Exercise

[gradus]

My knees stopped me running 4 years ago but I could never understand the enthusiasm for running together with others and much preferred to run by myself, so much easier to go at your own speed and enjoy the countryside. In latter years I ran with a friend and we nearly always spent the entire run talking and occasionally arguing and that passed the time pleasantly enough.

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

It's one thing to be a registered participant; it's another for it to have any significant impact on obesity rates.

The difficulty here is that the obese people are not the ones who take part in parkruns, etc. You only have to glance at a group of children on the way home from school to notice how widespread the problem is. The most horizontally challenged people often live in the poorest areas (or are wealthy people who spend their lives indulging themselves on cruise ships).

I'd be more than happy to proved wrong but let's see how many regular participants there are in six months/12 months/two years/five years etc.

Parkrun has been going since 2004, and has been growing steadily. There are are many thousands of runners who have been participating for years. When you've done 50, 100 and 250 parkruns, you are awarded a T-shirt with the relevant number emblazoned on it. I have my '50' one. and am now working towards my 100th run. This is all part of the fun. Families run together, with under 12s being required to stay within arms-length of a parent/guardian. One 11-year old was running wearing her 250 shirt, and I was amazed; I asked whether she'd really done so many. Her mother said she'd been doing parkruns since she was 6, and now her parents were struggling to keep up with her.

[teamsaint]

Exactly the point I was making in my initial response to team' comment that the suspension of Park runs was preventing him and thousands of others from taking their daily constitutional (qv).

For those who need the motivation of communal exercise, I would have thought it was still entirely possible to arrange such activities. Two neighbours of mine (from different households) meet up to run together. They seem capable of doing this so why all this wailing and gnashing of teeth?

I said nothing of the sort . As regards myself , I run about 20k a week, regardless of Parkrun, which I do occasionally, or used to.
For others, some people find Parkrun a useful part of their exercise , but I don’t think anybody is claiming that the closure is actually preventing them exercising.

[teamsaint]

Well, I just enter the lists here as a non participant, non-obese person who finds most discussions of some interest. I don't think that any parkrunner would deny the fact that these are, as well as being good exercise, fun events where people get to know each other and which give that extra bit of incentive to sign up. I disagree with team when he says that 'naysayers will be happy' at the delay, but at the same time, by a massive effort of empathy I do have sympathy with the disappointment.

Me, I can just about walk with a stick and a splint on my foot, and would just love to be participating in an all-levels event like parkrun, but never shall.

My comment about naysayers was a bit tongue in cheek, but the events do have opponents.

[french frank]

My comment about naysayers was a bit tongue in cheek, but the events do have opponents.

Apparently God bless ye, every one, says I. I might surmise that Sir Velo takes his exercise in an alternative form …

[gradus]

Heavy rain flooded the ditch opposite so this morning generated more C-V exercise clearing the run-offs from the lane, digging out in the ditch and rodding the pipe that is supposed to prevent the lane from flooding. Such fun.

[duncan]

And meanwhile, obesity rates continue to soar...

I have nowhere said or implied that parkrun will solve the obesity epidemic.

The reasons for the obesity epidemic are not clearly understood. There have probably been small decreases in net physical activity levels over the last ~50 years (leisure activity has increased slightly but occupational activity has decreased) and this may explain some but not all the increase in obesity. It seems likely that diet changes - more sugary and processed food - are at least as important.

Increasing physical activity in addition to diet modification helps weight loss but is rarely effective in isolation. There are many other health and societal benefits of physical activity beyond weight optimisation of course. Increased physical activity is well worth encouraging but not a silver bullet.

How do we encourage people to be more physically active? In 2013 Susan Michie (SAGE) categorised health behaviour change strategies into 93 different types. That number tells you there is no one simple solution. A glance at any high street tells a similar story.

All of this misses the point which I was making (clearly very badly) that the suspension of Park runs should not be used as an excuse for not maintaining a reasonable standard of personal fitness.

The idea that everyone could exercise but they are just too lazy or lacking in personal responsibility is a popular (and populist) opinion but inaccurate. People do not engage in physical activity for all kinds of internally rational reasons (fear of injury, lack of time, lack of social support, embarrassment, and many others). Promoting physical activity needs a suite of different approaches. What works for some people doesn’t work for others, some people are very internally motivated. I’m like this and so, it appears, are you. Others need social support. For many, group cohesion is a powerful motivator to exercise. Despite having no intention whatsoever to participate in parkrun myself, I acknowledge it is a very successful means of promoting physical activity for very many people.

[teamsaint]

Went along to Andover Parkrun this morning, to show support for the organisers and volunteers as much as anything.
A really great atmosphere, with a terrific turn out. A slightly amended course to allow greater distancing at the start, and they seem to have found an extra 200 metres which will have added a minute to most peoples times...

[Serial_Apologist]

Went along to Andover Parkrun this morning, to show support for the organisers and volunteers as much as anything.
A really great atmosphere, with a terrific turn out. A slightly amended course to allow greater distancing at the start, and they seem to have found an extra 200 metres which will have added a minute to most peoples times...

Thinking about the earlier arguments here as to whether participation advantages the fitter and more committed at the expense of the less confident, it occurs that social distancing requirements would have the opposite from a discriminating effect, given that the emphasis would be on discouraging "catching up"!

[teamsaint]

Thinking about the earlier arguments here as to whether participation advantages the fitter and more committed at the expense of the less confident, it occurs that social distancing requirements would have the opposite from a discriminating effect, given that the emphasis would be on discouraging "catching up"!

At the two parkruns I have occasionally attended, they tend to ask the faster runners to start at the front, though this tends to be perhaps the worst organised part of the event. Most overtaking occurs in the first half KM or so, and after that there is very little catching up, and space to run at ones own pace tends to be plentiful.

The atmosphere today, as always, was very supportive and encouraging amongst both the volunteers and participants.

[Serial_Apologist]

At the two parkruns I have occasionally attended, they tend to ask the faster runners to start at the front, though this tends to be perhaps the worst organised part of the event. Most overtaking occurs in the first half KM or so, and after that there is very little catching up, and space to run at ones own pace tends to be plentiful.

The atmosphere today, as always, was very supportive and encouraging amongst both the volunteers and participants.

It was good to see a number of Parkruns reported on the national BBC TV news just now - good publicity.

[Dave2002]

At the two parkruns I have occasionally attended, they tend to ask the faster runners to start at the front, though this tends to be perhaps the worst organised part of the event. Most overtaking occurs in the first half KM or so, and after that there is very little catching up, and space to run at ones own pace tends to be plentiful.

What sort of age range are the participants in these events? I suspect it's not the kind of thing I should be doing - plus the thought of having to get up early and drive around 20 miles for the start time would put me off. I'll probably stick to walking.

There was an item on R4 about Park Runs today I think. Maybe I would have enjoyed it about 20-30 years ago. The last time I ran in a race was over 30 years ago - and I did practice a bit beforehand. The start was like trying to catch up with an accelerating train. It was hard!

The good thing then was that we lived in a road with a circular route which was around a mile - I can't remember the exact distance - but it was a route one could do before breakfast.
OK - so it was running on pavements rather than grass but it wasn't too bad. We haven't lived anywhere with such a convenient loop for about 20 years.

[gurnemanz]

My knees stopped me running 4 years ago but I could never understand the enthusiasm for running together with others and much preferred to run by myself, so much easier to go at your own speed and enjoy the countryside.

I agree. In my case, one knee and one hip are iffy. They are not yet near needing replacement but would stop me enjoying prolonged running, especially in a group which I have also never fancied. I can move around a tennis court well enough to still do OK.

I have always ridden a bike regularly over the years but only to get somewhere specific. When Covid lockdown came, a bike ride of about 5K became my daily exercise in preference to walking or running, being easier on the joints. I have stuck with it and lost weight - down to 12 stone, which I was in my 20s. I was 14 stone + for a few years. Probably also thanks to more healthy eating and enforced lack of pub-going and eating out.

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

What sort of age range are the participants in these events? I suspect it's not the kind of thing I should be doing - plus the thought of having to get up early and drive around 20 miles for the start time would put me off. I'll probably stick to walking.

You can walk in the Parkruns. Many do. As for the ages of participants - from under 10 to over 90.

It was a great pleasure to be taking part again today, even though I recorded my worst time yet. I hope to do much better next week.

[Dave2002]

You can walk in the Parkruns. Many do. As for the ages of participants - from under 10 to over 90.

It was a great pleasure to be taking part again today, even though I recorded my worst time yet. I hope to do much better next week.

OK - and what do the participants wear?

Can I assume that parkruns have the advantage of a loop circuit - which I mentioned earlier. On the one hand a circuit track might get boring - but presumably one only has to go round a few times.

Yet another factor might be slopes. Where I live currently there are several options for "lone" walking or running. Some are up or down steep gradients - I walk them sometimes. Downhill is perhaps worse than going up - it would be quite easy to fall over I think if run down at speed. Otherwise there are flat walks - but no chance of a loop - so one has to set a distance - go there and then come back. Finally for the really fit - there are loops if one is prepared to run or walk maybe 10 miles (or more) including the difficult uphill/downill sections.

To respond to gradus - perhaps parkruns do have (for some people) the advantage of not being in one's immediate neighbourhood - where one might get comments such as "Oh - it's that **** guy out again", and at least there would be an assumption that a group of people are not all bonkers! Or maybe that they all are - but "who cares?".

Another factor might actually be meeting people - new people with different interests - apart from walking or running. For me the disadvantage apart from having to get up early (!!) would be the approx 20 mile drive to the nearest parkrun - not good for the environment - but for those near a park with suitable routes for running/walking could be enjoyable.