It was after I had finished, I noticed one of the people who has finished before me was pleased that she had beaten the "serious runner". I know that parkrun is "a run, not a race" but it sparks a competitive spirit in some and I asked her who the serious runner was, wondering if I'd beaten them too. I was taken aback when she said that she meant me! Given that at this point I was red faced and sweaty, having had 80% of today's participants finish before me, I asked how on earth she thought I could be a serious runner and she gestured to my Brighton Marathon shirt and said "anyone who completes a marathon and still keeps running after must be a serious runner"!
It got me thinking, if not now then at what point do I start considering myself a serious runner? When I've run a 5k? A 10k? A half? A full? I've done all of those, and got medals for most too! I'm a serious runner, whether I like it or not.
Victoria Dock is a really nice parkrun, an out and back with the start/finish point just before the 3k mark. It goes around the dock, behind the Excel centre then back under the cablecar and round the residential side of the water, past some more restored cranes to the finish by the Crystal. It's flat, even flatter than Hove Prom and I was pleased with my time - I suppose a free breakfast back at the hotel definitely motivated me as well.
Next week, another tourist trip - back to Worthing for the first time in a few years, and a time of 31:55 to beat. I'll be wearing my Brighton Marathon shirt, which including the above run has seen me get 6 personal best times (either course or distance) in 5 races, so I'm confident of adding to it on Saturday!
It got me thinking, if not now then at what point do I start considering myself a serious runner? When I've run a 5k? A 10k? A half? A full? I've done all of those, and got medals for most too! I'm a serious runner, whether I like it or not.
Victoria Dock is a really nice parkrun, an out and back with the start/finish point just before the 3k mark. It goes around the dock, behind the Excel centre then back under the cablecar and round the residential side of the water, past some more restored cranes to the finish by the Crystal. It's flat, even flatter than Hove Prom and I was pleased with my time - I suppose a free breakfast back at the hotel definitely motivated me as well.
Next week, another tourist trip - back to Worthing for the first time in a few years, and a time of 31:55 to beat. I'll be wearing my Brighton Marathon shirt, which including the above run has seen me get 6 personal best times (either course or distance) in 5 races, so I'm confident of adding to it on Saturday!
