I was persuaded a few weeks ago by a friend to attend the local Parkrun down on the Wycombe Rye. I used to be a competitive middle distance runner and thoroughly enjoyed my athletics, but I chose swimming as my main sport in my late teens and my journey to be a national competitive swimmer really kicked off. This meant my athletics got forgotten about and running became very sporadic with rugby the only vague relevance to running since.
I eventually stopped making excuses and went down to the Rye to see what the infamous Parkrun was all about, and I was amazed. This event was full of people from all backgrounds, all abilities. It was fantastically organised by a group of volunteers, and over 400 runners lined up and set off bang on 9am for the 5K run. The most amazing part? It's completely free to attend!
I was a bit rusty with my pacing, starting too slow and having a lot of work to do to move up the places in the middle-to-late stages of the run. I came 25th in the end, which I was very pleased with as I've not run since I did Tough Mudder back in May. In my more recent Parkrun I came 23rd so gradually moving up the field each week! Onwards and upwards
The great thing about Parkrun though is that there is competition for everyone who wants it, but also it's a great place for people who are less interested in what position they came in, and more interested in getting up and doing some exercise.
If you feel you need some gentle encouragement to becoming more active, I would highly recommend the Parkrun. It can be walked, run, or a bit of both around the lovely Rye park surrounded by hundreds of friendly faces. I'm certainly glad I took the plunge, and I'll be attending whenever I can.
I have treated a couple of people from the Parkrun as well who have felt pain is perhaps limiting their performances during or after the run. With physiotherapy, I'll do a thorough assessment and treatment, evaluating the source of the pain, and helping coach some improved biomechanics that have already helped others get more out of their running, improving times, and speeding up their recoveries. I also offer sports massage to those who need to maintain their improved pain levels.
I'll be offering discounted sports massage treatments to anyone who comes to find me after Parkrun. I'll be wearing my Azzurro Training top (pictured below). See my other blog post on sports massage to see the benefits it can bring those who are looking to improve their running time, or recover more quickly!
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