The parkrun thread

[sharpend 11]

10 is very very young to be doing 5km. At that age kids should focus on form and speed over short distances.

 

 

At 10 - kids should be doing mobility, hopping, skipping, movement skills and games. Running backwards, skipping backwards, hopping (both feet)

 

Most kids in their middle teens can't do most of the above and as soon as any training volume is placed on unfirm foundations - they will undoubtedly become injured.

[jemson 10]

Some of the UKA rules are pretty archaic though. It`s not long since women were banned from doing triple jump and pole vault. Are girls allowed to do 400m now? It used to be 300m only which was just daft.

 

Young people need a breadth of activity to provide them with proper physical literacy. If the practice / training has been progressive, there`s no real need to impose rigid distance limits imo.

[I1L2T3 10]

As far as I know UKA licence and insure all parkruns but not as races. I thought they had a similar status to a fun run.

Edited April 13, 2015 by I1L2T3

[Fudbeer 12]

Is timing really necessary these days?

 

You can get free apps for your phone that measure speed ,time ,altitude and just about everything else

 

I guess main reason for timing is to make it more competitive .Not so sure that's a good thing and in the spirit of park runs.

[I1L2T3 10]

Is timing really necessary these days?

 

You can get free apps for your phone that measure speed ,time ,altitude and just about everything else

 

I guess main reason for timing is to make it more competitive .Not so sure that's a good thing and in the spirit of park runs.

 

The parkrun site is a shrine to measuring runner performance. You can:

 

1. Get your average time

2. Your fastest time

3. Your slowest time

4. Your highest place

5. Your lowest place

6. Your average place

7. An age-graded performance for every run

8. The email tells you where you finished in your age category for every run

9. You can strive to be one of the fastest 500 for each parkrun

10. There is a points league that awards points based on place

11. There's an age-graded league

 

Something has gone awry somewhere have to agree. Have done quite a few parkruns and sad to admit I got carried away with being able to hit the top 10 in some of them. Then I realised that never in a million years could I achieve that in a real race and on reflection it became clear that the parkruns were not the place to be busting my guts every week. Real races under real race conditions are the place for that, where the real test happens.

 

As may have become clear earlier in the thread I've got a downer on people taking the parkruns far too seriously, treating them as a race.

Edited April 13, 2015 by I1L2T3

[go4it 10]

Some of the UKA rules are pretty archaic though. It`s not long since women were banned from doing triple jump and pole vault. Are girls allowed to do 400m now? It used to be 300m only which was just daft.

 

Young people need a breadth of activity to provide them with proper physical literacy. If the practice / training has been progressive, there`s no real need to impose rigid distance limits imo.

 

Still 300m for girls.

 

I guess the point here is how Park Run progresses. The online stats and competitiveness of some runners make it more into a race. As a race it is just not good for kids. As a gradual run, which they can do with parents, then OK.

 

Seeing pictures from Hallam Park Run it is worrying that several kids are lined up at the front. These kids may be good now and enjoy beating the adults, but as time progresses they will just burn out.

[Eater Sundae 12]

The parkrun site is a shrine to measuring runner performance. You can:

 

1. Get your average time

2. Your fastest time

3. Your slowest time

4. Your highest place

5. Your lowest place

6. Your average place

7. An age-graded performance for every run

8. The email tells you where you finished in your age category for every run

9. You can strive to be one of the fastest 500 for each parkrun

10. There is a points league that awards points based on place

11. There's an age-graded league

 

Something has gone awry somewhere have to agree. Have done quite a few parkruns and sad to admit I got carried away with being able to hit the top 10 in some of them. Then I realised that never in a million years could I achieve that in a real race and on reflection it became clear that the parkruns were not the place to be busting my guts every week. Real races under real race conditions are the place for that, where the real test happens.

 

As may have become clear earlier in the thread I've got a downer on people taking the parkruns far too seriously, treating them as a race.

 

Up until now I'd not given it a great deal of thought. I'd seen it as a fun run, but it seemed OK to have it as a race for the elite. But now I've stopped to think about it, I agree with you.

 

Endcliffe Park (I've not seen any of the others) on a Saturday morning, when there are others around, is not the place to have a race. Save that for a recognized event.

 

If someone is concentrating solely on their time and/or beating someone else, then they are less likely to be able to fully respect other park users who, IMO, should always come first.

[jemson 10]

Still 300m for girls.

 

These kids may be good now and enjoy beating the adults, but as time progresses they will just burn out.

 

That`s a sweeping generalisation. The distance restrictions placed on young athletes by UKA don`t seem to be benefitting men`s distance running in the UK as we have a dearth of quality at the moment, Mo aside!

[Jimmy O 10]

Although parkrun is not a race remember that it was set up as a free 5km 'time trial' (it was initially called the Bushy Park Time Trial).

 

A time trial in my mind is a test against the clock to see how fast you can do the distance. Therefore, choosing to go all out in parkrun is perfectly in line with the original ethos, and all the stats to monitor your progress are justified and helpful too.

 

The beauty of parkrun is that you can use it in any way that you choose and all approaches are equally valid

[sharpend 11]

 

The beauty of parkrun is that you can use it in any way that you choose and all approaches are equally valid

 

Yes this - ^^^

 

BUT generally speaking - when something goes "mass market" - the masses tend to spoil it. (By barging people out of the way, berating their kids etc).

 

In the case of park run - despite everything - many people see it as a "free race."

[ultracynic 10]

sounds like it won't be long before there are fights at these events!

[Eater Sundae 12]

Yes this - ^^^

 

BUT generally speaking - when something goes "mass market" - the masses tend to spoil it. (By barging people out of the way, berating their kids etc).

 

In the case of park run - despite everything - many people see it as a "free race."

 

Even if everyone is perfectly behaved, 500+ runners can be pretty intimidating if they are bearing down on someone going for a gentle stroll through a park.