welcome to the newsletter
In this week’s newsletter Donovan Bailey tells us about his experience of Alzheimer's Disease, Vitality congratulate their face, Fitbit remind us that it’s never too late, Sweatshop offer a saving, Fields in Trust preserve our open spaces and we see how Katie Lee copes with epilepsy.
Most people say that the biggest challenge at Barnsley parkrun is the hill – all three times. But for me, the biggest challenge is being epileptic and not knowing if I will have a seizure.
Since I was six I have had lots of seizures and lots of trips to hospital. It was really scary waking up in hospital once and being told I had been unconscious and not breathing; not just for me but for mum and dad. It really knocked my confidence too.
If there’s one thing that does help though, it’s running.
In August 2013 I went to Barnsley parkrun to support my dad. I enjoyed cheering him on, but that wasn’t enough. I wanted to take part, so the next week I did. I was really nervous at the start because I’d only ever done physical activity at school, but I think my parents were even more nervous! Dad ran with me the whole way, and it was tough but lots of fun. I couldn’t believe how many people were waiting at the finish line 42 minutes later. The support was amazing.
Since then I have run 69 parkruns and can run the course 10 minutes faster than when I started. I have also volunteered 25 times, often at Barnsley junior parkrun. I have made many friends through parkrun and their help and support is amazing. I get so much encouragement from so many people – it is like a massive family.
As a result of parkrun I joined the Kingstone Runners and have completed four 10k races. I have taken part in runs to raise awareness and funds for the charity Epilepsy Action, which is close to our family’s heart, and I have other events – and hopefully more PBs – booked in for the future. I’m also planning to take part in the Great North Run in 2017 with my Mum and Dad because by then I will be old enough.
By focusing on my running and channeling my effort into something I enjoy, I am certain that it helps with my brain activity. The type of epilepsy I have is usually triggered by anxiety, stress and lack of sleep, so by getting a good sleep at night and surrounding myself with so many great friends in the day, it puts me in a happy place. So much so that I haven’t had a seizure for more than two years.
Running doesn’t just help me to cope with my epilepsy. My whole family runs now. My dad went from a walk to run beginners group to running the London Marathon this year, and mum has lost three stone since she started running. All we need to do now is get my brother running, and as someone who knows how to conquer a challenge I'm sure I'll have him at parkrun in no time!
Life would be pretty good if I can achieve some of my running goals, and life would be great if I didn’t have to live with epilepsy. But I do have epilepsy, and I can’t change that. What’s most important though is that epilepsy does not run my life. I do.
Happy running,
Katie Lee
A613746
star backs Donate Your Time
Sprint legend Donovan Bailey lost his mother, Daisy, to Alzheimer’s disease in 2013. Here, the three-time world and double Olympic champion shares why parkrunners’ support of Donate Your Time is so vital.
“I was delighted to hear Alzheimer’s Research UK and parkrun UK have combined forces to help raise funds to fight this terrible illness.
“I have no doubt Donate Your Time will be a great success, although as a sprinter I doubt the total combined distance of all my races even came close to 5k!
“It’s now 20 years since I won the 100m and 4x100m World Athletics titles and then, in the following summer, became double Olympic Champion and broke the 100m world record.
“I’ll never forget standing on the podium in the Olympic Stadium in Atlanta when they presented me with the 100m Gold medal. I felt euphoric as I knew how proud my parents and family, my country and my team would be, as I was only the 22nd man to win what many regard as the ultimate prize in sport.
“I especially thought of my mum, who had brought up four boys and created a warm and secure family unit where we were taught the virtues of discipline and hard work, encouraged to set ambitious targets and always help others.
“In October 2013 she passed away, which was utterly devastating for all our family and friends. But in reality we lost her many years before as Alzheimer’s ravaged the final ten years of her life.
“Athletics brought me fame, connections and financial security, so when Mum was initially diagnosed I searched the globe and called all the medical people I knew, as I looked for a cure or someone who could help.
“But, as with everyone else who’s been affected by this life-thieving condition, I discovered there was nothing I could do except to be there to offer my love and support.
“That’s why I’m proud to support Alzheimer’s Research UK and the essential work they do. I hope parkrunners across the UK back Donate Your Time to boost funds for pioneering dementia research to find new treatments and one day that cure.”
To Donate Your Time, simply complete your parkrun, open your results email and click the Donate Your Time banner. Volunteers and any non-runners can make a donation by visiting the Donate Your Time website directly at www.alzheimersresearchuk.org/donateyourtime
congratulations Scott Reynolds!
Vitality Face and 50 Club parkrunner A631990 Scott Reynolds recorded a personal best at the recent Vitality Oxford Half Marathon. Avid parkrunner Scott who only took up running two years ago was selected to run as the ‘face’ of the Vitality Oxford Half Marathon back in early September. He blogged about his training and running experiences in the lead-up to the race on the 11th of October. Scott joined the hallowed 50 Club at his home parkrun Aylesbury in March. Read his inspirational articles and find out about his new half marathon PB here.
Scott typifies the lifestyle Vitality Health and Life want to inspire, well done Scott and keep it up!
it’s never too late to get in shape
For those of us who perhaps haven’t been active in a while, it’s easy to find excuses to put off exercising. For example, we can blame bad health or advancing age. However, these things aren’t obstacles that stand in your way of getting in shape.
John is 67 and from Basildon, and sadly two years ago suffered a stroke. John saw this as the wake-up call that he needed to make healthier lifestyle choices and get in shape.
The first step on this journey was including more activity on an everyday basis. John started taking regular walks, and with encouragement from family and friends he was soon taking walking holidays and achieving 10 miles a day - that’s 20,000 steps!
But where could John go from there? His wife Coral was a regular parkrunner, and encouraged him to go along and get involved in the community atmosphere. After watching from the sidelines a few times and being encouraged by his family and other parkrunners, John started taking part two months ago, and hasn’t looked back since:
“It was the kick up the bum I needed! Since then I have lost another 7lbs. I know I have done a lot for myself, but the extra encouragement from my family and friends, and now the parkrunners, is incredible. Even on a Monday we are already looking forward to our Saturday morning parkrun, turning it into a great family day!”
So if your exercise regime has started to slide, or you haven’t been active for quite a while, remember that it’s never too late. Make small changes as John did, and build up to your goals. With parkrun you’re free to complete the course at your own pace without any pressure, which makes it perfect for someone just starting out.
To read John’s story in full, take a look on our blog.
Has parkrun helped you embark on your own fitness journey, against all the usual excuses? Or has John’s story inspired you to try it? Reach out to us on Twitter or Facebook and share your story!
enjoy 10% off at Sweatshop
Get kitted out at Sweatshop this week with 10% off in-store or online, exclusive to parkrunners.
At Sweatshop we believe that every runner, regardless of ability, should have access to the very best equipment. That’s why we stock the largest range of technical running shoes in the UK with a 30 day satisfaction guarantee on any full price shoe. Anyone who visits our stores can undergo a free gait analysis and every full-time member of Sweatshop staff attends three stages of biomechanical training to ensure you find the perfect pair of running shoes.
Visit sweatshop.co.uk/parkrun10 for your 10% off barcode to use in store or use PARKRUN10 to redeem online.
Happy running!
FIT parkrun
On Saturday the 7th of November, parkrun is teaming up with national charity Fields in Trust (FIT) to co-host a FIT parkrun at Dunorlan Park, Royal Tunbridge Wells.
Fields in Trust is the UK’s only national charity dedicated to protecting and improving parks, playing fields and playgrounds. Founded in 1925, they protect more than 2,500 green spaces throughout the UK from being closed off to the public or lost to a building development. Protected sites include several parkrun venues and they also support outdoor spaces through grants and opportunities to host ‘Have a Field Day’ events.
The FIT parkrun will celebrate Dunorlan Park’s memorial garden being protected as one of Fields in Trust’s Centenary Fields. Working in partnership with The Royal British Legion, this programme safeguards green spaces to honour the memory of those who lost their lives in World War I.
On the day, the parkrun will be followed by a Centenary Fields Dedication Ceremony at the Victoria Cross Grove, the park’s memorial garden, and the unveiling of the Fields in Trust plaque. There will be hot drinks provided in the park’s cafe and you can sign up for membership and win tickets to the Fields in Trust awards ceremony at Lord’s Cricket Ground in December. There’ll be games, medals and t-shirts and everyone who runs will receive a Centenary Fields badge.
parkrun’s mission to encourage participation in sport depends on there being outdoor space – a ‘carparkrun’ wouldn’t generate quite the same buzz. With building developments on the rise, it’s important that our parks remain green public spaces forever.
In this video Fields in Trust ambassador Graeme Le Saux talks about the importance of protecting our outdoor spaces. To find out whether your local park is protected, simply enter your postcode on Fields in Trust’s website.
parkrun population
Here are this week’s summary statistics for parkrun UK (including junior parkrun)
Number of runners - 76,561
Number of volunteers - 7,459
Number of first timers - 10,093
Number of PBs - 16,957
feedback from the field
Let us know if you have an interesting parkrun related fact, happening or comment that you would like to share with all parkrunners
It’s amazing what’s possible at parkrun. Five years ago I was introduced to Swindon parkrun by my daughter. I was not a runner and was approaching retirement age but was quite smitten by parkrun and I set myself a goal. Actually two goals... to run 5k in under 25 minutes and to get a 70% age grading before I reached the age that matched that number! Last Saturday, after five years of trying, week after week, I reached both goals: 24:38 and 70.03%. I was helped by another Swindon parkrunner, Claire Parnell, who ran close by offering rigorous time-keeping and subtle encouragement. That’s parkrun for you, people helping people reach goals, in the most beautiful and life-enhancing way.
Matt Holland
As we were in Vegas last week for a wedding with a short break in San Francisco tagged on we decided to parkrun at Crissy Field and were warmly welcomed by Max and Crispin. We were a bit daunted by the group of 28 being used to 450+ at our local Tilgate Park parkrun. Max pointed out that the very last parkrunner to cross the finish line at their event would be the final finisher in the world which was a pretty cool fact. It wasn't us, and no PBs either but after a week of excess in Vegas we were glad to have made it at all!
Ali and Martin Howell
Last Saturday I did my 68th parkrun (and I'm 68 years old) and I was thrilled to get my third personal best in a row; my fifth this year. A couple of years ago, my daughter managed to persuade me to try 5k with the parkrun family and I have been running at Huddersfield ever since. Although I love to run, I also try to volunteer regularly so next week I’ll be marshalling. I've made lots of friends and am fitter than I've ever been so I'd like to say thank you to our two fab event directors Mark and Simon, to the volunteers who help to make Huddersfield parkrun possible, and the central team who support it.
Judith Farnell
I want to acknowledge a wonderful lady, Wilma Kyle, who is a run director at Eglington parkrun. On Saturday the 17th of October I was driving to the parkrun with my family but en route I was involved in a hit and run car accident. Seconds after the crash Wilma Kyle, who I had never met, stopped, helped and took my family to the hospital whilst I waited for the police. This act of kindness was typical of the parkrun community and I was taken aback by the amount of well wishers that sent me messages from the parkrun group that saw or heard about my accident. I just wanted to make my thanks known to the runners and to Wilma.
Charlie Adams
Recently one of the Brundall parkrun run directors, Phil Henry, ran with his son Chris who has learning difficulties. Chris finds it difficult to focus on an activity for a long period of time so completing the run was quite an achievement for him. Phil had been gradually increasing the distance they'd run, but still wasn't sure whether Chris would make it round all four laps. With a lot of encouragement from the wonderful volunteers and runners plus lots of effort from him, including an amazing final sprint up the hill, he finished to claps and cheers. Proud mum Gail took the photos and was inspired to register as a volunteer. We hope this is the first of many parkruns for Chris and his family.
Paul Taylor
This week marked a massive milestone for Saint-Gobain as we reached our incredible 350th birthday. As part of the celebrations over the week we had aimed to have 350 runners in parkruns taking place on the 10th of October across the UK. However we had an incredible response and well over 400 of our colleagues signing up to run/jog/walk in their Saint-Gobain 350 t-shirts at their local parkruns. parkrun was a great way to kick off the celebrations of the anniversary, allowing for anybody to be involved (including their dogs), and promoting the health of our colleagues across the UK.
Joe Angliss
I've been taking part in Cambridge parkrun for just over a year, since moving back to my home city after six years in Newcastle. I combined my 50th with my final run in the north east and didn't quite manage a PB but I made up for it last Saturday by running my 100th in 20:34 taking seven seconds off my previous best time. Now that I've reached the first two milestones as a parkrun ‘runner’ I'm going to focus equally on volunteering. So far I've volunteered 15 times and am looking forward to having a go at the roles I haven't yet tried, on my way to the 25 Volunteer Club.
Jack Ord
Last Saturday morning we set off to our home parkrun in Swindon, when - oh no - the road was closed due to a traffic accident, oh dear! Being unsure how to get to Swindon via the back roads and risking not being there for the start we decided to turn tail and head to neighbouring Chippenham parkrun. We arrived with a little time to spare, were given a warm welcome and ran. Phew! parkrun ‘fix’ achieved. The added bonus was that at the finish we were able to congratulate a family friend Luke for finishing in first position on his 47th parkrun, a target he had been aiming for for a while. Every cloud has a silver lining as they say.
Rachel McAdam
parkrunner of the week
Name: Tom Mason
Club: Hyde Park Harriers
Age: 21
Home parkrun: Woodhouse Moor
Occupation: Student
Number of runs: 51
Favourite volunteer role: Token Collector
What do you do at parkruns: Run as fast as possible! I'd like to think I can be a positive role-model for parkrun encouraging young people who may feel unable to run because of perceived barriers.
How has parkrun changed your running: I used to run regularly prior to parkrun with Eccleshill Run Club and also on the track. I was 18 years old when I was diagnosed with Leber’s optic atrophy. This is a hereditary condition and it affected my eyesight in so far that I have difficulty recognising people’s faces and cannot read text. I didn't run for 18 months after I was diagnosed mainly because I lost all confidence on the road. parkrun gave me somewhere that was safe to run and I was able memorise the route and foresee any hazards. It helped me to rebuild my confidence.
What do you like about parkrun: parkrun has put me in touch with all sorts of other people. I've made loads of friends and joined Hyde Park Harriers. I like the fact that it is timed and that I can compete with myself. I met Stan Karanasios through parkrun and he coached me to run in the Chester Marathon in 3:44:14. parkrun has become part of me and I feel like if I miss it it's a waste of a Saturday morning.
Most memorable or funniest parkrun moment: The Ben Forwood tribute parkrun - it was a great way of remembering my friend Ben. Everyone came together and I also got a PB. What made Ben stand out was that he could talk to everyone and make them feel relaxed as if he'd known them forever. When Ben had his first operation on his brain tumour he suffered sight loss so we had something in common which we were able to share and also joke about which is how we liked to deal with things.
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reminders
barcode reminder
Barcodes are used at all our events to record your result. Please collect and print your barcode here. No barcode, no result!
children at parkrun
We welcome children at parkrun. Please note that those under the age of 11 must be within arm's reach of a parent, guardian or designated adult of the parents' choice whilst attending 5k parkrun events. Children aged 4 to 14 can run unaccompanied at our junior parkrun events.
You can read the latest junior parkrun newsletter here.
volunteering at parkrun
Every parkrun event relies on volunteers and in 2014 alone over 50,000 of you came forward and supported your local event. Volunteering is a wonderful way to make friends, feel great and have fun. If that sounds like it's for you then please contact your local event team for more details.
cancellations
For cancellations please check your event’s news page for the most up to date information.
all questions answered
Do you have a question about parkrun? How do I collect my club t-shirt? How do I get my barcode? All your questions are answered on our brand new support site.
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Helping people be the best they can be
For 40 years, Sweatshop the award winning running store, has been helping runners find the perfect products for their individual needs. Find your closest store at sweatshop.co.uk
Changing health and life insurance for good.
Vitality is insurance that rewards you for being healthy. It's there to protect you when things go wrong unexpectedly but it's also there to help you lead a healthier life - meaning you don't have to claim to be able to benefit. If you keep well, then you're less likely to claim. That means it costs us less to look after you. We think that if we're saving money, you should benefit from that. So as you get healthier, we offer you discounts to encourage you to be healthy, rewards to keep you motivated and to help you rest and relax, and cashback so you've got more money to spend on doing things you love. Find out more about Vitality
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Inspiring runners of all levels
For information on all events organised by the London Marathon, please visit london-marathon.co.uk
Delivering your results earlier
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Connecting parkrunners everywhere
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Eat well, move more, live longer
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The world’s leading achievement award for young people
For more information on The Duke of Edinburgh's Award please visit dofe.org