It’s January 1st 2020 and it’s 9 a.m. , why is that time significant …… because it’s parkrun o’clock. Fareham parkrun is about a miles jog away from me so it was the perfect choice for a New Years day run.
I talked to at least twenty people most of who I knew but also a few that I didn’t because it was that kind of a day. Like minded people gathered together with their hopes, targets and expectations for 2020 all ahead of them and with running being the common denominator.
Up and down the country thousands of runners would have been looking forward to running into 2020 with a double parkrun (10.30 a.m. being the second option) however, I had to be back on “Dad’s taxi duties”. I wanted to blog about my morning run because I left with a real glow of running community spirit.
Now, I must stress that I don’t actually run many of these 5K events that have revolutionised running over the last decade but in many ways this allows me to make fresh observations.
From the minute I arrived there was a buzz, positivity filled the air, smiling faces, laughter and enthusiasm could be seen in abundance, it was almost as if this was an awards ceremony or maybe a wedding !! The impression I was left with was that this was the start of a decade and that people were enjoying the moment but looking ahead to future possibilities. All 480 of them !!
New Years Day is naturally a day for looking forwards, for hope and new beginnings but couple that with healthy exercise and a commitment that had made everyone consider their previous nights celebrations, just so that they could attend a run at nine a.m. the following morning, then you have a truly special occasion.
At this point I think its really important to say that the parkrun movement wouldn’t work without the constant offers from all the volunteers and today was no exception, again, up and down the country. Hats off to all the volunteers.
If you could bottle and sell this atmosphere you’d be a rich man, in no time at all 🙂
You may have noticed that I’ve used a generic parkrun photo and that’s because I didn’t take any photos and that’s because I didn’t use my phone. This fact was the other overriding impression I was left with, people were actively talking to each other, engaging, discussing and most of all enthusing 🙂
The run itself is an out and back route which perfectly lends itself to yet more positivity with name checking, high fives and banter being exchanged.
On this occasion I won’t be quoting who I talked to, times or positions because the occasion was what I wanted to write about. I know the other fifty one parkruns a year are positive but I just felt that todays date had extra meaning.
The couple near to me on the start line summed the morning up, “who’d have thought we’d have been doing this a decade ago !! “, yes, I suspect thousands of people would have either said this or contemplated it today.
On a personal note I’d like to say thanks to Francis who approached me and said, “you don’t know me but I enjoy reading your blog” that was very kind and I really appreciated it. Thanks to everyone that reads my blogs 🙂
Happy New Year #2020 the running community is in good hands with the phenomena that is parkrun .
HNY Rog
irunoffroad 