A year ago I could barely run more than 50m without wanting to collapse from exhaustion yet there I was on an overcast chilly morning, lining up with over 100 other people, getting ready to run 5000m. Parkrun. The free global event that takes place at 9 am every Saturday morning.

I’m usually a lone runner (bit of a loose term, here), hauling myself out of bed around 5 am (you know, the other 5 o’clock of the day), to pound the streets. Slowly. With barely a soul about to see me in all my sweaty glory and a face like a beetroot. So to say I was extremely nervous to be running with a load of strangers is a bit of an understatement. But nervous I was: everybody else was bound to be much better than me; what if I couldn’t keep up? However, I needn’t have worried at all as I was greeted with a friendly smile and words of encouragement.

At the pre-run briefing, the first timers (me!) were applauded, and the layout of the course was explained to us, making us feel very welcome. Then we set off. The temptation to try to keep up with everyone else was a little overwhelming at first and I ran the first kilometer a bit quicker than I was used to, but I soon settled into my intervals (5 minutes run, 1 minute walk) for the remaining 4km. The Parkrun I attended isn’t very big in terms of available ground to cover, which means you have to do just over two laps to achieve the 5km distance. At points I was tempted to trip up the runners who ran past me on their second lap whilst I was still on my first but, do you know what? It didn’t matter that they had run the same distance in half the time it would take me, as the only person I was running against was myself. I was out there. I was doing it. The challenge was to get myself round the whole course, even if this meant having to walk some (or all) of it.

The Parkrun community is huge and very friendly; you are clapped, cheered and encouraged round by every volunteer marshal and even the faster runners applaud your effort and occasionally high five you! When I finally headed towards the finish to collect my token, I thought everyone was cheering because it meant they could finally pack up and go home. But it wasn’t. They seemed genuinely pleased that I had finished and it wouldn’t have mattered if I’d taken twenty minutes or an hour and twenty minutes, they would’ve been there cheering me on.

So how did I do? Well, I came in 143^rd out of 145 runners. Number 144 was carrying an injury and number 145 had to be slower than me as she was the back runner. Effectively I came last. But I didn’t care. I’d got round. I’d finished. And I enjoyed it.

Parkrun is free to attend; you just have to register to get yourself a barcode in order to have your time recorded. There really is nothing intimidating about it and you will see people of all shapes, sizes and ages. You don’t even have to run the whole distance but you are encouraged to keep going. So, go on, give it a try. You might surprise yourself, feel supported and even make some new friends!

Ceri Spain

Statutory Returns Officer

Department of Finance