I am a Unicorn!

Image courtesy of Virtual Runner UK

 

 

Last Saturday as we uploaded the parkrun results my friend informed me she had signed up to a Unicorn race. I was intrigued and then she told me the medal was a unicorn medal and I was definitely wanting to find out more.

She went on to tell me it was a race hosted by Virtual Runner UK. I’ve used Virtual Runner before when I actually used to run and their medals are awesome and well priced. I decided to look in to it and you have to run or walk 10km throughout January. The beauty of it is, you can make that 10km up through as many separate runs or walks as you like just so long as its completed before January ends.

So I signed up. I can walk this (or run parts of it) and it’s throughout January, the typical lets-get-fit-and-healthy month so it will help with that, as like the rest of the nation I fall in to this trap every year.

When I looked the race up again to write this post I saw that a picture of the medal has been released and it’s pretty awesome!

Image courtesy of Virtual Runner UK

Fancy signing up too? Or to one of their other races then just visit Virtual Runner UK and sign up!

I’ll let you know how I get on come January!

Parkrun Volunteer

On 11th July I began volunteering at Lee on the Solent parkrun.On 20th February 2016 I had volunteered 30 times! I began volunteering as a way of getting to know people in my new local community and now I couldn’t be without it. I marked the occasion by writing the run report and thought I’d include it here too.

Exactly a year ago I moved 250 miles to Lee on Solent, where I didn’t know anyone bar my husband. A few months passed by and I now only know work colleagues, but heard a whisper about a new parkrun starting right on my doorstep in Lee. So, in July, I found myself marshalling in an attempt to do something in my new community. Now at parkrun #35, I have given my time on 30 separate occasions. You might remember me cheering you on at the playground, my favourite marshalling spot? Somewhere where simply cheering people on turned in to friendly waves of hello, as we all turned up week after week. I’ve since moved on to take on other roles within parkrun and tend to be based around the finish funnel, where I have gotten to know runners, organisers and fellow volunteers. What a lovely, welcoming and friendly bunch you all are, especially Fiona who baked a cake to celebrate my 30^th time volunteering and her 25^th. Thank you, I was touched by your kindness.

So moving on to this morning’s run, everyone talks about the weather at Lee, the wind comes as standard, but thankfully this morning it wasn’t accompanied by rain. Lee is probably one of the only parkruns where there are very few runners at 8.50 and by 8.55 approximately 250 get out of their cars at once and descend on the start line. As Pippa, our Run Director, sent the runners on their way to Browndown, I watched the hi-vis crowd snake their way along the path. I was one of the barcode scanners this week and, as people start to filter through the finish, I ask them how it was? Popular answers are “That’s some wind!” “I’m knackered now”, and “I’m so hungover!”

There were an epic 50 PB’s today!! Well done to all of you, despite the wind, fatigue and hangovers you accomplished something major today! And to the 31 people who ran parkrun for the very first time at our beloved Lee, I hope you learn to love it as much as I have over the past 30 weeks!

Parkrun is great and best of all it’s free and they’re all over the country. If you fancy having a go at walking, jogging or running 5km in your local area check out  the parkrun website and see where your local one is. You’ll not regret it.