My 50th parkrun in a year

My final parkrun of 2022 was at Bartley Park. I was ‘running’ with M, so I knew I wouldn’t get a PB. I had really hoped I would get back under 30 minutes at parkrun this year, but it was not to be. My fastest time this year was 30:13 (at Southampton on 12/11/22).

Catching up with friends

It was lovely to see Helena, Jacqui, Sue, Mario and other friends at Bartley Park. We were warned that there were lots of puddles on the course and that the best course of action was to run through them as the sides were very slippery.

M was a little wary about going through puddles, but she was excited to wear her new stopwatch for the first time.

When we got to the first long stretch of puddles, a marshal encouraged M to splash through them. She loved this bit and giggled all the way through. Unfortunately, by the time we had done 2km, M was complaining about a chafed bit where the seam of her running tights was.

Stu got a PB!

Stu joined us partway around our second lap. He had achieved a PB (which wasn’t hard as she’s always run with the buggy at Bartley Park previously). This helped to motivate M who was feeling a bit sore. She usually asks for snacks or drinks on our parkruns, but today she distracted herself by counting dogs (11!) As soon as we got to the finish straight, she started sprinting.

Although my time wasn’t good, this was my 50th parkrun this year. This is the highest number I’ve ever managed in a year. Usually, I’ve volunteered in a non-running role too many times (or in the old days, there wasn’t a parkrun that was near enough to my mum’s house). Achieving my 50th parkrun in a year gets me the gold parkrun obsessive badge in various parkrun challenges apps.