This morning we did what we do almost every Saturday morning: we went to parkrun.
parkrun (spelt as all one word, all lowercase) is a free, weekly, timed 5km community event that includes runners and walkers of all abilities and is run by volunteers.
Today I completed my 187th parkrun by foot (with additional volunteers on top of that). I returned to a parkrun I'd done twice before and loved, in the middle of Brisbane City. And I was happy to find a woman who I had helped register for parkrun a month ago when we turned up to her first ever parkrun without a barcode (which you need to get a time and result) and with minimal English.
We ran together and she... ran way too hard for her fitness level. Meanwhile, I was cruising. I was checking out the gorgeous, huge fig trees we ran under and listening to the many different bird calls and appreciating the well-tended gardens inside the massive park we ran through.
All the while she was huffing, puffing and trying to smile through a grimaced face.
I so wanted to make suggestions about how she could still do a fast time (which she seemed to care about) without killing herself. But with her having so little English (and me speaking zero Tigrinya, the national language of Eritrea) it was almost impossible for me to give her any kind of running advice. I did the best I could through modelling; I walked up short hills, I sported appropriate levels of clothing for running in that temperature and I stopped at a water fountain for a quick drink.
I'm hoping she gets the hints because if she could incorporate those small things into her parkrun she'd not only enjoy it more, she'd also end up running faster and faster over time.
So in case you're a newbie runner and really want to feel alive and thriving when it comes to running then here are a few bits of advice I would offer you. (And before I make suggestions that are designed to help you run faster and/or longer you should know I've had decades of running experience and raced distances from very short all the way up to ultra marathon. So I know a thing or two about running 😉).
Here are three tips to get you started/improving:
1. Walk the uphills. 🙂😀😛
We have this stupid idea that to be a real runner you have to run the whole way. This is bollocks. Can you run? Any distance at all? Congratulations 👏 You are now a runner.
The very best way to build you confidence and your aerobic capacity at the same time is to run within your current limits. If your heart rate skyrockets the minute there's any kind of incline, walk. You can walk fast or moderately or even slow if you need to but keep your heart from coming out of your mouth. It will do you the world of good in the second half of your run. 🙌
What will happen is two things:
A. You'll have a mini recovery as you go uphill and be able to run faster on the flats and downhills, and
B. Over time your physical capacity will increase and you'll magically be able to run more and more uphills! 😁
2. Wear less clothing than if you were to go walking. 🎽🧣🧤
I constantly see new runners overdress and my parkrun friend did this today as well. Our bodies heat up a lot when we are running and the harder you plan to work the hotter you're going to get.
A good general rule of thumb is to dress as if it's 10'C hotter than it actually is. 🥵 That much clothing will probably leave you feeling cool/cold on the start line and the perfect temperature run run well from about 1km onwards for the rest of your race.
On cold mornings, like today in Brisbane, I wore two light synthetic long sleeve tops over the top of a very light singlet top (with full-length leggings) and stripped both long tops off just before we headed down to the start line (literally minutes before we started running). 👍
3. Drink water along the way if it's hot or if you're thirsty. 💦
Different people have different water needs and they can vary a lot depending on the weather. But listen to your body, it will tell you what you need. 🏋️♀️
Being dehydrated can have a massive impact on your performance. So making sure you're well hydrated from the day before (be sensible, not ridiculous - you don't want to over do it either!) and if there's water along the way and you know your body would love a drink, then stop and have a small mouthful. 💧
The small amount of time you lose in stopping to drink you'll probably more than regain in speed for how much better you feel. 😃
If there's no water along the way see of you can bring a bottle to the race (or parkrun) to drink a little bit beforehand and a lot afterwards. 😊
There's more I could suggest but that's enough for this post lest it turns into a mini book 😂 To reiterate by saying the same things another way:
Forget about how fast everyone else is going, find your own pace, listen to your body and what it needs, and know that practise makes progress. 🙏
Photo above is of my new friend and I crossing the finish line together. And after parkrun, Brad and I explored the city a bit on foot. All photos by him! ( 
