My First parkrun

SportsShoes employee, Gaëlle, recently took part in her first parkrun. We caught up with her to see how it went;

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Why did you want to take part in parkrun?

I can’t really remember how I discovered the parkrun near me (only to later realise parkrun was not only national, but even international with events all over the world!). Did I see runners while walking my dog on a Saturday morning and think “that’s a lot of fluorescent clothing for a coincidence”, or did someone tell me to join them at parkrun and I compromised by coming to watch them?

In any case, it took several occasions of me watching it from afar before I was inspired to register.

I guess it’s when I realised there was no pressure to sign up, no one looking at your time, no sort of obligation of any kind (no uniform, no bib, no watch, no pace to run at).  

What it took for me to take the first step was a neighbour who regularly takes part in parkrun to invite me to join her one Saturday.

By this time, I was comfortable with the idea of parkrun, conscious that it was not a competition, and so I said yes, I donned my only sports outfit and sports shoes and I hopped into my friend’s car. 

We arrived early so I remember standing in the middle of a relatively big crowd. 

How did you register for parkrun?

Registering was easy - I did it via this form. Once I had done this I received a confirmation email containing my unique parkrun barcode, which I printed out to take with me.

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How did you know where to go?

My friend goes regularly, I guess that’s how I knew the crowd of runners I’d once seen was actually gathering on purpose every Saturday at 9am in Easingwold’s Millfield park for the parkrun.

There is also a map of all of the different parkruns in the world. You can find a parkrun local to you and click on the pin on the map to access the event page for that parkrun, which gives you more information about the location, where to meet and tips on how to get there.

What time did you arrive?

We arrived at 8:45am for the 9am start. This gave us time to listen to the first timers briefing at 8:50am, followed by the main pre-event briefing. It was great to be welcomed into the parkrun community as well as hear all of the important safety information for the course.

Did you need to take anything with you?

Only the outfit I was wearing and my barcode to scan at the finish. I had the paper version but you can also show your barcode on your phone if you prefer. I have now bought a bottle with a handle for next time but this is entirely personal preference. 

Ultimate Performance Runner's Bottle

How did you know what pace to go at?

There isn’t a pace to go at.

My friend said she’d go to the front because she is a fast runner. It felt nice that my friend and I didn’t feel obliged to run together, as it was tacitly understood that we wanted to run at our own pace, and my friend likes to run fast, whereas I went to parkrun as a “get (back) into physical activity” endeavour.

At my local parkrun, they had a system which was like a motorway: keep left, overtake on the right - so you can walk or run as slow or fast as you want. Literally. You can walk the whole thing if you’d like. You can trot, galop, sprint, skip, hop… You can breathe as loud as you want. You can run the whole thing or alternate running and walking.

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What happened at the finish?

I remember volunteers being dotted around the course, cheering runners and walkers. Just people who took time out of their Saturday morning to come and encourage other people to maintain their health.

At the finish, I was greeted by volunteers, who asked me if I had my barcode and handed me a finish token. I was then directed to another volunteer who scanned my barcode and finish token and let me know that I would get my results via email later that day.

How did you feel after completing your first parkrun? 

Good. I’d released some endorphins for sure. As a person who would consider myself non-sporty, I enjoyed parkrun, and I will go again.

Want to know more about parkrun?

Then check out our how to parkrun guide and this season's top recommendations for parkrun shoes

Are you feeling inspired? Then join our SportsShoes Strava Run Club and become part of our inclusive community.
And for more inspirational tips to become stronger, better and happier, then check out our Motivation category. Because it’s no fun standing still.