Cohan’s 90th birthday.  Jemima was in a piece called “Sometimes, even now”, choreographed by James Cousins, a Matthew Bourne protege.  I was sitting next to some current Bourne guys, and we all watched in admiration as she climbed, fell, turned, span, leaped and – forgive me – emotionally connected with her audience. Times critic Donald Hutera tweeted “Jemima Brown – most watchable centrepeice of James Cousins people”.  Wow.

20150328_083504 - Copy

Anyhoo, post show drinkies over, I was hustled into a  taxi to her flat in Crystal Palace while their celebrating continued – I did have a bit of a disturbed night’s sleep when they returned at 3 am, but had set my alarm to make sure I did not miss my Saturday morning parkrun (oh you Eeeeenglish with your 9 am starts!)

20150328_083250

Access:

I flew into Gatwick, nearly cried at the price of fares on the Gatwick Express into town, but bus and train links to CP are very good.  The parkrun is in the huge park with its famous mast, which has a major bus depot at one end, and the railway station one one side, so it’s very easy to reach by public transport.  There are also several car parks, and plenty of loo facilities.

20150328_082218

Crowd:

I was wearing my Jog Lisburn T shirt, and a guy approached me and told me he’d run Wallace a couple of weeks ago.  Turns out Mark is from Bangor originally, and was running his 150th parkrun this morning!  He’s already on that more-than-20-events hall of fame, and revealed that he’d lost 4 stone during his parkrun career.  Most impressive!  I also chatted to a runner in a Titanic Quarter Tshirt from last year, someone running their first ever parkrun, and the very friendly volunteers.  Usual crowd is about 150, with a good few slower runners.

20150328_085131 - Copy

Course:

I entered from the top end, and admired the old weathered stone statues, as I walked down the steps.
20150328_081843]And then more steps.  20150328_081854] And even more steps. 20150328_081918 20150328_082206

Oh dear, it was very evident that elevation was a serious issue with this course!

20150328_081419 - Copy - Copy - Copy  Hills aside, it’s a really cool venue.  The paths are wide and flat, there’s an old red telephone box, a cafe, a maze, a sports stadium, a museum, a renowned lake/ amphitheatre, and a War memorial bell at the finish.

20150328_084420 - Copy

Gear:

My Garmin’s connecting lead had broken during the week, which meant that the battery was dying. It survived the run, but I’m going to have to get that sorted.  I’m glad I wore my JL T shirt – I’m still waiting for my red 50 shirt, which I’d wanted to show off on tourism jaunts, but really, the JL one is more of a talking point.

20150328_083449 - Copy

Strangely Appropriate Song On Shuffle:

Being in Crystal Paris – has to be Walking On Broken Glass by Annie Lennox.

20150328_084354 - Copy

Time:

OK, I’d been out quaffing champers till the wee small hours, and then didn’t have a great night’s kip, and it was hilly – I was   a bit disappointed with 29:54, but as I’m very fond of saying – there’s more to running than going fast.

20150328_094640 - Copy - Copy20150328_094826 - Copy - Copy


List of all the parkruns I’ve completed.

NI parkruns: Armagh

20150321_101236 - Copy (2)

20150321_100235
Having experienced a rather moving partial eclipse, it seemed appropriate to visit the city which is home to Norn Irn’s world class planetarium. It’s known as the city of saints and scholars, in Ireland’s orchard county, and I have fond memories of visiting my father’s relatives here when I was a wee girl.

Access:

20150321_100155
It’s 33 miles form Lisburn, which took me about 40 minutes. The journey is really easy, most of it on motorways, and access to Palace Demesne is via a rather impressive gateway, and past a ruined friary. There’s plenty of car park spaces, and loos are available in the courtyard.

20150321_102201 - Copy (2)

Course:
20150321_100443

The start and finish points are very close, which means that keys and other valuables can be left in a biscuit tin. The route goes through a forested area first, doubles back on itself, then does a large loop round the grounds. And repeat. This entails a lot of different terrains – gravelly paths, twig-strewn woodland ways, tarmacked car park, and some rather steep hills. I found the doubling-back paths quite narrow, and had to keep Minnie on a very short lead to stay out of the way of runners coming the other direction. But the grounds are very beautiful, and I can imagine that with the changing seasons they look stunning.

Crowd:
20150321_100740
There’s usually just under 100 runners, which is a nice sized crowd. They were all very friendly, and some people recognised Minnie from other parkruns we’ve done. It attracts a good range of abilities, a lovely illustration of the inclusivity of parkruns.

20150321_100845 - Copy (2)

Strangely Appropriate Song on Shuffle

20150321_100655
On Super Saturday, with everything to be decided in the rugby later, I found myself humming along to “Rome wasn’t built in a day”.

Gear

20150321_100840
I was in my falling-down-trousers – I really must replace those. Maybe now that spring is here I should get some capri length trews. There were no kilometre markings, so I was relying on my Garmin for pacing and timing.

Time
20150321_100451

I was 12 something at the halfway turning point, and wasn’t too unhappy with a 26:33, which put me in 3rd place in my age category.

List of all the parkruns I’ve completed.

NI parkruns: Antrim

2015-03-07 09.13.20 2015-03-07 09.17.04 Now St Andrews, I have bad news for you.  You may style yourself the world’s prettiest parkrun, but I think Antrim gives you a good run for your money!

 

 

Access:

The course starts at Lough Shore Park, which is beside the Antrim Forum, and right on the shores of Lough Neagh.  Access from Belfast via the M2 is pretty straightforward – I came over the mountains from Lisburn, covering the 20 miles in about 30 minutes.  There’s loads of car parking, and clean loos.

2015-03-07 09.15.13

Course:

When looked at on MapMyRun or Garmin, the route looks like a lollipop.  It starts and finishes beside the car park, crosses the Deerpark Bridge, and does 2 clockwise loops of the very beautiful Antrim Castle grounds.  I had to concentrate very hard on the route and not be distracted by the gorgeous surroundings – I’ll have to come back some non-parkrun day for a more leisurely stroll around.

 

2015-03-07 10.16.16

2015-03-07 10.17.452015-03-07 10.18.56

 

 

There is one small section between a pair of  staggered yellow gates, which was slightly more uneven underfoot, and had about the only incline on the whole course.  These gates m2015-03-07 10.12.47ight be an issue for partially sighted runners or wheelchair users.2015-03-07 10.14.012015-03-07 10.13.45

 

Crowd:

There’s usually about 100 runners – we were the only dog, and I only saw one pram.  There’s quite a few slower runners, and many people stay behind to cheer them on.  The volunteers were really helpful and friendly – I got chatting to the volunteer co-ordinator afterwards, who says I have to come back later in the year when the trees are looking even more spectacular! I didn’t see any tea and buns afterwards, but I wasn’t really looking for them.

2015-03-07 09.20.10

Gear:

I was too warm!  There was a stiff breeze, which made it feel colder than the actual temperature.  While I’d wisely left my gloves at home, my long-sleeved base layer under my Jog Lisburn tee was too many layers.  I was also able to remove my headband, and use it as a brake on my phone armband holder, which had started to slide down towards my elbow.

2015-03-07 09.17.38

Strangely Appropriate Song:

DOA by the Foo Fighters, as I really pushed myself on the last 500m.

2015-03-07 09.16.22

Time:

There was a 24 minute pacer, and as my all time best is 24:42, I thought, he’s my mark.  I kept his green cap in sight for the first 3km, but he got away from me on the second loop of the lollipop, and I finished in 26:07.

2015-03-07 10.19.042015-03-07 10.18.00

List of all the parkruns I’ve completed.

NI parkruns: Carrickfergus

I wish I waaaaaas in Carrickfergus

20150221_091126

I nearly WASN’T in Carrickfergus this morning, as when I was making my morning cuppa there were flakes of snow falling! I sipped my tea, anxiously watching the Facebook statuses of the local parkruns, and more than one was cancelled.  However, I decided to don the old running gear and head off anyway – my husband said he’d phone me if a cancellation was posted.  But the sun shone, and even though there was still some ice around, and a definite nip in the air, it was all systems go.

20150221_091603

Access:

The run starts and finishes beside the Amphithteatre leisure centre ( entering Carrick, take a left at the roundabout before the castle, go under the railway bridge and turn right).  There’s ample car parking, and lockers and loos in the centre itself.  The only thing I missed was a bucket or basket to put my keys and jacket in, so I had to schlep back to the car to deposit my coat, and tuck my car keys into my gloves.

20150221_095756

 

Course:

It’s a 3 lap course with a bit extra at the start and finish.  The paths I found narrow, and felt a bit hemmed in on lap 1.  There’s some lovely scenery past the duck pond, and the loop of Shaftsbury Park, but there are some sharp turns and narrow tunnels under the railway-line too.  There’s only two short sharp hills, and metal parkrun signs, cones, and cheery marshals ensure that you stay on the right route.

20150221_095930

Crowd:

I was delighted to meet up again with Claire and Caroline, who are running all 19 Norn Irn parkruns in 2015.carrick ladies

https://www.facebook.com/events/1394739207487146/?ref_newsfeed_story_type=regular .

They’d originally been planning to do Ecos, which was cancelled, so it was a  serendipitous meeting indeed. I was able to tell them that there’s a “hall of fame” for anyone who’s done more than 20 different events, so as they are doing one of the Dublin runs next month, they should see their names on that board by the end of the year. Minnie wasn’t the only pooch running, and we smiled kindred greetings to the other dog-runners.

20150221_095958

Strangely Appropriate Song on Shuffle:

Given the weather conditions, it had to be Led Zeppelin “Immigrant Song” – come from the land of ice and snow….

20150221_095750

Gear:

I was trying not to look too much at my Garmin, to get more of a “feel” for pace.  I did glance at it going into lap 3 and couldn’t understand the figures it was showing – maybe I’d hit the wrong button.  Another problem – nice though it is to have – is that my trousers felt too loose, and were gradually working their way southwards!

20150221_095806

Time:

I couldn’t get my usual fast start, and found it difficult to overtake during lap 1, but I’d soon caught up with the pink ladies.  I overtook them on lap 2, and then they zoomed past me on Lap 3.  The OCD part of me is rather satisfied that I recorded a time of bang on 26 minutes, in position 26.  Normally a 4th lady position would have pleased me, but if Clare and Caroline hadn’t been there, or if I’d managed a better finish, I might have bagged that Lady 2 spot! Oh well, I consoled myself by ordering the results by age grading, where I was 6th overall.  That’s better 😉

20150221_095811

List of all the parkruns I’ve completed.

NI (and other) parkruns: summary list

10572116_797480390283399_5711504792681986448_o

When I discovered that there’s a parkrun league table for all those Saturday morning tourists who’ve been to 20 or more events, (update: it’s now 50 events, though the cow cowl is still 20) (update 2024, the Most Events table was one of the stats removed in the notorious StatsGate) a plan formed in my mind.  Since then, I’ve worked my way round all the NI ones, plus ticking off a few Scottish, Irish and English ones while I visit those places, I’m creating this page as a handy summary with links to all those I’ve done.  I know the parkrun tag should help to navigate around the blog, but it’s nice to see them all in one convenient list. Think of it as a sort of “Hitchhikers Guide” to parkrun! Longer term plans include running a parkrun for each letter of the alphabet, (tick!) and becoming an Ulster Allstar. Oh, and I managed to spell the word DANCER with parkruns. parkrunDANCER.   

Listed with the NI ones first, then all others, alphabetical within each section.

most events

And I’m on the “most events” list!

Then there’s

and this….

first 20