r/parkrun

Colin Thorne, aged 102, of Whangarei, New Zealand, has done his last parkrun.
R.I.P.

Colin first joined the parkrun family on 21 January 2017, already in his early nineties, quietly showing the world that it is never too late to begin something extraordinary. Over the next nine years, he completed an incredible 265 parkruns across 21 locations and volunteered 16 times.

Another notable mention; he completed the New York marathon at 89.

Now it is up to other centenarians to see if they can get to 103. Who is out there?

I am considering volunteering as a pacer next month, but it makes me nervous! The last time I ran alongside a pacer he finished within one second of his vest's promise. I am assuming it is safest to pace to a time that is well below your standard time? Is there an expectation that you're going to get the pace perfect?

When you start, those milestones come thick and fast reaching 10, then 25, then the big 50. But suddenly, you hit that red-shirt milestone and realize you have a literal year of Saturdays ahead of you before you see another badge.

I’ve seen a few people at my local event drop off around run 60 or 70 because the goal feels so far away.

Has anyone else hit the 70 run wall? How did you keep yourself motivated to get to that 100 shirt?

Quoted from Whangarei Parkrun

Some people leave footprints on a parkrun course. Colin Thorne left them on our hearts.

Colin first joined the parkrun family on 21 January 2017, already in his early nineties, quietly showing the world that it is never too late to begin something extraordinary. Over the next nine years, he completed an incredible 265 parkruns across 21 locations and volunteered 16 times—proof not only of his commitment, but of his belief that parkrun is about community as much as it is about movement.

To see Colin at parkrun was to be reminded of what really matters. He greeted everyone with that cheeky smile, a dry sense of humour, and a genuine warmth that made first-timers and regulars alike feel instantly welcome. He listened, he encouraged, and he inspired—often without needing to say very much at all.

What made Colin truly special wasn’t just his age, remarkable though that was. It was his perseverance. Week after week, year after year, Colin kept showing up, determined to keep parkrunning for as long as he possibly could. Even at 102, he embodied the very best of parkrun: turning up, doing what you can, and doing it with heart.

Running had been part of Colin’s life long before parkrun. He took it up at 64, went on to complete numerous marathons and half marathons, and even ran the New York Marathon at the age of 89—a feat few of us could imagine at any age. Yet despite these astonishing achievements, Colin always wore his success lightly, choosing kindness and connection over accolades.

Colin touched the lives of parkrunners throughout New Zealand and far beyond. His story travelled, but his impact was deeply personal. He showed us that ageing does not have to mean slowing your spirit, that perseverance can be joyful, and that community is built one smile, one step, one Saturday morning at a time.

As we hold Colin close in our thoughts during these tender days, we do so with immense gratitude. Thank you, Colin, for every kilometre, every laugh, every moment of inspiration. Thank you for reminding us that parkrun is not about how fast you go, but about showing up—and about the love you bring with you when you do.

Your legacy will continue to run alongside us, always.

May you rest in peace.

Mine starts at 7:00 and suits me perfectly. I don't know how you 9:00 mob do it!

Climate and location I know are a factor, but starting at 7:00 leaves the whole day whereas 9:00 already feels like a significant way through the day by the time you finish, get home, shower, etc.

I'm on the east coast of Australia BTW.

Hi everyone,

I have been volunteering and attending Nepean River parkrun in Sydney for the past 24 months. My wife and I moved to the Blue Mountains a few years back and found Lawson parkrun too hard so came across to Nepean River.

My family, friends and I find this parkrun and its main run and volunteer group incredibly clique and unwelcoming. We've volunteered on a number of occasions now and we are never greeted and no one says thanks... In the last year, we've been spoken to superficially once. It's quite discouraging actually. They say they're friendly during the briefing but they're not.

I know parkrun is supposed to be friendly and welcoming but sometimes it's not and it's really discouraging.

Anyone had this experience before and what did you do? I've seen another post about this issue before and they said to be more open and forthcoming.

Anyway bit of a rant. I hate feeling like shit after parkrun on a Saturday morning.

Not the biggest deal but my NENDY (nearest event not done yet) has changed in the app. Curious to see where this new parkrun was, it turns out it’s a new closed event at a young offender’s institute (which hasn’t started yet)!

Aside from being a completionist’s nightmare, presumably these events disappear from the event lists/ maps eventually? Otherwise it’ll be a bit annoying to have an impossible NENDY!

(I used to joke that there probably are some parkrun obsessive that they would go to jail just to do a prison course but this is a young offender institute so that’s not even an option haha)

On the app is there a way to get the map centring on your locale when you don’t have your GPS on? Whenever I go to the events map it is centred on Hawaii or somewhere so I have to do a mega scroll.

It didn’t seem to do this on the old incarnation.

Went to the inauguration of the new Berlin Parkrun today. Was a great event and the volunteers did a wonderful job!

The location is at Tempelhofer Feld (a former airport).

Would highly recommend going there if you want a PB as it's super flat and very wide and if you go fast enough you might just take off!

Let everyone know how your parkrun went - where did you go? Any PB's or milestones?

Post it all below in this week's weekly thread.

I’ve done Clitheroe Park Run this morning and Jesus the undulating course is brutal as 5 laps. I find Burnley to be the easiest I’ve done so far but only done 5 different locations so far. What would you say is the easiest and hardest park runs in Lancashire that you’ve done?

I have been a casual road cyclist (once per week, roughly 60-80km) since covid, and decided to try running last September for the first time since high school.

To my surprise I really enjoyed it. I think the cycling base helped, so it wasn’t as painful as I thought it would be. Over the next few weeks and months I watched a few Youtube videos about zone 2, bought a Garmin and a couple of pairs of running shoes and threw myself into it.

From September until January it was going great. I built up to 50km per week, with a weekly long run of about 18-21km, a couple of easy runs and some faster intervals or threshold sessions.

At the end of January I ran a 19 min 53 sec parkrun, and was looking forward to chipping away at that time this year.

However, it’s now April, and I’ve never managed a sub 20 minute parkrun since (my last 4 were between 20 min 10 sec and 20 min 50 sec). I’ve been following a Runna plan, running 6x per week, increased my mileage to about 65km, added in some hills, but I just seem to be standing still.

Garmin says my VO2 Max has improved since Jan, but my lactate threshold is static, and my race predictions on both Garmin and Strava have been stagnant.

Any idea what I’m doing wrong?

Not sure if it’s relevant but I’m M39, 188cm (6’2”), weigh about 83kg. I live in SE Asia, so it’s basically always about 28-30 degrees C and very humid when I run, but I’ve lived here for 9 years so I’m pretty used to it.