The alternative parkrun weekend: junior parkrun

Last year, when I started parkrunning, the eldest daughter decided she wanted to copy Daddy and do the 2K junior parkrun. We already went orienteering together, but it was lovely that she wanted to do this too. Ultimately, it fizzled out as, after an initial run that saw her bag a time of about 13 minutes, her subsequent runs got increasingly slower. A lot of that was probably down to the sheer adrenaline of her first run, but I also can't help feeling a bit responsible too, what with all of my "take it steady" advice. 🤦‍♂️


Another photo shamelessly 'borrowed' -- this time from the parkrun blog

Anyway, last week I enrolled her in the 3K Race for Life, along with myself. (You can, y' know, sponsor her here. Just sayin'. 👀) She was, to say the least, a little bit excited and initially said she'd start training by doing junior parkrun again a couple of months before the event. However, by the time Sunday arrived, she'd decided she wanted to do it straight away. Hurrah!

So, off to the Town Moor for the second day in a row; slightly different part of the moor, but essentially the same place. Speaking selfishly, it was also good to feel that I got some light running in on the weekend. But mainly, it was just a delight to be back doing it as dad and daughter. The time in the end was just a few seconds over 14 minutes, though it actually felt like a faster pace than that. Ultimately, all that matters is that we both enjoyed ourselves. Long may it continue. 🤞

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