Couch to 5K <\/a>programme but he was still nervous and so his bottle went with him for comfort – no matter the weather, no matter the distance. <\/p>\n\n\n\nDavid had never enjoyed sports. The environment at school was toxic and homophobic and that had stuck with him. It wasn’t until he was nearing forty and needed to do something about his high blood pressure that he took up running. And so, he stood, at his second ever parkrun, waiting for the whistle to blow. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Fast forward ten years to 2022 and David is running a bit more than 5km. A marathon runner, an ultra-marathon runner and a coach, David is a true running convert. And yet, every Saturday morning he still completes a parkrun. \u201cIt’s an incredible start to the weekend. I would feel a bit lost without it,\u201d says David. \u201cUnless there’s something stopping me, I’ll be at parkrun every Saturday morning.\u201d He just ran his 250th parkrun this May in Newport. <\/p>\n\n\n\nDavid (centre) at his 250th parkrun in Newport which is a big milestone. Photo cred: David Sinclair<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\nParkrun is a simple concept. People can sign up to run, jog, walk or watch a free 5km course that starts at 9am on a Saturday or Sunday morning and is organised by volunteers, many of them runners themselves. It started in 2004 in Bushy Park in London and has since grown to over 1,000 courses in the UK and has been exported to more than 20 countries around the world. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
David thinks the popularity of parkrun lies in bringing people together. \u201cI think it’s very important for the community in general,\u201d he says. \u201cYou’re just getting together with mates and doing something you like.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
It’s also not restrictive as no matter what your fitness level is, you can come along and get involved. This is part of the ethos of parkrun, which puts wellbeing and inclusiveness above speed – \u201cwhat matters is taking part\u201d. David agrees. \u201cYou might be going for your fastest time, or you might be just back into running so you\u2019re just happy to run around. You might walk the course which parkrun encourage as well,\u201d he says. \u201cPeople can treat parkrun however they want.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\nParkrun is open to people running, jogging or walking the 5km course.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\nTim Gardiner does just that. He doesn’t consider himself a \u201cserious runner\u201d but is a parkrun advocate. In fact, he doesn\u2019t even really like running. \u201cThere\u2019s no fun in running. The fun is actually parkrun, the bit round the edge,\u201d says Tim. \u201cIf it wasn\u2019t for parkrun I wouldn\u2019t be running. I’m not going to pay to enter a race.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
For Tim parkrun doesn\u2019t mean just showing up at his local course in Essex each week, it\u2019s a chance to travel, a chance to do a bit of writing. \u201cI got a bit bored of running the same one, so I thought I\u2019ll start travelling,\u201d says Tim, who has completed 77 different parkruns across the UK (and one in Japan). He also writes about his experiences, creating \u201cparkrun poetry\u201d. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Tim\u2019s writing is a mixture of race reports, which include statistics and details about a specific parkrun including fastest runner, the number of participants, and experiences of his travel. All come with a creative twist. From Glastonbury parkrun there was a festival feel report<\/a>, from Stratford-upon-Avon, a report written like a play by the Bard, AKA The Taming of the Shoe<\/a> and in Whitby, a report in the style of the novel, Dracula<\/a>. The latter even came to life. \u201cI pretended \u2013 obviously – I was Dracula because I had a cape on and everything. I ran it like that, then I wrote it as Dracula,\u201d says Tim. <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
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