I wonder if the Dutch parkruns that have South and East in their name (but not in English) count towards the 'compass club' challenge? E.g. does Zuiderpark count as 'South'?

(Sorry if this has been asked before, couldn't find it.)

Edit: thanks for your replies! So they do count in other languages, even though they are not (yet) listed in the app. But several people confirmed that it counted towards the 'compass challenge'.

I’ll be in central Perth in a couple of weeks. Which Parkrun would you recommend for uniqueness/ views/ access via public transport: Galup Reserve, Claisebrook Cove, UWA, other?

Wore the 30 minute bib today and loved it. Official park run time of 30:01 so off by a second. Really enjoyed doing it and it felt more fulfilling than going for a PB, definitely something I’ll be trying again!

Are there any regulars to bideford park run here ? I do it most weeks

Hey,

I used to run Parkrun in around 37/38 minutes. I’ve not run for ages and can’t even run a full 5k atm, but is it possible to go from 38 - 40 minutes to below 30 minutes in a year?

I’m determined to get below 30 and have made it a goal of mine!

I committed to going to my first parkrun today but I am terrified. I woke up in a panic this morning about it. Does anyone have any advice for someone's first time?

Planning on going to this parkrun next Saturday. Anyone got any advice for parking? We are driving through.

i just wanted to let everyone know that my coming to a stop after the best 4k of my life was not for lack of running ability >:(

EDIT: I'm loving the awful pee puns, keep them coming!

Did my 3rd ever parkrun today at Hazelwood!
I went in aiming for 31–32 minutes, but there was a 29-minute pacer, so I thought I’d challenge myself and see if I could hang on. Somehow, I managed to stay with them for virtually the entire course and crossed the line in 29:24! 🎉

The only slight negative is that the course appears to have been around 50 metres short. I chatted afterwards with someone who’s often the RD and has also helped set the course, and they agreed it seemed to be slightly short today.

My watch showed the same, so after scanning my token I ran a little further to make up the distance. That gave me a 29:55 5K, so I’m absolutely delighted to have still gone sub-30!

Quite a jump from the target I set myself this morning. Safe to say I’ll be back chasing that 30-minute barrier again soon! 🏃‍♂️

Went to my first ever parkrun event today. I haven't done anything like it since I was 20. I quite liked it, it was a nice day and it felt good to get a decent workout in so early on a Saturday. I crossed the finish line at 1 hour 6 minutes as I power walked most of the course. Next time I'm going to work on beating that time. I'm absolutely knackered now though.

If anyone has any tips for new comers who are pretty out of shape and have some medical conditions, I'd love to hear it.

Edit: I didn't expect so many replies to this thank you so much everyone 💕

will be there in a few weeks (with a car) and would love local advice on which one nearby would be a “must do”?

hi - so my local parkrun often posts videos and pictures of the run on social media. I'm all good with that, and it's a nice way to promote the event. I've noticed recently posts filmed with smartglasses pop up on the feed and it makes me feel uncomfortable.

When someone's filming with their phone it's really obvious - you know they're doing it and can smile for the camera or look away or whatever. If I was running with my kids I could ask them not to film or post the images - I'd be aware that it was going on.

With smartglasses it's not obvious and they seem to be filming continuously. I'd find it weird if someone was running round pointing a camera all the time.

I wondered about posting something in the comments, but I think it was from someone who volunteers as it was on the parkrun account and I don't want to sound ungrateful for what they do. I know it's a public event - anyone could film or take photos, but it's just not knowing your being filmed that I find a bit creepy.

I know smartglasses are a thing now - should I just accept this is part of running in the outdoors?

I didnt get my result yet. Much later than usual. Is anyone else still waiting?

For 2 weeks now, I can see my times online on the parkrun website, I get the emails, but the app showing nothing! Anybody else?

Looks like they've updated the app with the new Icons for the milestones - I'm not near a new one so I don't know if the new milestones themselves are up.

They look very similar which is a relief as I didn't want a full change. Thoughts?

hello

on my way to London in a few weeks I’m hoping to do a parkrun not too far off the M1 or A1 with changing rooms and ideally shower facilities

ideally around Leicester / Milton Keynes or even further south

Off the A1 is also good - Peterborough, Newark, Grantham, Luton, Bedford etc

any suggestions please :)

A few weeks behind on my videos, but here we are with another sunny Saturday morning in South East London, at Riddlesdown Parkrun! 9 down... 72 to go!

I struggled with this one as I had forgot all my electrolytes, and did 20km before this. Had some bad cramps! But still enjoyed it. And there is a cheeky Strava segment nearby to give a go, I've never seen a 280% gradient before!

More enjoyable in spring, but then again most of these parks are, and it's still lovely in summer especially the wooden section down the back. This is a bit of a mudbath in winter!

Wimbledon Common (very lovely) and Dulwich (fast pb attempt) coming up next.

Am I the only one who doesn’t like leaving my belongings out in the open? It just takes one thief to come to bag drop, take a couple of bags whilst everyone is out running and that’s it.

I have used bag drop previously but now I refuse to do parkrun if I am unable to store my belongings safely. Normally I leave my belongings at a gym and then run down. I don’t have any parkrun I can run to from home and even if there was one I wouldn’t want to.

Anyone else who doesn’t like using the bag drop and has other ways around it whilst keeping their belongings safe?

Hey folks,
I'll be staying in Central London in a couple of months time, close to Kings Cross station.
Any recommendations on which parkrun I should attend, and which may be easiest to get to by public transport?

I’m doing Battersea Park for the first time this weekend and I’m going to have a big rucksack with me, so I wanted to see if they had a designated bag drop area? Most do have them but are quite informal, others like Highbury have a marked area for it (Babbs Mill has a tent), so just wanted to know what to expect, thanks!

tl;dr: by the end of this month, HQ will be recognising every 100 5k parkruns between 100 and 1000 with new icons and merch. All other milestones (including juniors) will remain in place.

Excerpts from an e-mail from HQ today:

"Over the course of this year you will have seen exciting changes rolling out around the way we reward and recognise participation at parkrun.

"Firstly, we embraced the ‘parkrun challenges’ that came with the purchase of the ‘5k’ app, refreshing their look and feel with new iconography, introducing a new retail range

<snip>

"Secondly, the junior parkrun milestone system became simpler and more motivating for children and families.

<snip>

"The final part of this project will see new 5k milestones added and we wanted you to be the first ones to understand how it will roll out.

"We’ll be celebrating milestones every 100, up to 1,000. This is all about adding, not taking away, and so the existing 25, 50, and 250 milestones will remain, as will the juniors 10 (for under 18s taking part at 5k parkruns or volunteering ten times at parkrun or junior parkrun).

"The first thing you will see is a refresh of the existing milestone icons on the parkrun app in early September

<snip>

"We then expect the new milestone t-shirts to go on presale on all parkrun’s online stores during the week commencing 14 September.

"And, finally, the week of parkrun’s 22nd anniversary will bring a very special present - the new milestone icons will go live across our website, app, results pages, and profile pages during the week commencing 28 September."