Tuesday 1st January 2019
parkrun #50 – St Helens parkrun
Time: 22:22
Tourism event #20 & NENDY
There’s nothing quite like setting your alarm clock on New Year’s Day morning to get out to parkrun! Fortunately I was in bed by 12.30am so at least I got a reasonable amount of sleep.
My 50th parkrun!
I’m really proud to have reached 50 parkruns in one year and two days. I had hoped to run 50 in a calendar year but came up two short due to:-
- Not knowing about the New Year’s Day Double at the start of 2018
- One week being cancelled due to ice
- One week I didn’t finish because of my injured knee
- One week I volunteered as Finish Support instead of running
- And a few weeks I couldn’t make it to parkrun because I was in another country!
In total I missed seven possible parkruns so assuming I don’t miss any in 2019 due to injury or volunteering I can afford to still miss a few for holidays while still managing 50 parkruns in a calendar year and gaining the Gold Level Obsessive badge on the Running Challenges Chrome plugin!
I had expected to miss parkrun on Saturday 29th December 2018 because I was due to take Richard to the airport. This would have meant my 50th would have been the second of the NYD Doubles at Princes, my home parkrun. But it wasn’t to be because Richard’s trip was postponed so I ended up running on 29th December making my 50th the first of the NYD Double.
St Helens parkrun
St Helens reminds me a lot of Widnes. Both are in an urban park. Both start at a bandstand. And both run round a lake! Widnes is flatter though! The St Helens course has three large loops plus a cut through the middle of the park for a smaller inner loop. I must admit I almost lost count of the number of loops I’d done and it was only because my Strava was telling me I’d done 4k that I knew to peel off for the final smaller loop. Apparently it’s not uncommon for people to accidentally run an extra one of the large loops!
New shoes
This was the first run with my new running shoes – Brooks Ghost 11 (£130) – and I’ve got to say they really make a difference! My previous running shoes were a £45 Karrimor pair from Sports Direct which I’ve worn so much there’s no tread left on the soles! These were a step up from the £25 Karrimor pair I started with. I’m really glad I invested in a proper pair of running shoes this time round and I’m sure I’m going to get my money’s worth out of them!
Tourism
This was my 20th different parkrun event and meant I am now eligible to join the Facebook parkrun tourist group and to buy a Cow Cowl! Five more parkrun events and I’ll have earned the Quarter Cowell!
I was taking a customary selfie at the start line when someone offered to take a photo for me. It’s now one of my favourite parkrun pics!
parkrun 1-50 video
I put together a video using the selfies (and other pics) I’ve taken at every parkrun since my first one. I’ve added photos of the races I’ve run during 2018 too. I hope you enjoy it!
