Today dawned cold, clear and crisp, all the things you want for a good parkrun. Alright, perhaps not quite as cold with a little less breeze, but this is Scotland in April.
157 runners assembled to run Strathclyde parkrun #103 and celebrate the parkrun’s 2nd birthday.
I’ve not run quick since last year. My 42:52 round the Olympic Park Run’s 5 miles was a step in the right direction so I decided that I’d give the legs a stretch today and see what happened.
I jogged down the Strathclyde Park and felt warm enough to ditch the long sleeved top and run in a t-shirt. As we waited for the start I was starting to regret that as a cold wind whipped across the loch.
Colette Martin was first off in her wheelchair to the strains of bagpipes then we were off.
I set off hoping for a decent 25 minutes but got swept along for the first half kilometer and found myself settling in at a comfortable 4:51 min/km. The second kilometer tends to sort the field out a wee bit. Those who blast off to quickly come back and those who start a little further back in the pack come through. By the top of the loch you’re running in little groups which don’t often change too much for the rest of the race.
I slowed a bit on my second kilometer today (4:56 min/km) and ran 3 and 4 at 4:53 min/km and 4:54 min/km. As I ran down the last kilometer there was a few runners within 10 meters or so.
The big decision for me is always when to go for it. 100m to go seems close enough to the finish not to explode so I picked up the pace a bit and snuck past Paul Smith just at the line (sorry).
So, 24:23 and 53rd place. Not too shabby.
Today’s winner was Stephen Wylie in 16:11, Colette came in at 17:29 in her wheelchair and the first woman runner home was Joanne Clark in 20:01. I counted 29 PBs today.
parkrun is supported by Sweatshop and as a wee birthday treat everyone got a £5 voucher as well as cakes and gels. Thanks so much to everyone who baked treats.
A great morning to celebrate a brilliant weekly event.
Remember, parkrun is a free, timed 5k run every Saturday at 9.30am at Strathclyde Park and loads of other venues around the UK and abroad.
Great report. Trust me to get caught at the cake stall.
Well done. From the Paul Smith that you passed on the line
You earned the cake Mike, and sorry again Paul. 😉
Well done everyone who ran – I see you are all tucking in as I am still running ha ha – never mind you left me some. A PB for me today. Thank you to everyone for making it a great run.