Parkrun..

ger664

robinph wrote: »

Anyway, trying to figure out some holiday parkrun plans.
Has anyone done Lees Road parkrun in Ennis? It says that it is on forest trails, are these relatively flat trails, or are there a bunch of tree routes to negotiate? How tricky to run it with a buggy?

You will get the buggy around lees road in the summer. A small part would be prone to cutting up in the winter. The track is undulating with a good climb in the big loop. A small bit of extra effort would be required. We would love to see you some Saturday.

robinph

...and my parkrun 100 tshirt link became active today. Yay.

gsi300024v

Was away in states on holds and kept up the running, my motivation was my 1st run I plan on doing this Saturday. Goal was to run for 6 weeks 3 times a week, I was out on Sunday which was my 4th week and it was actually nice, just took it handy, 5kms in 30mins, look forward to wrecking myself Sat see how fast i can go. My friend did 5kms in 20mins 47seconds, doubt i'll be able to stay with that pace.

dna_leri

Anyone notice a drop-off in attendances at your local parkrun?
I thought it might have been due to the summer holidays etc but looking at last week's data the numbers are quite low in many areas.
http://www.parkrun.ie/results/attendancerecords/

Obviously some are doing very well, notable Malahide, Marlay & St Annes but only 7 of the 34 listed had more than 100 participants last week, with about half with less than 50 runners.

Is this kind of drop-off to be expected based on UK experiences? Do people get bored of doing the same run every week or so?

I am a very irregular participant but I would be more regular if the numbers were bigger in my local parkrun.

Pawwed Rig

robinph wrote: »

Thanks for that. I figured there must be something tricky about the course for the times that have been recorded so far.

It's a bit hilly and part of it is on grass so not ideal for buggy but not impossible. One of the nicer park runs I have done.

robinph

Pawwed Rig wrote: »

It's a bit hilly and part of it is on grass so not ideal for buggy but not impossible. One of the nicer park runs I have done.

In my run around the local parkrun this weekend I actually found it was a smoother run/ride along the grass in one section rather than on the very old tarmac that is in need of repair. The other side of the course has a brand new cycle / foot path which I could really fly along with zero resistance except for lapping people.

robinph

dna_leri wrote: »

Anyone notice a drop-off in attendances at your local parkrun?
I thought it might have been due to the summer holidays etc but looking at last week's data the numbers are quite low in many areas.
http://www.parkrun.ie/results/attendancerecords/

Obviously some are doing very well, notable Malahide, Marlay & St Annes but only 7 of the 34 listed had more than 100 participants last week, with about half with less than 50 runners.

Is this kind of drop-off to be expected based on UK experiences? Do people get bored of doing the same run every week or so?

I am a very irregular participant but I would be more regular if the numbers were bigger in my local parkrun.

I've not noticed much of a change. If you look at the graphs of attendance overall on the UK site you will see dips and peaks around the same points each year. Bit of a dip during the winter, but then goes up around new year with resolutions.
There may be a slight drop overall during the summer, but if one parkrun has less due to people on holidays others may get more due to tourists. Was at a parkrun a couple of weeks ago and they seemed to be mostly tourists. Their numbers seem to double during school holiday weeks because of the area they are in.

robinph

Here is a link to the parkrun UK overall stats chart:

http://www.parkrun.org.uk/results/historicalchart/

You can see spikes and dips either side of New Year each year, but most years there is no change over the summer. Although 2014 there was a drop in the number of events during the summer for some reason, but this summer there seems to have been an increase in runners over the summer that isn't matched by a significant increase in events.

Far more stats out there than you could possibly ever be able to make sense out of.

edisonolmy

Navan to start on same day as Porterstown, Oct 17, as per newsletter

Now, which will be flatter...

gsi300024v

Oh for a man who loves stats this website is great parkrun, what does the age percentage mean?

Pherekydes

The page that explains it all:

https://support.parkrun.com/hc/en-us/articles/200565263-What-is-age-grading-

dcr22B

Anybody seen a route map for Newbridge House yet?

edisonolmy

gsi300024v wrote: »

Oh for a man who loves stats this website is great parkrun, what does the age percentage mean?

Simply, the higher the % the better the performance when compared to people of different ages and gender.

If I run 20 mins and a 10 year old kid runs 20:15, I finish faster, but his slower time will get a higher grading meaning his performance is better than mine.

Also handy for working out how fast you'd be if you were a 70-year-old woman

gsi300024v

Haha yeah how I'll be when old, some good times in their from older people too. I'd love to break 20mins, but i've not done a parkrun yet, I hear the goodwill and competitive nature of a race knocks time off your usually, not sure it'll knock that much off.
Now I'm off out in the car to drive and measure how far I covered in the 35mins I ran earlier, no fancy iphones or wrist gps for me!

robinph

gsi300024v wrote: »

Now I'm off out in the car to drive and measure how far I covered in the 35mins I ran earlier, no fancy iphones or wrist gps for me!

Try this to measure your route:

http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/

edisonolmy

dcr22B wrote: »

Anybody seen a route map for Newbridge House yet?

Route at this link
https://www.polarpersonaltrainer.com/shared/exercise.ftl?shareTag=5d964f18187b6507e2048663069776ac#.Vew_7y1WXuY.facebook

cullenswood

Any news on a start date for Celbridge, and does anyone have a route map of it?

An_Reathai

cullenswood wrote: »

Any news on a start date for Celbridge, and does anyone have a route map of it?

Celbridge due to start 24th of October. Haven't seen a map yet though.

edisonolmy

All new dates are on the latest parkrun.ie newsletter

http://www.parkrun.ie/news/

Route maps typically go live on the site about 2-3 weeks before the inaugural run

Amigaman

Father Collins parkrun is live on the site - http://www.parkrun.ie/fathercollins/
Good luck to all involved - on a separate note Tramore valley parkrun is up to 200 registrations , given we are still 2 and a half weeks away from the first run I am keeping to my prediction that this will top Marley as the highest attended parkrun opening

edisonolmy

Amigaman wrote: »

Father Collins parkrun is live on the site - http://www.parkrun.ie/fathercollins/
Good luck to all involved - on a separate note Tramore valley parkrun is up to 200 registrations , given we are still 2 and a half weeks away from the first run I am keeping to my prediction that this will top Marley as the highest attended parkrun opening

Will we see you at Fr Collins Ed?

snailsong

Westport parkrun will be celebrating our second birthday this Saturday. There will be tee shirts and spot prizes. There will be cake.

gsi300024v

robinph wrote: »

Try this to measure your route:

http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/

Cheers for that will check it out later.

edisonolmy

Some Celbridge details here:
https://www.facebook.com/Castletown-parkrun-Celbridge-913933025359524/timeline/

robinph

100 tshirt has arrived just in time for parkrunday tomorrow.

Amigaman

robinph wrote: »

100 tshirt has arrived just in time for parkrunday tomorrow.

Hmm you might be a little ahead of yourself there :-) But mine arrived too so there will be the first outing of "Irish" 100 clubbers this Saturday , I'll be at Waterstown then the Lucan 5 mile

robinph

Amigaman wrote: »

Hmm you might be a little ahead of yourself there :-) But mine arrived too so there will be the first outing of "Irish" 100 clubbers this Saturday , I'll be at Waterstown then the Lucan 5 mile

No sleep making me forget what day it is lately. I honestly thought it was Friday earlier. Disappointed to have another day of work to get through yet.

Amigaman

I know that feeling , but on the bright side we just have to get through tomorrow and then we get to run in our new 100Club shirts , which I have to say do look rather spiffy :-)

https://twitter.com/amigaman/status/642013885340459008

gsi300024v

I just did a light 20 mins run there, all ready for my PB tomorrow over 5kms I hope, bring on marley park!

robinph

So then Dublin parkrunners, sell me your event.

Looking for one that is "get-to-able" from the centre of Dublin on the weekend of DCM. We will have a car, but a walk and trip on the DART isn't out of the question. One that will be nice and easy for me to push the buggy round without hills would be great, but the most essential feature is a good coffee/ cake shop nearby for refreshments afterwards.

Whilst all parkruns are equal, some do have better cakes than others.

TRR_the_turd

robinph wrote: »

So then Dublin parkrunners, sell me your event.

Looking for one that is "get-to-able" from the centre of Dublin on the weekend of DCM. We will have a car, but a walk and trip on the DART isn't out of the question. One that will be nice and easy for me to push the buggy round without hills would be great, but the most essential feature is a good coffee/ cake shop nearby for refreshments afterwards.

Whilst all parkruns are equal, some do have better cakes than others.

You are a cute 'hoor! You just know that some race directors are now going to try and entice you to their event with the promise of specially made cake. The Cabinteely parkrun has a master cake chef involved with them It's a bit hilly though I think

robinph

TRR_the_turd wrote: »

You are a cute 'hoor! You just know that some race directors are now going to try and entice you to their event with the promise of specially made cake. The Cabinteely parkrun has a master cake chef involved with them It's a bit hilly though I think

I'm OK with bribery by cake.

If anyone is ever doing parkrun tourism in the UK I'd highly recommend any of the events that are held in National Trust properties. The courses tend to be on trails so might not be the fastest or most buggy friendly, but the cakes in their coffee shops are fantastic.

belcarra

robinph wrote: »

So then Dublin parkrunners, sell me your event.

Looking for one that is "get-to-able" from the centre of Dublin on the weekend of DCM. We will have a car, but a walk and trip on the DART isn't out of the question. One that will be nice and easy for me to push the buggy round without hills would be great, but the most essential feature is a good coffee/ cake shop nearby for refreshments afterwards.

Not involved with any of them but from my experience...

"One that will be nice and easy for me to push the buggy round without hills would be great" = St. Anne's, Poppintree, Hartstown

"but the most essential feature is a good coffee/ cake shop nearby for refreshments afterwards" = Probably St. Anne's as the other two don't have anything very local. Red Stables has a nice coffee shop.

Malahide has a nice course and Avoca cafe but the route includes a little (500m) off-road which might be difficult for the buggy.

Pawwed Rig

robinph wrote: »

So then Dublin parkrunners, sell me your event.

Looking for one that is "get-to-able" from the centre of Dublin on the weekend of DCM. We will have a car, but a walk and trip on the DART isn't out of the question. One that will be nice and easy for me to push the buggy round without hills would be great, but the most essential feature is a good coffee/ cake shop nearby for refreshments afterwards.

Whilst all parkruns are equal, some do have better cakes than others.

I push a buggy round St Anne's fairly regularly. Meets all of your other criteria too.

Firedance

TRR_the_turd wrote: »

You are a cute 'hoor! You just know that some race directors are now going to try and entice you to their event with the promise of specially made cake. The Cabinteely parkrun has a master cake chef involved with them It's a bit hilly though I think

there's a hill or two but the volunteers are the best around :cool: and the coffee shop has the most amazing array of goodies...

it also has views like this

Run and Jump

robinph wrote: »

So then Dublin parkrunners, sell me your event.

Looking for one that is "get-to-able" from the centre of Dublin on the weekend of DCM. We will have a car, but a walk and trip on the DART isn't out of the question. One that will be nice and easy for me to push the buggy round without hills would be great, but the most essential feature is a good coffee/ cake shop nearby for refreshments afterwards.

Whilst all parkruns are equal, some do have better cakes than others.

Tymon parkrun has regular buggy-pushing runners: it has some downhill stretches too. If you're flexible on the cake issue, St Jude's GAA clubhouse nearby has a shop open for post-race coffee and a Mars bar :pac:

edisonolmy

As a neutral observer, I'd suggest St Anne's. It was my favourite of the Dublin runs I've done so far.

menoscemo

Firedance wrote: »

there's a hill or two but the volunteers are the best around :cool: and the coffee shop has the most amazing array of goodies...

it also has views like this

+1, come up to Cabinteely Robin. The coffee shop does lovely fry-up as well as really nice buns and cakes .
As one of the run directors I'll see if I can get you a free entry (just don't tell any else about it; ok ).

Dub13

Pawwed Rig wrote:

I push a buggy round St Anne's fairly regularly. Meets all of your other criteria too.

Another vote for St Anne's, lovely park very flat course and nice coffee at the end.

edisonolmy

When are you guys going to come to Stormont?

edisonolmy

Colin Glen forest park in west Belfast getting a parkrun, to start on Oct 10 according to FB

Amigaman

robinph wrote: »

So then Dublin parkrunners, sell me your event.

Looking for one that is "get-to-able" from the centre of Dublin on the weekend of DCM. We will have a car, but a walk and trip on the DART isn't out of the question. One that will be nice and easy for me to push the buggy round without hills would be great, but the most essential feature is a good coffee/ cake shop nearby for refreshments afterwards.

Whilst all parkruns are equal, some do have better cakes than others.

Well Let me introduce to the wonderfullness that is Griffeen parkrun , Situated to the west of the City centre and easily reachable by Car ( just 2 minutes from the N4) with nothing more then the Scenic Griffeen park on the banks of the meandering Griffeen river we forego the rank commercialism of other parkruns ( with their on site cafes :-) ) in favor of having our own Tea and coffee station right at the finish line. There is almost always cake ....and as the ultimate bribe to entice to our little corner of heaven , I will guarantee cake on the DCM weekend your choice of cake ... cant be any fairer then that ;-)
Seriously whichever one works out for you , best of luck on the DCM

Marthastew

Firedance wrote: »

there's a hill or two but the volunteers are the best around :cool: and the coffee shop has the most amazing array of goodies...

it also has views like this

menoscemo wrote: »

+1, come up to Cabinteely Robin. The coffee shop does lovely fry-up as well as really nice buns and cakes .
As one of the run directors I'll see if I can get you a free entry (just don't tell any else about it; ok ).

If it's cake you're after..... I'll definitely be making buns the weekend of DCM as we will likely get lots of parkrun tourists.
At Cabinteely we regularly get runners with buggies and the coffee shop is really lovely and very child-friendly. There's a really lovely playground and as we get small numbers (averages about 70) you can pitch up to the car park 5 minutes before the start.

Having said that, you are guaranteed a warm welcome at ALL the parkruns in the Dublin area and if I were you I'd go with the one that's easiest to get to.

Killerz

I'm not biased in any way , but really, the only one to go for is St Anne's parkrun. Ticks all your boxes. I've done it twice with my twin babies in a regular non running buggy - very smooth. My twins are only now big enough for the proper baby jogger buggy so I took them out for a short jaunt in it today - we hope to go sub20 or better at st Anne's in the next few weeks all going well

UltraRunPaul

Killerz wrote: »

I'm not biased in any way , but really, the only one to go for is St Anne's parkrun. Ticks all your boxes. I've done it twice with my twin babies in a regular non running buggy - very smooth. My twins are only now big enough for the proper baby jogger buggy so I took them out for a short jaunt in it today - we hope to go sub20 or better at st Anne's in the next few weeks all going well

"not biased in any way", yeah right!

Amigaman

LOL before this tread descends to an all out ,tag team, run director slapfest I hope robinph puts us out of our misery ....ps....Griffeen's offer is now 2 cakes an apple tart some assorted buns and a 3 course dinner * .... ( * note 3 course dinner may actually be more buns and cake :-) )

Gael23

UltraRunPaul wrote: »

"not biased in any way", yeah right!

If he's who I think he is, he's CERTAINLY not biased!

Killerz

UltraRunPaul wrote: »

"not biased in any way", yeah right!

T-I-C, Paul

robinph

There are a few options to consider, and I'm impressed by the quantity of cake being offered.

The fry up is also a big consideration as I'd not be able to make it back to the hotel in time to have their fry that morning, and they probably don't start breakfast early enough in the morning to have it before leaving for parkrun. Would like to visit Griffeen as it is only a couple of 100m from where I used to live, but it might be too far out of the way to drag the family. Malahide is also looking like a good option as have some other people we need to visit during the trip out that way I think.

Maybe we should have a proper run director smack down to decide? Competition categories being, best cake and being open to bribery to give me token 1!

plodder

Unless the weather is like this, you shouldn't have problems with the buggy in Malahide, especially if it's one with biggish wheels. If weather is like this, you'll probably have bigger things to worry about at the DCM ...
IMG_3291

Not sure what we can offer over and above what's been said already, but as Marthastew said, you'll be made welcome at any parkrun in Dublin (or beyond). Pity it's not the week after, as that is our birthday, and there will be free cake.