Diary of an Old Pair of Legs Can parkrun make it to Malaysia?
Training Log for Sept 2016
Running - 228 km this month [2092 km. total for the year]
Ascent 1084 mtrs. [4072 mtrs]
ave Training pace 6:15 mpk.
Cycling - 0 km [625 km]
My Event Calendar [Oct] Event: Venue: Target time:
Cultra 25k Trail Cameron Highlands
Fire Fighters 9k Trail FRIM, Kapong
TMBT 28k Trail Kota Kinabalu
Looks like it may be dirty for the whole month, lucky me!
September, a month of travelling through the UK with just one competitive race there and one at home in Malaysia, but, what a month.
The start of the month was an initiation into Ultra Running at the Back 2 Endurance twelve-hour race. Although I had a real hope of achieving a sufficient distance to earn a gold medal, eighty-five kms, my seven-hour plus distance of sixty-four kilomtres. was an acceptable distance for a first run beyond the full-marathon distance. With the experience gained I know there is more to come, both in distance and speed. Overall an encouraging run.
My trip to the UK was a full-on family and friends visit, so, racing very much took a back seat with just the Dumfries Half Marathon along with three 5 kms. park runs.
However, in just those four runs I achieved three personal bests, lowering my 5 kms. mark twice and knocking almost two minutes off my half-marathon best time.
Is it all coming together? OR am I on the up or cresting the peak?
Only time will tell, and, not anytime soon as my next month of competition is all on the trails where time can only be gauged against the rest of the field, not against yourself.
So, watch this space as the Putrajaya Night Half-marathon in mid-November may answer the question.
Can ParkRun make it to Malaysia?
is just a Saturday morning timed five-kilometre run with friends.
The difference is it’s free, its every Saturday and in as many as sixteen countries.
Each parkrun has its own sponsorship enabling anyone to take part free at any parkrun around the world.
Simply registering online, at any of the parkrun country sites, will give you a unique athlete number, your own individual parkrun page and a downloadable barcode. Using this barcode at any parkrun will enter you into the entry list for that run and your run will be timed and recorded. Results, in my experience, are processed and posted the same day.
The results are all encompassing, time and overall position are in the prime results field but results are also gender separated and age-grouped, they are also age-graded [1]. Your results will also be catalogued on your own page for future reference.
Parkrun results and profile can also be shared on other sites such as Strava and Fitbit.
So there we have it a free timed Saturday run whenever you want it.
The History
In 2004 Paul Sinton-Hewitt originated the, then Bushy Park Time Trial, in Bushy Park, North-west London. It remained a solitary event until 2007 when after some persuasion Paul venture to Wimbledon, South-west London and set up the second, soon to be called the UK Time Trials, with Ian Higins and his team of volunteers. The parkrun concept was born and by the end of that year they numbered nine and their number has grown ever since. The first international event took place in Denmark in 2009.
From the very beginning parkrun has grown on the back of true running enthusiasts giving freely of their time to help and encourage other likeminded people, thousands of volunteers turn out Saturday after Saturday to sustain this running phenomenon.
‘Reflecting on that first event twelve years ago, I remember feeling nervous. What if it didn’t work? What if the folks got lost? Then I remembered it’s just a simple run around the park with your mates. This remains the principle of parkrun. Of course we offer a great deal more, the volunteer teams always strive to make their event the best they can, but in truth when you line up at your parkrun next Saturday all that matters is a 5k run with your mates and having a bit of fun doing so’ Paul Sinton-Hewitt
From that humble beginning events now take place every week in Australia, Denmark, Ireland, New Zealand, Poland, Russia, South Africa, the United Kingdom, Singapore, the Czech Republic,[2] the United States, Italy and France.
There have been a few short-lived events, in Zimbabwe and Iceland. There was also formerly a parkrun at Camp Bastion in Afghanistan.
Paul Sinton-Hewitt received a CBE in the Queen's birthday honours 2014 for his services to grass roots sports participation.
By 24 December 2015, the global participation of over two million registered parkrunners had completed over 12.5 million runs and volunteering sessions were over the one million mark.
The Technology
Parkrun makes extensive use of electronic timing and barcode technology to generate the results of each event. When registering with Parkrun, runners print out a personal barcode which encodes their unique athlete number. As runners cross the finish line, their time is recorded electronically by a volunteer using a stopwatch that can export data to a computer. The runner is also handed a barcoded tag which tells them their finish position. Runners then take the tag to a second volunteer who scans the runner's personal barcode and scans the barcode on their finish tag. This allows a computer system to record the finish position and identity of each runner.
The finishing time, the athlete’s number and their finish position are uploaded to a server which automatically generates the results tables and statistics on the parkrun web site. The use of the unique runner number allows the web site to collate historical data including personal bests, overall performance and total number of runs.
The Volunteers
The not-for-profit status of parkrun means that each and every parkrun is run entirely by “the heart” of parkrun, the volunteers.
It is suggested that each registered runner volunteers three times a year to ensure the smooth running and sustainability of their local parkrun. Each volunteering session is recorded in the same manner as your runs. There are also some dedicated volunteer only registered members who turn out week after week just to be involved.
Events and some interesting facts
As of September 2016, parkrun events are held in the following countries:
United Kingdom 415
Australia 183
South Africa 84
Ireland 54
Poland 38
Russia 23
New Zealand 15
Denmark 7
United States 6
France 5
Italy & Canada 2 each
Guernsey, Jersey, Singapore & Sweden 1 each
In addition, there is the Cieszyn parkrun which starts in Poland but is partly run in the Czech Republic.
Due to their policy of keeping their runs free to enter, parkrun have refused to start events if local councils impose charges on the organisers or runners.
In April 2016, Stoke Gifford. an English parish council, voted to charge runners a fee to participate in the local parkrun, to fund path maintenance.
Despite support from the Sports Minister and an online petition, the council would not change their decision, so the remaining planned 2016 events were all cancelled.
Some parkrun Records
Largest attendance at one run: 1,874 at North Beach, Durban, South Africa
Female record: Hannah Walker, 15:55, at St Albans parkrun, UK. 27 July 2013
Male record: Andy Baddeley, 13:48, at Bushy parkrun, UK. 11 August 2012
Female wheelchair record: Susan Cook, 17:36, at Dulwich parkrun, UK. 23 August 2014
Male wheelchair record: Danny Sidbury, 12:12, at Dulwich parkrun, UK. 19 March 2016
Greatest number of runs: Darren Wood, 578 runs
Age-graded record: Fauja Singh, 179.04%, 38:34, at Valentines Park, UK. 31 March 2012, the day before his 101st birthday.
In 2015 more than three million miles were run by people over 50 in parkrun’s
When I am back in the UK my 'local' parkrun is Peterborough parkrun held at Ferry Meadows.
http://www.parkrun.com/
Welcome to parkrun
We organise free weekly timed runs all over the world. Held in pleasant parkland on weekend mornings, our runs are open to all – from juniors and first timers to Olympians and octogenarians…
So all we need is a Park, one that will allow the run to take place without a charge. Some sponsors, who expect nothing, other than gratitude, in return. Any number of runners, who will put in their fair share of volunteering. Ten or so core volunteers, who will expect to cope with all the headaches.
Your view is eagerly awaited.
Happy Running pada kaki tua, atau muda..
When it comes to going after what you love in life, don't take no for an answer
