How I run a 5km parkrun quicker | 7 tips for ANYONE 

You did see that welsh government banned parkruns in new year and just allowed them back?

@@PoetWithPace I’ve tried to avoid covid stuff as topics because so much of it does my head in……but happy to go on the record as what happened to parkrun during this whole thing was fxxcking disgusting. Outdoors, great for physical health, great for mental health, great for community health - shut it down. But McDonalds can stay 🙄

@@MarkLewisfitness you do know that obesity is the second biggest CAUSE of cancer, as well as the leading cause of severe illness from covid. It also contributes to heart disease (biggest cause of death worldwide), diabetes and other ailments. Obesity is a major reason the NHS is falling on its arse

@@jimjamthebananaman1 Agree

@@MarkLewisfitness thank you Mark 👍🏼

Remember this, if you ever feel self-conscious about your 5K time- or worse, if anyone else makes you feel bad about it: Most people are still sitting on their couch and couldn't run between lampposts like Mark described. Keep it up! You've already conquered something. And remember, you are the only person worth competing with.

Well done! Your time will drop rapidly as you gain stamina and ultimately speed but regardless you should be pretty damn proud.

Yeah... F*ck the time... and F*ck Bob :-D I started runing this January... like I actually think I never ran before. I started after like year of nordic walking, and still could not run 1 km in one try... lo and behold... now I ran 15... So keep it up, don´t look at the numbers and just enjoy the run if you can run somewhere nice.

Sub 1h for your first 5k isn't bad!

5k is a 5k whether you do it in 54 mins or 15 mins. You done the hardest bit and got off your arse, keep it up!

That's the truth. It's progress not perfection. Anybody who his going out putting one foot in front of the other is winning

Inclusive? 😂 bizarre word choice

@@dukenukembubblegum7311 in what way?

@@dukenukembubblegum7311 Why is being inclusive weird?

⁠@@dukenukembubblegum7311inclusive means to include all. How is that in any way a bizarre choice of words for someone describing a video that’s aimed at all running abilities?

Holy shit good stuff man, staying active at that age is pretty rare

This is incredible

Nice! I'm 76, so I'm with you in spirit. How's it going, now that you've been at it for a while? Hopefully you haven't suffered any injury along the way.

Well Ralph, after my 12th race I pulled a hamstring and it was a difficult recovery, but i am doing ok now. Still slow but I am still at it. I have now completed my 43rd parkrun. I retire from work in 3 weeks and then plan on picking up my training. I am slow, but thats not all bad. A fair amount of beautiful women run in front of me and that keeps me motivated. @@ralphhancock7449

Thanks, now completed 43 parkruns.@@Doughy3205

Technique is one of the least utilized in running for making gains.

Is that so tall…? Its normal, isnt it?

@@leonardoiglesias2394 You're freaking giant to us here lol.

@@leonardoiglesias2394 yes, yes it's extremely tall lol

@@leonardoiglesias2394 Just for reference, out of 1100 people in my school only 2, maybe 3 are about 6'5+. And keep in mind that new generation is (on average) taller than others (Millenials, Boomers).

running with your head sounds at best uncomfortable and cumbersome but i will give it a try.

We have a guy at our Parkrun in East Brighton who runs less than 25mins and is 70+

Thank you!

Plus you know how to do hyperlinks and make a RU-vid comment along with your run time im pretty you’re in the top0.1% of your age lol

Thank you, this fella sure likes to hear himself talk. I shoulda known when he flexed and challenged to arm wrestle someone!

Yeah, re point 1, I noticed that the video mentions the effects that a few ultras had for Mark, even though he had been working hard at short distances

As a newer runner, also dont be afraid to walk/run on those easy jogs. Ive been running for almost 5 months noe and I still need to walk in order to keep my hr down. Another thing, dont be afraid to go uncomfortably slow because its likely still much faster than walking

kinobody

The incline one is huge. I have to walk up over 200 steps and down them at the start and end of each run. And I swear those steps are the biggest challenge in my workouts. Once I am at the top, running on a flat surface feels so easy.

​@@NowhereBeatsDo you feel/see improvement from steps, if/ where

Mike you are monster! 🔥

How is your 5k time coming along now?

Oo how'd u do??

Still alive?

@@jayaybe1 maybe he is or she is still running . just can't find the finish line?

21 is close! That’s got to be doable with some focus. And how cool to get faster as you get older!

I'm 50 my PB is 22:48.....sadly can't seem to break 24:00 ATM! 😡

I'm 53, 5k PB is 21:35, I've got a feeling this could be our sub 20 year!!

💥 Works Of Advice 🤔 If You Tell Yourself You Can’t… You Won’t💥

Ignore your age and focus on varied training and realistic progressive goals. I'm 49 and ran 5k pb 3 yrs ago in 18.14. Rest and diet makes a difference especially when you're not in your 20s

13 seconds!!! That is a sub 20 any day now! Awesome.

As a senior I see you young guys start doing parkrun and for the first few times I can beat you on stamina but then you are gone!

U hero maaaan

@Bruce M There is no reason as to why you will not break the sub 20 and also get down into the teens based upon your age and running journey. If you took up athletics your running time would go well down into the teens. You may not have the commitments to take up athletics as you may have other interests but it all comes down to you own choice.

A bit horrified that as ateenager you struggled to do a 5k run, but well done on sticking with it and getting towards your sub 20 goal.

That is awesome. I am 23 years old and have been running for a while, yet you still outpace me for quite a bit. Now I wish I could run half as well as you when I am your age.

​@@trancongthanh9015 You certainly can "run half as well as [Yontanian]" when you are his age. Just don't stop being active. That's what set me back so much: I went from an active outdoor lifestyle to hunching over a keyboard for fifteen years. I would forget to eat, I was so stressed out, and "there was never time" to play volleyball or go for a jog or a hike in the mountains. A friend of mine intervened and got me into cross training and OCR. Obviously I was pathetic at first! I couldn't quite manage three pushups, and like Mark, couldn't run a single city block. But I had made the decision that I would just show up and try, four days a week. I would remember to eat (mostly healthy). I would go to sleep when I "ran out of day". I would sip water all day long. After eleven years of that (while still clattering away at a keyboard most of the day) I am now noticeably (but not impressively) muscular, my posture is much better, and at 55 I feel better than I did at 30. I can do a Spartan Super (10K with 25 obstacles) in less than 3 hours; my best time so far is 2 hours 20 minutes. I enjoy half-marathons (but I tried one marathon and will never do another- it wasn't the 26.2 miles on race day but the months of training that are just not worth the sacrifice, for me personally). Tran, with relatively little but CONSISTENT effort, you will continue to improve as a runner, well into your 40s. With more effort, you can continue to improve throughout your 50s! Only highly competitive athletes "peak early" and then decline in their 30s. Everyone else declines in their 30s because, like me, they allow themselves to become sedentary. Usually because of stress regarding career, family, etc. (not because of laziness-you're just working hard at something other than personal fitness). Mark is such an inspiration because he has a life outside of sport. He isn't a professional athlete who is pushing the boundaries of peak human physical performance, with no life outside of training all day every day. He is a normal guy with a life outside of sport, who is pushing the boundaries of everyday human physical performance. That's why he is so challenging as well as encouraging, for me: because I really could achieve the things he has achieved (relative to my own baseline, not his) without quitting my job and deserting my family. And you can too!

Awesome targets to have! And with that distance under your belt - no reason to not get that PB parkrun back! Nothing helped me run 5k faster than training to run 26 miles slow!

Something to maybe inspire beginners… 19 days later I’ve just managed a 35:25 (over 4 mins quicker and feeling comfortable at it too!) Edit: also seeing weight go down for the first time in years is super cool

Good job!! 🎉

What is your pb now

@@sridharmallela 30:45 a few weeks ago on quite a hilly run. Hadn't been running a lot over the past couple months, but getting back into it now. Going to try for a first sub 30 this weekend on a flat route

Congratulations- that’s a great achievement remember Mark said your average person can’t even run a bath which is a slight exaggeration but makes the point beautifully. Also remember there are walkers, joggers and runners and everything in between in Parkruns - the mutual support is brilliant.

"Not a big achievement". Me: are you trying to kill me ?

Yup, parkruns my main reason for getting out of bed so early on a Saturday morning. 330 runs 56 volunteers, although I was once told that the likes of bushy park there is a long waiting list to volunteer.

That Jan 2018 pic is pretty much what I can get to from now if I take 4 months off. It's then 8 months back again. Scary how quick it happens - I was on holiday in 2016 looking leaner than I am now!

38........got years of health ahead of you! And it is so much cooler to be in your 40s and fit than in your 20s and 30s. Mostly because you will be one of the only people that age who is in shape!!!

Agree. Should get Gov. funding!!!!

@@MarkLewisfitness have never thought of that, but you are spot on with the government funding with the good it does

It depends on the person, for me I always run my best races out in 5:10 for the first mile, im a 16:30 runner so getting out fast works for me

Glad you enjoyed it! 27 - 22 is a great target to chase! Good luck.

yep - neg splits on a 5k is leaving effort to waste at the start. Never done pre-workout (but my kid does so I may steal his and try it!)

I've just done 5 k, at week 5 it got a bit crazy, so I just kept adding one minute to much runs and less on my walks, not I did 3 k hen 2 min walk and 2 k. Next 5 k without stopping. Keep at it

Maybe you should give parkrun a go before finishing the couch to 5k program! Even if you walk half of it, it's incredibly motivating to know that you can cover that distance and gives you excellent time metrics to try and improve!

I did exactly this last year! I completed the couch to 5km program then took myself to parkrun for the first time. Since my 1st parkrun I've taken nearly 8 minutes off my time and can now run 10km comfortably and less comfortably a half marathon. Cannot recommend parkrun enough! Good luck on your running journey!!

Wishing you succes. I'm in the same boat... I'm cautiously getting back into running after a decades long break. I have run half marathons (around 90mins). Now 64, not sure whether I'll ever reach that level again. My first major goal is 5k.

Glad it helps-and useful to know you do not have to be the size of an 11-year-old 😂

We are planning to get down south a few times, have started branching out in the north island when possible

Good going. Keep chipping away at that time 👍🏼

That couple of years break has been a bit of a bugger.

Great to hear 👍🏼

Awesome progress-just keep going. To knock off 10 minutes in under a year is huge.

I was the same funny that warm up

Wow amazing progress

Amazing results in a year - keeping going mate!

get older AND faster!

When you were starting out I would not have recommended running at all and would have suggest diet and light exercise to lose weight and to build up the body. But you have already started now so great job.

Are you close to that sub 25 5k?

@@bighands69thanks. I was on the muscular side but doing no cardio at all apart from walking. Started off too fast which resulted in aches and pains (shin splints). But eventually settled into doing more slower runs. My weight is now 216lbs /98kg and fastest 5km is 29min 09sec. Will hopefully get a sub 28min by Xmas. Sub 25 is wishful thinking! 🤣

@@bri1085 nah. Bit of wishful thinking. Fastest so far is 29min 09sec. So sub 28 by Xmas? Started running more 7-10km distances which have really helped.

@Tommy Badman did a 5km in 29'09" two days after my 55th Birthday. Had to do it at 6am because of the heatwave.

Just go, I promise you won't regret it.

Same. PB 21:49 at the beginning of first lockdown. Right after that I pulled a tendon in my foot and didn't run at all for over a year. Got back to parkrun doing 26, now under 24. Now I'm positive I can do sub 22 again. Good luck to you!