h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

As it was a Saturday morning I was out the house and at the park for 8am in order to do the parkrun set-up. This was my 206th parkrun and 46th of the year, keeping me on track for my target of doing 50 in 2018. Frustratingly someone had smashed some glass bottles on the grass so we spent the first ten minutes picking up slivers of glass - trying to spot them on a dull, damp day beneath piles of leaves didn't make the task easy.
After set-up during the introductory talk they announced the winner of the 'Spot the Queen references in the News Report' competition and I was delighted to be announced the winner! Not only that, but the prize I was awarded was the 'Bohemian Rhapsody' soundtrack! The very one I had put on my list! I was only expecting a box of (I was confident I had a strong chance of winning as no-one's whistled more Queen songs round that course than I )

So I was speechless and spent time thinking about everything that parkrun has done for me – I've gained 3 free t-shirts, a free pair of shoes, a free CD, friends, fitness, confidence and have run in Yorkshire, Berkshire, Hampshire, Wiltshire, Dorset, Poland and the Isle of Wight. The run itself was a real struggle as I'm still recovering from an ankle injury (but amusingly I achieved 'Groundhog Day' – getting exactly the same time (30:17, my fastest is 22:45) to the second two weeks in a row). And when I finished someone I know asked, 'Why were you taking it easy today?' I wasn't taking it easy! It was rather painful. Which made me think that actually, it is a lot easier to do something you are good at – to be able to turn up and do parkrun knowing you can run round in 15 minutes is easier to do than turn up knowing that you'll take 60. And that is something that parkrun excels at, celebrating the achievements of those who aren't winning. The parkrun ethos is best summarised by the story of the woman who finished last making the national news. This is the picture: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-manchester-38731822 and you can see the look of triumph and achievement on her face. Who won that week? No-one knows. But no-one can forget the achievement of the final person to finish.

So I think the moral of the story, cheesy as it is, is that the real winner is of course parkrun. And my son. Who nicked my CD as soon as I got home…

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Oh wow! That is amazing - congratulations!

Congratulations on the Groundhog Day challenge, too - although it must have felt like Groundhog Day for you indeed, that your ankle is still not 100%... Glad you have benefited so much from parkrun whether you run a personal best or just get to the finishing line as best you can - a great ethos indeed

My ankle may have been aching but I was ecstatically happy as I ran round – I'd been given a Queen CD!
I've already earned the Groundhog Day badge (twice in 2015) but it was amusing to get it again, even if I'd prefer to have a double fast time rather than double slow time. But I know my times are only going to get gradually slower as I get older and the secret is to keep enjoying it and supporting everyone else rather than worry about finish time too much.

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