Parkrun..

Sunny Dayz

diceyreilly wrote: »

Seen a girl take a massive short cut ( for some strange reason ) and seen her at the end scanning. Say she ran 4.4k ( If she only took one shortcut) Really dont get it.

I had someone cut the course in front of me before. I remember her being behind me, then after a minute I seen her ahead infront of me! She must have taken a short cut up through some trees and came back onto the course. On another section which loops out and back she just stopped, stood about for a small bit and then turned and heads back along the course. It did annoy me, I didn't want her to finish ahead of me when I was actually doing the full distance and completing the course so in a way it was motivation for me to move quicker! She ended up finishing behind me cos she walked for a bit. Maybe she found the course difficult or 5km was too long for her. I know it's not a race but it's not nice when you are putting the effort in only to see someone else taking advantage. At the end of the day, they are only fooling themselves.

Younganne

I was running with my daughter(she was 8 at the time) and our parkrun is 3.5 laps. We were on our second lap when we passed some young girls and on we went.
Then coming in after our 3.5 laps the girls were finishing in front of us.
My daughter pointed them out and said that they were cheating.

I told her they were only cheating themselves and she agreed. Few weeks later we saw the same thing again so next time I was volunteering I said it to the race director and he said that they were aware and keeping an eye on them. I haven seen them there since, which is a pity as its great to see the youngsters out running/walking.

robinph

Missed out on a course buggy PB by just 5 seconds this weekend. Was a great day for it, with the off road bit of the course being dry, and minimal wind, but surprised myself with how close to my course PB I was able to get considering I've got an extra years worth of growing to push. Good motivation for where I'm currently at, and unexpected.

Best bit though was about 400m in when the guy running beside me in the lead dropped back a few meters and I then heard him say to his mate "I thought he was joking". The pair of them did get back past me eventually, but not until the second time across the off-road section with about 1.5km to go.

arybvtcw0eolkf

An Irish Times article on parkrun today

Very good article on parkrun in Ireland this morning.

Lazare

Planning to use parkrun as a tune up race at the end of the month. Griffeen and Tymon both have pacers so will likely be one or the other.

For anyone that's ran both, which is faster?

Also, what other Dublin parkruns have end of month pacers?

crisco10

Lazare wrote: »

Planning to use parkrun as a tune up race at the end of the month. Griffeen and Tymon both have pacers so will likely be one or the other.

For anyone that's ran both, which is faster?

Also, what other Dublin parkruns have end of month pacers?

Both are 2 lappers, would say that Griffeen is flatter. Tymon has the slight drag in the first 800m of the lap which can suck it out of you somewhat.

Griffeen is the quick one for me.

RayCun

Lazare wrote: »

Planning to use parkrun as a tune up race at the end of the month. Griffeen and Tymon both have pacers so will likely be one or the other.

NB: most months the fastest pacer in Tymon is 22 minutes.

Lazare

crisco10 wrote: »

Both are 2 lappers, would say that Griffeen is flatter. Tymon has the slight drag in the first 800m of the lap which can suck it out of you somewhat.

Griffeen is the quick one for me.

RayCun wrote: »

NB: most months the fastest pacer in Tymon is 22 minutes.

Cheers guys, Griffeen it is so.

az2wp0sye65487

Apologies if these have been asked and answered before, and I've just missed it.... but I have a couple of questions about Junior Parkrun Events:

1. Can I accompany my 5yr old on the run? (Is this prohibited / frowned upon, or indeed encouraged?)

2. Can my 3 & a half yr old come along and do the course? (not bothered about registering her details but she'd be heart-broken if her sister did it and she was told she couldn't go).

RayCun

Trinity Hundreds Tailgate wrote: »

Apologies if these have been asked and answered before, and I've just missed it.... but I have a couple of questions about Junior Parkrun Events:

1. Can I accompany my 5yr old on the run? (Is this prohibited / frowned upon, or indeed encouraged?)

2. Can my 3 & a half yr old come along and do the course? (not bothered about registering her details but she'd be heart-broken if her sister did it and she was told she couldn't go).

yes to both

Murph_D

Lazare wrote: »

Planning to use parkrun as a tune up race at the end of the month. Griffeen and Tymon both have pacers so will likely be one or the other.

For anyone that's ran both, which is faster?

Also, what other Dublin parkruns have end of month pacers?

St Anne’s has pacers on last Sat of month, but again, 20 min pacer not guaranteed as it’s volunteer dependent. Usually covered from 22-30+ (I hear the regular 24 min guy is pretty good).

Bananaleaf

Anyone ever done Dundalk? I'm heading to Newry on Sat and was going to do it on the way. Or, if anyone can recommend a more picturesque parkrun en route? Coming from Maynooth.

positron

I haven't done Dundalk, so I can't compare but Oldbridge is nice - all grass. Ardgillan is in a very picturesque setting. Not sure about Rostrevor, it's a beautiful part of the world,.so it can't be bad.

robinph

Trinity Hundreds Tailgate wrote: »

Apologies if these have been asked and answered before, and I've just missed it.... but I have a couple of questions about Junior Parkrun Events:

1. Can I accompany my 5yr old on the run? (Is this prohibited / frowned upon, or indeed encouraged?)

2. Can my 3 & a half yr old come along and do the course? (not bothered about registering her details but she'd be heart-broken if her sister did it and she was told she couldn't go).

Yes and yes.

I make sure I have a Tesco clubcard handy for the finish with our three year old in case they make it that far and then do some slight of hand to make them think they have a barcode. Meltdowns in the finish funnel area are common for us.

Nuttzz

Bananaleaf wrote: »

Anyone ever done Dundalk? I'm heading to Newry on Sat and was going to do it on the way. Or, if anyone can recommend a more picturesque parkrun en route? Coming from Maynooth.

Nice crew in Dundalk, its at the DKIT at the back of the crowne plazza hotel, not a picturesque run though, just a few laps of football fields

Younganne

Bananaleaf wrote: »

Anyone ever done Dundalk? I'm heading to Newry on Sat and was going to do it on the way. Or, if anyone can recommend a more picturesque parkrun en route? Coming from Maynooth.

Oldbridge would be more picturesque than Dundalk as Dundalk is just 3 laps of football fields. I have only done Oldbridge once a few years back but good challenging course.

plodder

positron wrote: »

I haven't done Dundalk, so I can't compare but Oldbridge is nice - all grass. Ardgillan is in a very picturesque setting. Not sure about Rostrevor, it's a beautiful part of the world,.so it can't be bad.

Rostrevor is really picturesque, but hilly. The area is associated with CS Lewis, so there's a 'Narnia' trail which the parkrun goes through. You'd be driving through Newry to get to it though - so maybe would not suit the poster. Though, if you want to be in Newry as early as possible after the run, then it might be a good option.

KJ

Bananaleaf wrote: »

Anyone ever done Dundalk? I'm heading to Newry on Sat and was going to do it on the way. Or, if anyone can recommend a more picturesque parkrun en route? Coming from Maynooth.

I do Dundalk pretty much every week. It's not a great course but it's super friendly and great fun. Oldbridge isn't great in my opinion. Rostrevor is definitely picturesque but has 2 tough hills twice. Donabate and Ardgillan are both good and on the way.

I'm off to Leeds for the weekend so I'm planning on doing Woodhouse Moor.

arybvtcw0eolkf

I haven't done Dundalk but I've done Oldbridge a few times. Its a tough course IMO, all on grass (if you're lucky) with a number of climbs. I'll be honest I've never really enjoyed it but I return for the challenge of running entirely off tarmac.

But its a lovely area and the cafe is right beside the carpark.

Since they're both off the M1 If I had the choice between Dundalk & Oldbridge, knowing Dundalk is just football fields I'd go for Oldbridge.

DeepBlue

PerfumeAndFart wrote: »

Plan on going to one of these on Saturday. Is it just the barcode I need? I don't need to pay anything?

Yes, it's all free.
Just to confuse you - you can even do it without a barcode. However if you want to get your result then you will have to present a barcode.

Fraggle07

You register online at parkrun.ie and yes it's free.

When you register you get a barcode that you need to print off and bring with you as this is scanned at the end of the race to register your time ran.

If you are a VHI member (they are main Parkrun sponsor) you can also link your parkrun registeration to the VHI app. VHI run a rewards scheme where you can claim rewards as you clock up your number of runs.

Best of luck.

GalwayGrrrrrl

PerfumeAndFart wrote: »

Plan on going to one of these on Saturday. Is it just the barcode I need? I don't need to pay anything?

Yes, just bring the barcode. The runs start at 9.30am in Ireland so arrive a few minutes early. There will be a quick welcome chat where they will show you what to do with the barcode at the end and tell you the route, safety notes etc. In Galway the talk starts at 9.15am as there is a short walk to the start line but it might be later in other areas. Welcome to the Parkrun family!

Edited to add- some groups go for coffee afterwards. You don’t have to go but if you think you might like to bring a couple of Euro for a drink.

GalwayGrrrrrl

http://blog.parkrun.com/uk/2019/04/03/the-virtual-volunteer-app/
I see on the parkrun blog that there is now an app that volunteers can use to scan barcodes and record times. Germany and Japan use this instead of current hardware. Looks much easier and cheaper too. Have any parkruns in Ireland tried it?

CR 7

GalwayGrrrrrl wrote: »

http://blog.parkrun.com/uk/2019/04/03/the-virtual-volunteer-app/
I see on the parkrun blog that there is now an app that volunteers can use to scan barcodes and record times. Germany and Japan use this instead of current hardware. Looks much easier and cheaper too. Have any parkruns in Ireland tried it?

Yeah, at Ballincollig parkrun they normally appear to have one of the standard scanners and one or two people using an app.

Pawwed Rig

I have seen phones being used for a while now to scan barcodes.

scheister

GalwayGrrrrrl wrote: »

http://blog.parkrun.com/uk/2019/04/03/the-virtual-volunteer-app/
I see on the parkrun blog that there is now an app that volunteers can use to scan barcodes and record times. Germany and Japan use this instead of current hardware. Looks much easier and cheaper too. Have any parkruns in Ireland tried it?

I was volunteering in Germany last year and it is all apps. I could not get the official app to work ended up using the knock off app. If i jump in as an extra scanner at my own parkrun i would use the app over the scanners as its harder to make a mistake with the app

The Black Oil

My wristband arrived earlier in the week. App picked it up no problem and my old laminated paper version too. Does prefer you to put it into flight mode for scanning.

robinph

The Black Oil wrote: »

My wristband arrived earlier in the week. App picked it up no problem and my old laminated paper version too. Does prefer you to put it into flight mode for scanning.

Think that is to stop other notifications popping up which would then keep changing the active app and mess things up. Easiest to just make sure you don't get distracted whilst scanning or timing by photos of what one of your non-parkrunning friends is having for breakfast.

I've had a play with the app and it is good for scanning, but don't think I'f like to use it for timing. Would prefer the physical button press for timing to be more sure of what is going on. I've not actually seen them being used in a live situation yet though.

quaalude

GalwayGrrrrrl wrote: »

http://blog.parkrun.com/uk/2019/04/03/the-virtual-volunteer-app/
I see on the parkrun blog that there is now an app that volunteers can use to scan barcodes and record times. Germany and Japan use this instead of current hardware. Looks much easier and cheaper too. Have any parkruns in Ireland tried it?

I've used both the timer app and the scanner app on my iPhone.

I loved the scanning one because there is on-screen evidence that scanning the position and athlete barcodes pair worked, and all is well. Unlike the old-timey scanner that just beeps. I haven't tried it since, but I'm not that into scanning, it's my least favourite job

The timer one works great - as long as it isn't raining or even slightly wet. We found it registers false times if the screen is wet, like there was a screen press when there wasn't.

DeepBlue

I haven't tried the timer app "live" but I've heard that the android version can be a bit glitchy. You can use the volume keys on your phone to register the times and cover your screen in the rain if that helps.

I have used the the scanner app a few times. While my phone is decent it has a not-so-great camera and it's forever auto-focusing on the barcode before it gets a scan so it can be slow going. It's reasonably ok on well-laminated barcodes and wristbands but when it gets presented with a faded or a damp, crumpled barcode then it's far less likely to scan or will take ages to do so. The opticon scanners are far more forgiving and much quicker. Users with excellent phone cameras will probably have a better experience. The visual feedback - orange box turning to green when scan is successful and listing of the scanned results is also good for confirmation that the scan worked.

The main advantage imo of the app is that you can add a few more volunteer scanners if there is a big crowd and a backlog forming. For volunteering I still prefer the physical scanner and stopwatch but it's much handier for the results processor when the results can just be emailed and there's no fiddling with cables and connecting devices to the laptop.