Parkrun is the name of a community and of the free, volunteer-led, 5k and 2k events that take place in open spaces every weekend around the world. Parkrun originated in Britain in in Bushy Park, Teddington, UK, where 13 intrepid park runners got together on 2 October 2004. It took nearly two years before parkrun spread beyond Bushy. It has since expanded to well over 2000 locations across thirty countries including now 90 locations in the United States. Parkrun – Wikipedia parkrun | our story And look at Bushy Park 20 years later!
I cannot remember when I first heard about these parkrun 5K’s, perhaps several years ago, long after it had arrived in the U.S. Occasionally I would see news stories about the venues or comments about it from international runners. Eventually one had arrived in Houston as well. I had another local race here in the Woodlands, Run the Woodlands 5K that I ran twice a month for close to twenty years. That race started to wind down due to dwindling attendance and lack of sponsorship a few years ago. And then to my surprise another local race came along!
Parkrun arrived in the Woodlands in 2019 (as a third Texas location) for a handful of races, and was based along the waterway at Town Center, about eight miles from my house. I never made it to that location. COVID hit in 2020 and all local races were suspended, including the Woodlands based parkrun. When it was restarted in late 2021 it had moved to a new location at the Spindle Tree trail, at direction from the Woodlands Township. Tucked away out here just a mile and a half from my house! I finally made it over there on January 29, 2022 and wandered over to the start line with a handful of people.
Such a simple and successful concept. You register online (its free!) and receive a barcode linked to your registration. The Spindle Tree “course” is essentially three loops of a wetland drainage area on packed gravel. After orientation you start off as a group, and at the finish line they record times by order of finish, hand you a barcode that is ordered to each of those times. They scan your personal barcode as well and link the two together in order to document your result. An email link to finish results is sent to all participants; it also keeps a record of all races you have run. And logistically that is it!
Simple in execution but much more than that. With some early outreach old friends and new friends began to appear each week. I suppose I became a regular of sorts. From those cold Saturdays in early 2022, we watched the months unfold into spring, summer and fall. In March the pond turtles returned along with the wildflowers. Soon enough hot Texas days were upon us. The weekly race director always reminds us that “this is not a race”! Though of course it is, with others each week, but mostly with ourselves. Good days and bad, when healthy and slowed by occasional injuries, ups and downs of our times are recorded. Though at my station in life it is hard to chase the times lower. I don’t mind.
And the weeks roll along with the race count. Milestones at 10 and 25 races, celebrated by the group and then a long string of events until I approach 100 races. If I am in town and not racing elsewhere, I show up. That’s what I do. In my 2nd and 3rd years of parkrun I ran 33 and 39 races respectively. I like to take pictures and got in the early habit of taking my phone camera along. It’s also what I do, a Saturday morning observer. A photo essay with smiling friends each week, celebrating each other’s success, parents with their children, cake on special days, which are often. And my small celebration as well.
What sticks with me is the changing of the seasons in a somewhat scenic corner of our township. But most of all the people, a sense of community, churchlike in a sense. And I am proud that I can still race each week and accumulate 100 races.
250 races, the next milestone will take a few more years. Why not??
